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Spring 2020 Gobbler Season

ThePennsylvanian said:
I'm in SW Pa, it doesn't matter where in the state you go, you can find public that holds good numbers!
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Yea my uncle has a messed up back and my grandads too old but they’ve both killed their fair share of PA and NY wildlife. I hate that I didn’t get to share any hunts with them growing up due to not being much of a hunter and not living near by; however, it’s been awesome to talk hunting with them recently since I got into deer hunting 3/4 years ago. It’ll be awesome to share this with them too.
 
Bigterp said:
Have fun gobblers will teach you more than you can ever read about, they’ll point out every flaw..... then a day later will run to your gun barrel!
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Yep, and just when you think you have it all figured out..... they'll humble you again. I always say, turkeys are dumb, in a smart way. They are highly instinctual but very limited in reasoning. Its a game of patience and dogged determination. They'll ignore your hen calls and decoys and everything else and just suddenly break to your setup an hour later. Or, they will not respond to anything except leaf clearing... the sounds of turkey's scratching for insects and food in the woods. I've called Toms in just doing that off the roost. Everyday is different, which makes it so fun... and annoyingly frustrating. And make sure you're right down on the barrel while that tom is coming in before you pull the trigger or you'll shoot right over it!!!! Don't ask me how I know that!!!
 
Another tip, if you're run and gunning and you hear one either on the roost or at anytime of the day, don't just head toward them directly. Make a slight angle off from the sound. Get a bearing on the gobbler and then head off on an angle in the direction. This is especially true as green up and the spring foliage continues to increase. Leaf out can really make them sound much further off than they actually may be. Finally, you want to get within their 'bubble' of about 100 yards or even 75 if you can. The odds go way up for you if you're close.
 
TheBigJWilly28 said:
First year turkey hunting. Any tips for the area? I’m not asking for locations or anything just pointers for a first time turkey hunter in se Mn.
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Get out early, listen for them. I've been trying to find them and get a general idea of where they are. Yesterday I found Tom in full strut with some hens right off the road. Completely caught me off guard! It's my first spring session in 25 years.
 
TheBigJWilly28 said:
First year turkey hunting. Any tips for the area? I’m not asking for locations or anything just pointers for a first time turkey hunter in se Mn.
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General tip for a new turkey hunter. When you think you’re sitting still, slow down and be more still. Turkeys can pick out movement from a long distance. Ask me how I know :)
 
Another random hunter said:
Get out early, listen for them. I've been trying to find them and get a general idea of where they are. Yesterday I found Tom in full strut with some hens right off the road. Completely caught me off guard! It's my first spring session in 25 years.
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I have been lucky and find them and/or heavy sign fairly consistently. The family and I hike alot looking for sheds and I scout for deer and turkey while we are at it.

Guff Dawg said:
General tip for a new turkey hunter. When you think you’re sitting still, slow down and be more still. Turkeys can pick out movement from a long distance. Ask me how I know :)
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I definitely need to work on sitting still. A little bit of ADHD and alot of excitement and I can't stop moving around :tearsofjoy:

BTaylor said:
Take up golf, it's way less aggravating. ;)
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Gave up golf a few years ago. Never been great but I could chip and putt fairly well. Driving was another story... I lost 16 balls playing 9 holes and haven't played since lol
 
Could one of you expert turkey hunters take a pic of some turkey sign when you run across it scouting. I’m having a hard time locating and identifying which may just mean I need to move locations. The scratching is what I’m mainly looking for besides feathers and I have already got excited about some sign that turned out to be hog instead. Just trying to get it in my brain so it’ll catch my eye in the woods.
 
gcr0003 said:
Could one of you expert turkey hunters take a pic of some turkey sign when you run across it scouting. I’m having a hard time locating and identifying which may just mean I need to move locations. The scratching is what I’m mainly looking for besides feathers and I have already got excited about some sign that turned out to be hog instead. Just trying to get it in my brain so it’ll catch my eye in the woods.
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I am not an expert at all but I have been watching all the youtube videos I can. Some of the better information I have found is from The Hunting Public turkey tour videos. Informative and its always fun to watch them fill their tags consistently. I attribute my archery deer success to watching their videos.
 
Good beginning.....

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Good ending.....

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Too bad the middle part sucked, lol
 
gcr0003 said:
Could one of you expert turkey hunters take a pic of some turkey sign when you run across it scouting. I’m having a hard time locating and identifying which may just mean I need to move locations. The scratching is what I’m mainly looking for besides feathers and I have already got excited about some sign that turned out to be hog instead. Just trying to get it in my brain so it’ll catch my eye in the woods.
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Hahaha this is as obvious as it gets... and all I’ve found so far. Just tracks, no birds


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
gcr0003 said:
Could one of you expert turkey hunters take a pic of some turkey sign when you run across it scouting. I’m having a hard time locating and identifying which may just mean I need to move locations. The scratching is what I’m mainly looking for besides feathers and I have already got excited about some sign that turned out to be hog instead. Just trying to get it in my brain so it’ll catch my eye in the woods.
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@gcr0003 I don't have any "textbook" scouting photos to share, but if I snap any in the near future, I'll post them. In the state forest areas that I hunt in CT, there are lots and lots of stands of oak trees, and a lot of wild turkeys. When the turkeys are in one of those areas, I'll find spots where the leaves are scratched away to the bare ground - spots that are typically 1 to 2 feet in diameter, and there will often be half a dozen or so of these scratchings clustered in proximity - perhaps within an area that's 20 x 20 feet. If you find something that you're not sure is a turkey scratching, look closely at it for other turkey sign. (i.e., a shallow / partial footprint, a feather, or -- most prevalent -- the characteristic "J" shaped turkey scat [see photos below]. The scat is about 2" long, 3/8" to 1/2" in diameter, and is usually white colored at one end.) If they're scratching the leaves away to find & eat acorns, they're usually leaving behind a piece of scat or two in the same exact spots. If you're looking at a possible turkey scratching that doesn't have any turkey footprints/droppings/feathers, there's no way to know for sure if it was a turkey that made it. If you find a concentration of possible scratchings in close proximity, bend down or get on your knees and look at it really closely, like you would if you were looking to find a spec of blood on an intermittent blood trail of a wounded deer.

If after all that, you still can't be sure what animal scratched away leaves in a particular spot, solve the puzzle another way ... use locator calling in the last hour of daylight. Go out scouting in full camo and use a bellows-style gobble call in that last hour of light - if there are gobblers in the area they usually respond instinctively with a "shock-gobble" immediately at that time of day - they can't help themselves! (Owl hoots, hawk screams, and crow caws can also evoke shock-gobbles, but not as consistently as using "locator-gobble" calls in my experience.) If you never get any shock-gobble responses that are in the same vicinity as your suspected turkey scratching(s), they were probably not from a turkey.

If you DO get shock-gobble responses in the vicinity, Make note of where they are responding from -- since it's the last hour of daylight, the tom is in the vicinity of his roosting area.

Close up turkey scat - classic "J" dropping:
Turkey Dropping2.jpg

Typical turkey scat in a turkey scratching:
Turkey Dropping.jpg
 
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