HISTORY SCOUTING IS THE KEY Two definitions you will need to know. History – The branch of knowledge that deals with the recording, analysis, etc, of past events. Scouting – A person sent to spy out the enemy’s strength, actions, etc. History Scouting – The branch of knowledge that deals with the recording the wild turkey’s actions, and analysis of past events I believe success stories can tell you a lot. But, I also believe you learn more from your mistakes. After hunting a few years after one certain bird in one certain area I have learned a lot more from my mistakes than I did from the one day of success.

Scouting each year tells you a lot about where you see the birds, what they are eating, where they are eating and drinking and how the courting and breeding season is progressing. It is one thing you never want to skip on.

One of the worst things a hunter can do is not record your hunts. Don’t just record you successes, record everything you see or hear. There are so many different ways to keeping track of the animals in your area. Paper, computer software, video, cameras, tape recorders. You just have to decide what is best for you. I typically do my by written track record of where I see turkeys, when I see turkeys then I put that in my computer at a later time.

One of the thing you see a lot of now days are topographic maps and are easy to get as turning on you computer now. Try putting the current year the top of the page then every time you see turkeys put mark on the page with a date. After a few years it will help you remember the area even better, or show your new hunting buddy of where you see the turkeys on your property or area. Even keeping separate folder for different areas make things easier.

Well it is time for new way to scout. History Scouting after just a few years of notes and maps you will be able to take that final piece of the puzzle and put it all together for the areas you hunt.

You might be asking what this has to do with the silence of the gobbler? Well it has everything to do with it. After a few years you will find favorite areas for turkeys to roost. Even if it is not the same tree you will find some of the same areas will be used.

You will find favorite areas they like to scratch for food. May not always be the same exact location but it will be in the same area. Might even skip a year, but it will start to show a pattern.

Strut areas will even start to show up. Some hunters have seen this for many years with gobbler strutting in the same area each year.

I bet you have even had this happen to you. You set up in an area you know that gobbler you roosted the night before should come, only to have that next morning for the boss tom to head out the other way. Maybe that’s a direction another gobbler had gone out in the past.

Once you have put this all together all you need to do is hunt. You have solved the hardest part of the equation. If you hunt where the birds want to be, they will come.

You might have already done this in your mind, but get it on paper. Why you might ask?

Well take a moment and stop reading and yell for your kids or your grandkids that’s why. Take a moment and do you know a place your parents or grandparents might have hunted but you never have. Well this is one way you can pass along a heritage to your kids. Every second you wait is another second lost.

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER  Maybe you get a chance to listen for one to go to roost the night before. If you do get a chance to do this, don’t leave the area with out doing the same. For these hush mouth birds you have to put every sound a wild turkey makes together. You are trying to sell the boss tom that you are a group on new ladies in town. Be sure you give a few calls and some scratching in the leaves, then of course some sounds of your ladies going up and roosting. Then with a few more calls to let him know. It can basically be almost dark when you do this. Don’t worry you not calling him you just give him some sweet sounds to remember through the night. Just be sure and get out quite after it has turned dark

Well morning finally gets here, you get to the area you know the turkeys want’s to be. The same area you might have roosted some turkeys but if you did not, nothing changes on what your are about to do.

You get your decoys out and you will need them when he comes looking, you don’t here one gobble this morning. There is hope roosting in the tree you just can’t see him or hear him. But, one thing is for sure that boss gobbler can hear you.

You must become ever little sound of a flock of turkey’s make. From the first sound of maybe two hens in a tree. Then add a jake gobble that might just make him mad. But don’t stop there. They have to fly down and hit the ground, make those wing beats loud. Then show some excitement and scratching on the ground. As if you where a group of hens finding food and working out the pecking order right in the area he has heard so many times before. Don’t forget that jake gobble might just make him mad.

