Turkey Hunting Tips

     Now that we have our potential opening day turkey spots narrowed down to maybe 2 or 3 locations, its time to get out and start scouting. A good place to start is with a map of the area you intend to hunt. Opening day in our state and paricularly in the northeastern parts of Washington and the Blue Mt. areas down in the southeast corner will have a fair amount of snow still on the ground and of course the southern exposures will be the first places that will melt off and turn green. These locations are a good bet to start your scouting, particularly if there are farms near by that have provided feed for the turkeys during the winter months. The turkeys will follow the snow line up and feed on the new shoots and insects that will become exposed as the weather warms. I always go online to Google Earth (see side bar) and check out prospective new areas this way first. I look for farms and meadows that have potential and also check out public lands that are on the edge or very near these locations. Always keeping in mind the southern exposures and elevations.
     Once you have found these types of locations, grab your optics, a couple good locater calls such as a crow call or owl hooter and get out early as possible, just as you would if you were actually hunting. I prefer to wear full camo and try and remain as unseen as possible so as not to spook or disturb the turkeys more than I need to. I will usually listen more than I call at first light and only use the owl hooter softly at first. I only want to laocate turkeys and once I do, leave them alone. I only want to know they are using the area and save the stalking or set ups for when the season opens. I never use any turkeys call like hen yelps, clucks or purrs until I know I'll be able to shoot when a tom shows up, anything else just educates an already intelligent and savvy bird.
    Once I have found an area that I like, I'll again go back to my Google Earth maps and check out the entire area and try and locate funnels, ridgetops etc. that might be good travel routes between roosting, dusting and feeding areas. If at all possible, scout these locations, looking for droppings, scratching, feathers, anything that might indicate that they are traveling in these places. If you have a GPS, mark the locations. I always mark my maps with these potential locations and any sightings, and bring the map with you! I update these maps yearly with birds seen, birds shot and where someone may mention they have seen birds. Eventually you'll be able to pattern birds in a given area and increase the odds somewhat in your favor. The more you know, the better you'll be at finding birds and will hopefully be putting more fans and beards on the wall every year.
    If you have some more ideas to share with us, please don't hesitate to join in and post, we'd love to hear from you!
Rich