Mass Turkey Scouting
Massachusetts
All my birds have been shotgun in NY or VT. We would have a few days to hunt, show up, scout & kill.
This will be my first MA hunt, public land, zone 11. I know the damn things are everywhere but I also know they do a great job disappearing once hunters start chasing them down.
My question is, do you think 2 weeks pre-season is too close to opening day to scout in MA? Any suggestions?
Thanks
No, your fine. Ill check birds or get reports from friends (thanks Jrdeerslayer) up to and through the season. That info may change my approach moment to moment.
I wouldnt "work" birds as many do prior to the season... that just seems to train them in a negative way. But going out and walking to find sign or locating birds after sunset or before sunrise... all good.
Actually, if you know the lay of the land, I dont even do a lot of walking through the woods any more to turkey scout. I know most of the areas I hunt birds extremely well, so most of my scouting is just driving, stopping, hooting, and noting response locations. Super low impact and gets you the info you need.
Should be a great year with a few light winters and dry spring / summers...
Will
I agree with Will. One thing you may run into in MA is maybe more Hunter pressure compared to the other States you have hunted. I scout birds year round and I would have to say my more aggressive scouting comes 2 weeks before the season and throughout the season,birds will spread out more closer to the season,like Will said don't "work" birds till it's time to hunt! One of my favorite scouting tactics for spring Gobblers (especially 2 weeks before the season) is grab a COFFEE! Before sun up and go to areas new or old and park get out and just listen for birds gobbling off the roost and then move quickly to another location before fly down. The key is the COFFEE! Good luck!
I usually go up until the season even the day before and run and gun without the gun meaning walk the trails before light at a good pace and count the gobbles and note what direction. I hurry up and get into truck and move to the next spot if not too far away and repeat before they stop gobbling.
Thanks for the info guys. Just ran into a few while pruning an apple orchard today.
This thread suggests to me that i turkey hunt exactly like Spike and Deanman ??, ha! Good point Dean, coffee is important... by the end of turkey season dunks doesnt make a big enough cup, i should just order a box of joe and drinkbit like a jiant mug !!
Does everyone here prefer the owl call for scouting and locating turkeys preseason?
I use the owl call first then a couple yelps after if the owl call doesn't produce a gobble. I once was out and yelped with no gobble back then all of a sudden a real owl hooted a tom sounded off. I bought an owl call soon after.
I like to slam my truck door!.....that will fire them off...lol(it does work)....owl call is a must and also crow call. My buddy sometimes brings out his Elk bugle to fire them off..such a riot when he brings during hunting season..
Peacock/woodpecker call is my goto. other than what deanman suggested (slamming doors :) )
pileated woodpecker is one of the loudest natural calls out there for MA...peacock is super loud but not native....but it sure does get them to shock-gobble.
here is a link to the sound of a pileated....about 22 sec in to the video
I owl hoot first (no call, I'm just that good... :) ha ha ha).
I'd read about "silent" dog whistles working. Used one for a few years and it worked surprisingly well! Lost it in the woods... I may pick another up.
I knew one guy who used a air horn in rural spots.
All that said, I like to run and gun, and once I locate a bird, until I set up, I try to only owl hoot so I dont give my location away. If I'm in desperation mode, and I'm just walking out of the woods praying, I may cackle - that's actually worked a couple times ;)
Great info here guys. I've only dabbled in turkey hunting the last couple years and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, so this info is super helpful to me. I'm going to make it a point to get out more often this spring.
I seriously start scouting when I see birds hit on the highway. That tells me that the birds are leaving their winter areas for spring breeding areas.
Also look for scraching in the woods,indicates Turkey feeding areas. When birds fly down from the roost they usually go for feed so where the hens feed the gobblers will also go. If the gobbler did not roost with the hens he is on his own he will check out popular feeding area,asthese are great spots to set up. I like Will love to run and gun! It's all about hearing that gobble so with that being said when I'm running and gunning I am a aggressive caller until I get a bird to gobble then I Get a feel for that bird wether he is hened up or not then I determine if he is huntable that day or move and hunt him another day.
This is all great advice. Found abunch of scrath in a piece I scouted. Happened to stumble upon an old chewedup shed on the same trip. I'm getting excited for turkey hunting. Should be a blast.
Dean we are to similar. If turkey's stop gobbling, I very well may stop hunting them. I'd rather work a bird for 2hrs that gobbles it's head off and never comes in, than hunt one for 30' that gobbles once on the roost and just comes in quiet.
The vittles are better on the latter, but the experience of hearing one gobble, especially when they are fairly close and you "feel" the drumming... Frigging awesome!
Scouting is all done,driving near work. I had to owl hoot to get the thing out of the road! ;-)
Spent the last 2 weekends scouting and practice some roosting. Birds seem to be where I need them to be and quite a bit of fun watching morning activity. Of course this will all fall to crap on opening day lol
Also as the sun began to light up the woods Saturday morning I did notice I had roosted a big Fisher lol. I let him have his space and moved on.