Even after you done your best cadence of calling. Wait about 15 minutes then start up again. That old gobbler just sits out there listening to see if the gals are for real. Remember the first three rules of a turkey hunter. Patience, patience, patience, I have use this routine for hours then out about 100 yards you hear a gobble then the wings coming off the roost. I bet you almost forgot he has stopped gobbling because no one has been coming to his calls for last few days. But he fired up know with new girls in town. Now that you have his attention don’t over call, that big gobbler did not get big by dump moves. Just keep his interest until he sees the decoys. That will be the final straw that will break his back. BOOM

SEE YA IN THE WOODS

Remember any thing worth doing is worth doing right. With putting scouting and hunting in the past down on paper, and becoming a flock of hens, your next hunt should come together for you.

Hope to see you in the woods. Horntagger

 

MISSOURI GOBBLER Photo Taken by Allen "horntagger" Morris - March 27th, 2002

THE HUNT FOR Tree Roost'N Wing Flappe'N Hen Chase'N Gobble'N Spit'N Drum'N Spur'N Scratch'N Feather Dust'N Strut'N Check out more preseason photos from the MSIN

 

Photo, trigger man and videographer. Sometimes it all comes together like it is supposed to.

My first kill on camera!  Opening day 2002.  I dropped my son off at school in my camos headed to the edge of town hiked to the center of the 40 acre plot, he was gobbling before I got set up.  He was a good distance away. I set up the camera on the tripod and started giving him some slate and then a little mouth answering him about every other gobble.  When I could tell he was on his way I shut up and luckily caught site of his head coming through the brush.  When he emerged from the brush he was strutting.  He stopped about 6 steps from the decoy.  I gave him enough time to put on a little show, drumming, spitting and strutting.  I had to shoot him strutting and he disappeared in a cloud of feathers 12 steps from the camera.  The black and gray things on the ground in this photo are feathers, they were everywhere.  21 pounds, 10 inch beard, 7/8" spurs. Just a hot two year old but one I will remember for a long time.  Dropped my son off at 8, was done with photos and walking out by 9 and it was a pretty long photo session.   Raw, Uncut, get it on the web now, video of the hunt and some preseason gobler flock footage click below to see them now. Turkey Videos

 

Missouri Turkey Guides and Outfitters

HEREFORDALE RANCH	High Adventure Ranch
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Tim Gamm, Broker  Calvert's General Insurance Agency  124 West Main  Bowling Green, Mo. 63334  (573) 324-2321 timgamm@calvertsinsurance.com

All new defintion for harvetsing Gobblers.
Photo provided by: Coveys4ever.

Welcome to Missouri Spring Turkey Season
Photo By: Allen "horntagger" Morris

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Photo By: Allen Morris Welcome to Wild Missouri "Send us your Rare Photo's of Wild Turkey's"

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Photo and Story from the Independent Journal - Potosi, Mo.  PURE WHITE GOBBLER Pat Nichelson harvested this 17 pound white gobbler with 1/2" spurs and 71/2" black beard at 1:30 P.M. Monday, October 16th in the pouring rain. The bird was almost an albino, pink feet, toes, etc. but he had brown eyes.  Photo By Kevin Small of  ktshunts.com

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I really enjoy yalls website very much.......very informative.......and interesting.......im Tim Burris I live in Louisiana, but I guide at L&L Farms, Silver Lake Missouri....attached is a pic of a nice Perry County bird.........2002 Spring season.....taken the second week of the season.......23.3 pounds, 11&1/2 inch beard and nice 1&1/4 inch sharp spurs....boy was he henned up bad.......he was very call shy......even a cluck he would go the other way gobblin his head off......after 2&1/2 hours of a see-saw battle....lol.... when he gobbled,  I gobbled back at him with my natural voice.......he came in on my blind side struttin and doin his spit and drum thing........shot him at 9 steps.......Folks have patience and dont give up.....sometimes hen callin don't work....I even mocked a gobbler fight and he got closer........he couldn't stand the thought of his girlfriends with buddies over there.......try new things they work......scratch in the leaves.......slap a wing on the ground and mock a fight.......crawl away and change trees like your leavin........these things work to fool ole mr. longbeard.......good luck to everyone for the spring 2003 season......think safety and take a kid huntin......GOD bless!!!    Timbo......

Timbo

 

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