Thinking about starting Turkey Hunting

[HewesMan]

My FiL has land over south of Valdosta that a lot of the brothers all live on and I know that there are some turkeys over there. The cousins used to hunt them fairly regularly but they are not doing it any more, so that should free up all of that ladn for ME!!! What tips can you all give me as far as how to scout? What to look for. Anything?

[Gulf Coast]

Corn

[mrbigglesworth]

Scout roads and open areas for tracks and dust bowls. The latter may be tough to find with the wet weather. Listen first thing in the morning for gobbling on the roost. If you can find where they are roosting you will be ahead of the game. If you can find where they are going straight off the roost then you will be even more ahead of the game. Be very patient the mornings of the hunt. If you call and have no answers then wait 30 minutes longer. Minimize movement when hunting. Don't over call. Decoys can help or hurt but if the land is not very pressured then it will probably help. Oh yea. And don't use corn. That can become more expensive that it's worth and will make it way less fun.


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[Gulf Coast]

Oh yea. And don't use corn. That can become more expensive that it's worth and will make it way less fun.



I don't hunt turkeys....but I do sell a LOT of corn to turkey hunters....soooooo....corn or scratch feed

[mrbigglesworth]

Sounds more like turkey shooters than hunters. Turkeys lack one less instinct than deer. So yea I wouldn't recommend anything illegal to a new turkey hunter.


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[fishinfool]

Turkeys have a nearly non-existent sense of smell. That helps with bug repellent and other issues. What they lack in the smell department they more than make up for in the hearing and especially sight department. A turkey can pick you up visually when you could swear you have not made a movement of any kind.
Patience and persistence is the key.

[mrbigglesworth]

Agreed fishin fool. That's why sitting over a corn pile for turkeys is non ethical and illegal. They can't visit at night and won't come in with wind to their advantage.


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[HewesMan]

Is it a little to early to start hearing them gobble?

[Gulf Coast]

Never said to sit on corn pile...lol I think the law says 200 yards from feed station ...use corn !!!

[mrbigglesworth]

You will hear them start gobbling within the next few weeks as the weather warms up.


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[DEMON]

Given the choice, turkeys will roost over water. A swamp, pond with trees on the edge, etc. If you have water on the property the easiest way to find them is by roosting them in the evening. Just listen for them to fly up & they'll usually be vocal as well. Some of the best hunts I've had are from roosting them in the evening & catching them in the a.m. right after they fly down.

[HewesMan]

Very interesting Demon. The place that I am hunting has a very large pond/swamp that I duck hunt in as well, plus there are a few other places on the property that hold water as well. That may give me some better places to start looking.

[onefishtwofish]

A wise friend of mine told me "If you have never spring turkey hunted, don't start". He was so right. It is a consuming passion. I love duck hunting, but don't know what I would do if they were in the same season. It also cuts in to my redfish fishing badly.

How big is the property? I am relatively new to spring turkey hunting (less than 20 years) and find that I still learn things each year. On the private place I hunt now, I had to learn the hard way to sit still and shut up. I don't like deer hunting turkeys, but I have bumped enough birds on this small piece of property that I have learned to call them to where they want to be instead of trying to get in their living room and calling them where I want them to be. (ie I don't move to them on the roost, but stay back and let them take their time to find me-I call sparingly and just enough to let them know their is a horny lonely hen on the field). If they gobble along this little strand of creek bottom that I hunt, there is about a 75% chance they will visit my field and if they visit my field there is about a 95% chance they will take a truck ride. If they don't come to the field, I just ease out and don't spook them.

On public land, I take a very different approach and try to get them as close as reasonably possible. Ideally I want to kill them before they have gobbled more than twice on the ground - less chance to be messed with by other hunters.

Learn the birds and just count this season as a learning experience. If you kill a bird, that is a bonus. Check out OldGobbler Forum for a ton of advice. And turkey hunting shows are good to get you fired up, but you can't often do what then cats do on the butterball factories they hunt. I make a ground blind where I hunt and get comfortable and wait them out.

[Hoxnan]

Very interesting Demon. The place that I am hunting has a very large pond/swamp that I duck hunt in as well, plus there are a few other places on the property that hold water as well. That may give me some better places to start looking.

In regards to locating them - I would start there
Listen for gobbles in the mornings leading up to opening day to get a bead on where they are roosting. If they're being tight lipped try to get near the roost site and get hid so you can listen for them flying up/down. You can also take a crow/owl call to try and get a shock gobble. Once you get a bead on their roost sit set up within 100 yards and do some very light calling & see how he responds. I would advise against a decoy but thats more of a preference type of thing.

[Crippledminnow]

Headed to central fl to hunt osceolas opening weekend.Enjoy,theres nothing else like it!