The Hunting Beast

Probably going to depend a lot on where you are.


For me, public land, I head for big woods and typically find ways I can access deep woods easily..power lines, gas lines, hiking trails etc.

My birds usually roost on the ridges. Usually just off the side. Points are also hot. Usually the big gentle points.


They'll travel and feed and strut certain areas. But it's going to carry based on the habitat.


Public land though, I try to avoid birds near the road and parking areas and try to avoid fields and such. Just because they get messed with constantly...though I've had some good hunts close to the road or parking areas..


A lot is dependent on the local area and how the birds use the area.

Depending on the number of birds you have around, it can be real easy to locate them or a real challenge. The obvious things to look for are tracks, scratching and droppings, but where to find those things can vary greatly over different types of terrains.

Roosting will typically be on "edges".......ridge edges, woodlot edges, water edges, etc. Food sources can be anything from acorns in big woods to bugs in open meadows. Birds also need to have some sort of "grit" to digest their food, which they will typically find near two tracks or roads.

Like Mauser mentioned, birds near the roads and two tracks will usually get hammered by the road hunters, and while you can kill birds that way, the birds found back in the woods will typically commit to calling much easier.

Best way to locate is to get out a couple weeks before your season early in the morning and listen for them to sound off first thing....no calling is needed. Once you have the roost pegged you can see where they go after they hit the ground. While you're out there look for the above sign and you should be able to get on a bird or two come season.

Mostly hunt hardwood swamps and leased logging land with pines. There is public land with hills I could hunt too.

i bust a lot of turkeys in the spring and fall when I am scouting/ hunting near water creeks, rivers etc
they seem to love to roost in those big trees near the moving water

last year I was 3 sticks up in zero dark thirty when a turkey busted out of the tree i was climbing, woke me up pretty good because I though the tree was coming down hahah

if you can get to some water away from parking and easy access that can produce (has for me on public land birds)

ill be going out after some birds in big hill country public this year. I always struggle getting birds to answer my calls. would you guys say focusing on ridges is a good starting point if i am going in blind with minimal preseason intel?
thanks

If you are hunting marshland dont be suprised to see how deep they will go. You dont really think of turkeys in or around a marsh but my buddy last year killed a very call shy bird by figuring out that when he was called to he would go the complete opposite way. So he had his dad call to where when that tom headed the other direction for the cattails my buddy was there to pick him off. It worked. I have been amazed to see where turkeys hamg out around here.

northeast beast wrote:ill be going out after some birds in big hill country public this year. I always struggle getting birds to answer my calls. would you guys say focusing on ridges is a good starting point if i am going in blind with minimal preseason intel?
thanks

That's where I would start.

good post