Turkey Scouting
Turkey scouting may be conducted year round.
Chance encounter with a flock during a January quail hunt.
One aspect of our agriculture land can be seen in this picture of a cut soybean field with fall germinated weeds providing the light green seen in the field. It is as much these sprouts as is the waste grain that attracts the turkey flocks.
These pictures are from our lease land when our preparation of having a camera in pocket met the opportunity of seeing some birds. Or, just being lucky. We are out there enough to have a good idea of where our hunters should hunt.
The most common scouting method follows along with the hunter having a deer and turkey primary and secondary hunting interest. As such both overlap in terms of locality and dovetailed scout and hunts.
The prime scouting period is February and March when it is warm enough to be pleasant yet cool enough to allow easy walking. The green is down as are sheds, there are not any bugs and deer sign of old scrapes (due to our lack of rain during the winter) and rubs are easily seen as are the turkey.
Good binoculars are the key to turkey scouting as many flock will be readily observed at long distance as our agricultural region in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa lease land allows for. Even for those that fly in for a weekend of scouting arriving on Friday, securing a rental car, and scouting Saturday, Sunday morning and flying out Sunday afternoon gaining the locality of a roost or two may be accomplished. having at least two turkey roosts identify will always allow for flexibility if something changes from the time of scouting until the hunt.
Scouting, deer and turkey hunting the same locality of 2,000 to 4,000 acres of leases will quickly allow the hunter to identify game patterns and be familiar with enough hunting spots to enhance tag success. To gain that amount of lease land knowledge will take the self guided hunter about three years of time. that is the nature of do it yourself hunts as the hunter must conduct all the preliminary activities rather than pay a guide service to locate wildlife.
In some cases some leases are seasonal, some leases are upland or deer hunting only, another restriction are our wetlands as they are for duck hunting only. Turkey hunters will have more places to turkey hunt and scout than time. In the cases of lease access restrictions they are limited.
One tom and a dozen hens on a windy day the hens spotted us and slipped over the hill taking the tom with them. The trees in the background are about the extent of the woods to be found on this farm that happens to be a good turkey hunting spot. Not sure where the turkeys came from or where they go. All we have seen is the turkeys regularly use this farm during the day.
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