# Turkey scouting



## 2kids (Oct 5, 2017)

I have been scouting my usual spots/areas but have not seen or heard any birds. How is scouting going for everyone else? Taking my son out on his last youth hunt he is eligible for. I cant believe how time has gone so fast. He is still super excited a to go as if he were 8yr old again. Sure do miss those days of hunting with him.


----------



## MooseMeat (Dec 27, 2017)

You must not have been looking to hard. Turkeys are doing well.

Pro tip: scouting days before the hunt can be beneficial, but scouting general areas in January is even more beneficial


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

MooseMeat said:


> You must not have been looking to hard. Turkeys are doing well.
> 
> Pro tip: scouting days before the hunt can be beneficial, but scouting general areas in January is even more beneficial


Where I hunt during the general season you can't even get there in January without a snow machine. There are also no turkeys there.


----------



## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Critter said:


> Where I hunt during the general season you can't even get there in January without a snow machine. There are also no turkeys there.


Scouting turkeys in the winter when they are still bunched is of great value in some ways. If you are looking for a new general area and you locate winter bunches of birds you know those birds will be somewhere in the general vicinity come hunting season. Armed with the knowledge there are birds in the GENERAL area, you can widen your search with confidence that there are birds somewhere as it gets closer to the hunting season. 
Where you scout in January is probably not where you are going to be hunting in April. Birds winter in about the same places year after year and they spread out into the surrounding areas for the rest of the year. Birds can move several miles and spread out over a large area from their wintering grounds so you might struggle finding them in April, but after a thorough search in January and you don't find any birds, chances are slime you'll find any birds in the surrounding areas come April.
I only scout a couple times during a year...Jan/Feb to get overall bird populations and then a day or two before I hunt to locate a bird(s) and plan a hunt for the next day.


----------



## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

Birds seem to be doing great where I've been looking. Big gangs of Jakes and plenty of Mature birds as well. Hope you guys are able to locate birds and figure it out. I was able to have my 7 year old with me for my fall bird, and experiences like that are what life is all about IMO.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

There's plenty of birds around!


----------

