6 replies to this topic

[Hunterny28]

I have not hunted stateland much and never for turkeys. Where I do most of my turkey hunting is a mixture of farm feilds and woods. I usually set up near a roost or an edge of a feild and call them in. I was wondering if you guys had any luck seeing turkeys in stateland. The stateland where I would be hunting is almost all wooded with a high canopy. You think their will be birds there? or shold I drive the extra 20 mins and hunt the farm? I know I need to get out and scout. I don;t want to put any scouting efforts in if you don't think it would be an ideal location for some gobblers.

by the way... I can't wait for may!!

[G-Man]

Well april is a great month to go trout fishing and listen for birds! There are birds almost everywhere these days. but there is only one way to know for sure you have to go out and listen/or look in march n april if there is a light dusting of snow for tracks / strut marks.. The only problem with stateland is the bird you found may be found by a lot of other people! I have seen/taken and had friends take a lot of birds off stateland especially after the first weekend!  Sounds like you have a good back up area as well though so put some time in on the stateland and learn what it holds and learn the topography. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised what our stateland can produce and hold!

[Hunterny28]

good point, I will try to get out and see some signs. Gives me a reason to get out and enjoy the outdoors after being cooped up all winter.

I just was wondering how many birds like to hang out in the woods. Because at some spots this stateland is pretty thick .

[stubbz]

lot of woodlands near my house and i have seen turkeys come threw the yards but i hunted in there a lot this past fall and never saw a turkey or tracks for them, but got out of my truck after work one day and heard one yelping only a couple hundred yards into the woods. they are there but very hard to track down and i think they tend to stick around certain areas.

[G-Man]

I have only killed bird in big woods no fields for me... the trick is you get them before they get to the fields!

[growalot]

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I have only killed bird in big woods no fields for me... the trick is you get them before they get to the fields!

This is the same for me as well...here are pics of the areas we took birds last year and where pre-hunt pics were taken....

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[Uncle Nicky]

I've hunted state land lots of times, the biggest hurdle is trying to figure out if the woods hold birds. IMO, best bet is to ask around, and do LOTS of scouting. If you see birds in surrounding fields, good chance they're spending a portion of their days in the nearby wood lots. Some pre-dawn trips in the woods before the season opens listening for gobbles should give you a clue as to whether to hunt the woods.