Turkey 101

[Bersalover]

is it more common to find them in open areas, ridges, bottoms ? 3 day trip coming up and starting from scratch. thanks for any input. Hunted deer in this area many times and trying to decide on stand location.

 

[hps]

You find em where they are. If that make sense.

 

[Crappiepro]

You should go scout your property. Go early in the morning right at first light and listen for gobbles. Same thing in the evenings at last light, listen for them to fly up and gobble on the roost. They'll stay there all night most times and fly down right there the next morning.
As far as where to hunt, start in the fields early in the morning's and then go to the woods around mid-morning to late afternoon. They will go to the woods and scratch around on the ridges and hill tops. They'll come back to the fields in the evening's.
You can also set up on them in the evening's if you know where they roost and cut them off before fly up.
Listen to the hens as they call during the day, do what they do. If the birds are chatty be calling to them. If their not don't over call. Don't be too loud when a bird's in site. They can hear pretty good!
Hope this help's, Good Luck!

 

[Bersalover]

I appreciate the input, that helps.

 

[hps]

Call softly and scratch the ground and leaves (not to rough) just enough to sound like another bird looking for love .

 

[Adrian8]

Try and get to a vantage point where you can here well at daylight when they gobble (if you are lucky) then think where they will go, perhaps to a feed, and strut, and try to get ahead of them on a nice flat travel area like an old forest or farm road thru the woods or a field and set up a decoy quickly. A good general rule is to get above them to start and stay above them, if you are in hilly territory, the old saying is "it is hard to call them downhill." Sit down and call very sparingly and listen to where they go if you did not pick the right direction...then try that direction the next day..Don't run, call, chase, squack, all morning in the woods as you will just educate them, be very quiet, sneaky and never let them know a human was there. When in doubt just sit there longer, even take a nap, wake up and call lightly every 20 minutes or so.