Where to Begin?

[Danny]

Hunting a new property this year for turkey and looking for clue as to where to start, Lots of pines bordering private hay fields, an old flood plain/swamp, small creek, and areas with lots of undergrowth (Blackberry bushes)

was thinking of trying by the creek as the hillside faces south/east

 

whats the best method of trying to locate these guys? owl or crow just after dark and before sunrise, or will the shock gobble in the middle of the night as well?)

[virgil]

Just sit quietly in the woods and listen early in the morning and then before sunset over the next few weeks.  

Where are you in 4F- i'm also Long Island and 4F.

[Danny]

Not far from Oneonta, You?

[virgil]

3 minutes ago, Danny said:

Not far from Oneonta, You?

I'm between Oneonta and Cooperstown.  Good turkey hunting in the area.

[Danny]

Had 2 Toms off my deck 2 weeks ago

 

 

[CharlieNY]

I would set up on a field close to the pine woods. Turkeys love to roost in pine trees at night and will often fly down into an adjacent field first thing in the morning. This has been my most successful setup for many years now. But no matter what you have to be patient and put in your time if you want to score. Good luck.        valoroutdoors.com

[Untwisted Pretzel logic]

Lots of good suggestions. CharlieNY hit the nail on the head with the key part of any hunting strategy, but especially so for turkey.  Be patient.  

If there are any turkeys in the area and they can hear your call, they will eventually make it to your location.  Just make sure that you are camouflaged in with netting, brush or something to cover your movements; and be comfortable, so you don't move so much and can be patient. Good luck and be safe.

[G-Man]

2 hours ago, Danny said:

Hunting a new property this year for turkey and looking for clue as to where to start, Lots of pines bordering private hay fields, an old flood plain/swamp, small creek, and areas with lots of undergrowth (Blackberry bushes)

was thinking of trying by the creek as the hillside faces south/east

 

whats the best method of trying to locate these guys? owl or crow just after dark and before sunrise, or will the shock gobble in the middle of the night as well?)

1st Scout, scratchings, drag marks from strutting, droppings under roost trees. If you can get out and listen morning and evening from safe distance or glass fields from safe distance.. 

You can't get a bird if they are not there. Don't call to scout.

If you want to locate a loud horn, dog whistle,peacock call will cause a shock gobble as will an elk bugle. Owl calls and crow calls are common and if used by others in area they catch on and don't respond. 

 

[Danny]

29 minutes ago, G-Man said:

1st Scout, scratchings, drag marks from strutting, droppings under roost trees. If you can get out and listen morning and evening from safe distance or glass fields from safe distance.. 

You can't get a bird if they are not there. Don't call to scout.

If you want to locate a loud horn, dog whistle,peacock call will cause a shock gobble as will an elk bugle. Owl calls and crow calls are common and if used by others in area they catch on and don't respond. 

 

LOL i can see it now another hunter in the distance with his buddy "Holy Sh*t there are Elk in here   I do here Barred owl's calling almost nightly by me 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Danny

[dbHunterNY]

2 hours ago, blackbeltbill said:

I would be within 100 Yards of those Private Hay Fields.

 Call that Private Tom across the Border to you. 

easier said than done. once birds get out into the hay fields to strut you can call to them but often they know hens come to them. if they aren't strutting and instead working across the field it often helps to call to them from cover to get them to stop of up but then head them off in the direction their traveling. seems like once they're out in the open their minds are made up what they're going to do.

[dbHunterNY]

i'm with others. don't call or go stomping around in there. april the birds are very vocal. go early am and listen. high points of fields with a view are always hot spots for strutting. their best asset is sight but they view the world from 2-3' off the ground.

Edited April 8, 2022 by dbHunterNY

[Danny]

Would they congregate around areas like this? I assume maybe roost on the edges although that stuff is soft and will swallow you if you walk on it

 

 

[dbHunterNY]

4 minutes ago, blackbeltbill said:

It is Fun calling Birds over Borders. 

fun to try anyway.

[grampy]

4 minutes ago, Danny said:

Would they congregate around areas like this? I assume maybe roost on the edges although that stuff is soft and will swallow you if you walk on it

 

 

Turkey's may very well roost in the hemlocks, that borders that swampy area. But will not likely walk through the soggy ground. They may pitch off the roost to the other side, or down amongst the relatively open ground below the hemlocks. Then, move to a larger open gathering area. Try setting up between the two area's, roost and closest gathering spot.

Before the season starts, I don't like to make any calls to the turkey's. They just get educated. One thing I've used in the past to locate turkey's on the roost, is the compressed air horn, in a can, used on boats. Very loud, and something they don't often here.

Scout from a distance with good glass whenever possible. Be the turkey ninja!!

Good luck this season!

[dbHunterNY]

53 minutes ago, Danny said:

Would they congregate around areas like this? I assume maybe roost on the edges although that stuff is soft and will swallow you if you walk on it

i'm with grampy. they won't readily walk through the muck. as that swamp grass grows taller over their heads they won't like it because they can't see predators coming. just in the tree line there's likely a trail the goes along the perimeter. IMO they'll use that and work around the open swamp if that's were they're headed. we have a couple swamps on the farm and that's always how the birds navigate them.

[dbHunterNY]

5 minutes ago, blackbeltbill said:

Check my Journal . Pics to back up what,I say.

i'm not saying it can't be done. i'm saying birds already out in the open can be stubborn. 

[squirrelwhisperer]

Come May, I will be hunting stripers.

[Danny]

5 minutes ago, squirrelwhisperer said:

Come May, I will be hunting stripers.

Turkeys, Stripers, Tuna and in that order

[squirrelwhisperer]

59 minutes ago, Danny said:

Turkeys, Stripers, Tuna and in that order

I don't think 2 ppl qualifies for a GTG but sure sounds like a good time to me, especially since I have never taken a turkey

[Pygmy]

5 hours ago, Danny said:

Would they congregate around areas like this? I assume maybe roost on the edges although that stuff is soft and will swallow you if you walk on it

 

 

That looks like a beaver meadow...It would probably be the LAST place I would expect to see a turkey...

Think OPEN... Open woods without much understory, open fields, etc.     Good luck...

[Buckmaster7600]

i'm with grampy. they won't readily walk through the muck. as that swamp grass grows taller over their heads they won't like it because they can't see predators coming. just in the tree line there's likely a trail the goes along the perimeter. IMO they'll use that and work around the open swamp if that's were they're headed. we have a couple swamps on the farm and that's always how the birds navigate them.

I shot a bird in maine last year in a beaver meadow just like that. If there isn’t any other open areas around until the grass gets too high they’ll use that just as any other field. They don’t know the difference between a beaver meadow, a cow pasture and a hay field.


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[dbHunterNY]

I shot a bird in maine last year in a beaver meadow just like that. If there isn’t any other open areas around until the grass gets too high they’ll use that just as any other field. They don’t know the difference between a beaver meadow, a cow pasture and a hay field.


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If that's the only thing they've got then I agree. By May I feel like that stuff is pretty tall here.

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[turkeyfeathers]

Update?