cant find any turkeys

SJan

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So I've been wondering around the woods all morning without a clue as to what I'm doing. I tried a different location last weeekend that turned out to be very crowded with mountain bikers and dog walkers. Sorces say this area i'm in now has a good turkey population. On the way here I actually saw 2 in a farm field not far off the road about 2 miles from here.

Every couple hundred feet of walking I stop stand quiet for a minute, call and wait and listen. Call again, still hear nothing so I carry on. Should I be spending a longer time in what might be a good spot? How do I know a good spot? Any pointers for a rookie would be great!
 
First you don't want to walk around calling turkeys. Second if your walking anywhere after sunrise the turkeys already know your there and are long gone. Take an owl call and walk around the woods about an hour before sunset and make calls every hundred yards or so. When you hear a turkey respond back off. At this point the Turkeys have already settled in for the night. Come back the next morning and set up about 75 yards away from where you heard them the night before. Don't call until you hear them gobble first, then hit the call once. You should hear him fly down from the tree. After he flys down do another call to relocate him on your position. After this call you will want to get your gun ready because he should be coming in on you shortly.

Turkeys have a keen sense of danger and will bust you if you call to much or move. If you hear a turkey in your area you will want to call, but hold off and whatever you do don't try to sneak up on it, because it could be another hunter, and you would also scare the thing off with any movement.
 
Last year I was at the gun range and my son and I hear this turkey calling. Next we see this big ol' bird coming over the berm, down the hill and right into the middle of the range.

The club has a strict don't shoot wild life policy, and I'm cool with that. I figure he'll wander across the range and back into the woods.

Nope... this stupid SOB wanders half way across the the range and stops for a nap. I'm not kidding. He just stops and sits there.

We make a bunch of noise and make sure he sees us. He ain't moving. So I grab the .308 and fire a round about 50 feet to the right of the bird.

OMG it was too funny. I should have videotaped it. The bird makes about a ten foot vertical leap and then scurries off the range.

I imagine this bird has long become someone's dinner. With those "survival instincts" obviously he/she was easy pickings for someone...
 
I was leaving the range yesterday and 2 turkeys were "manning the gate", just strolling back and forth by the entrance gate. It is common to see turkeys wandering around our range. lol.
 
shooting a turkey is the easy part of hunting, scouting to find out where the F they are is the hard part. They fly down from their roost in the trees at first light usually and then they go lokin to eat, so they usually hunker down near fields and water. The trick is to spot them in the trees they usually roost up at 6 or 7 or when it starts getting dark. you need to try to predict t he birds path in the morning, they may fly straight down from the tree or fly 30-50 yds then land so you can't set up too close to them. I recomend a cheap pop up blind as a minimum if they see any movement they will bolt! don't over call or you can spook them too.
 
I was out in the woods by my house the other day and had two turkeys actually trailing me. They kept about 20 yards away, but were definitely following me around. I tried to tell them only 20 yards wasn't really a brilliant idea, but they clearly weren't listening. They're from the same flock that regularly invades my lawn. Clearly not too afraid of humans.
 
In this area, you'll spoil your chanes at a turkey if you are walking around calling... or walking around at all. Also... I hope you practiced your calling and have it perfected, because these turkeys seem to know if you're off.

We find a place to set up (usually in a fence row by a field that had fresh manure spread @ a local farm) and just wait. We get there before sun up.

aside from that- I hope you are not Gobbling! -that can be dangerous
 
I was out in the woods near my house yesterday evening with a crow call trying to get a shock gobble out of any that might be in the area. Nada. I know there's tons of them around the Cape so I'm just going to keep trying different areas this week. One week to go...
 
I am failrly new to turkey hunting as well. This will be my 3rd year hunting them, I bagged a tom last season. I have never had much luck roosting birds at dusk. I have better luck getting in before sunrise, they gobble on the roost for a while before they fly down and then gobble again on the ground looking for hens. As others have said, once you locate them, back out. I have seen them at a distance during the day in the woods, but you'll never sneak up on them, their eye sight is too good. Lots of solid advice so far in this thread. Keep looking!
 
I have an alternate plan if none of my scouting produces...

I'm going to hang out at the base of a tree and be motionless until the Tom swoops down around dawn. At that point I'll light up a Newport and stare at it. It will be so frozen with fear I will simply walk up and snap the little f*cker's neck. Done.

Haha no I'm brand new to all this as well. I've heard of guys hunting for years before ever bagging a turkey. Since this is my first time hunting anything I have accepted that it may be a long time before I make that first kill. But I will try my hardest and refrain from calling too much. I know a guy who's been hunting turkey for years and he told me "If you think you're calling too little, you're probably already calling too much."
 
plenty of them running around in my yard, my neighbors yards, crossing the street in front of my house, well until I let the dogs out and then they move along pretty fast.
 
I know 3 people that have turkeys in their back yards. Ive myself seen one walking across a small parking lot in Plymouth, I drove by within 10 feet of it. All these plus the ones I spotted on a farm this morning are not in hunt-able areas. I've noticed a lot of road kill turkey in the past month or so also.
 
I bought a 3-pack of decoys at Dick's tonight. That and an owl hoot.

Can anyone tell me when is the best time to use owl vs. crow calls and vise versa? I understand both will elicit shock gobbles but at what time of day do each tend to bring more responses?
 
I finally saw a wild turkey for the first time yesterday, and everyone else I know that lives around here sees them all the time.
 
I bought a 3-pack of decoys at Dick's tonight. That and an owl hoot.

Can anyone tell me when is the best time to use owl vs. crow calls and vise versa? I understand both will elicit shock gobbles but at what time of day do each tend to bring more responses?

Owl calls are best used in the evening or just before sun up. Crow calls work best during the daylight. To be honest, if you are close enough to the roost, slamming your car door shut when you get out will get them to gobble, it doesn't take much.
 
In Vermont, just before exit 3 on 91 north there is a field on the left side of the road. Ive seen 10-15 turkeys there every day around 7pm. Most are hens, but there have been 1-2 very large toms there too most of the time.
 
Look for places with oak trees. They'll be scratching up last fall's acorns from under the leaves.
 
We get plenty of them in the back yard in Sandisfield...that and bears and a porcupine who comes to the back door every evening for some food.
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