Turkey hunting preparation should begin long before opening day. Just as with whitetail deer, you want to know where birds are traveling and breeding during daylight. Better than deer hunting is the ability to scout from afar. A friend who lived near a large tract of public land drove to work through his hunting area, stopping often to aggressively crow-call. Even before dawn, toms would gobble in response, and by the time the season opened, he had a literal roadmap of turkey roosts.
Relocate Trail Cameras
You may well have annual subscriptions for your trail cameras, so relocate them to cover likely turkey hunting spots. Just as important as the size of feeding gobblers is the time they pass by and the reason. Are they going toward a field to feed or breed, or returning to a roost site? Is the gobbler with hens, other toms, or traveling alone?
Don’t Be Confused by Early Flocks
Wild turkeys often change location as the nesting season approaches. It’s not uncommon to see 40 or more turkeys in a winter flock on a farm or ag field in February and early March. However, as the nesting season approaches, these flocks will break up into small groups, and hens will head to their nesting sites with gobbler in tow. Reports of large winter flocks in an area show good survival numbers, but not necessarily a great hunting location.
Here’s a short video covering five important steps for early-season success.
