Jereme Haynes sent me this photo and informed me that he captured this buck on his trail camera the last afternoon of the season. His words were “I climbed down early… I had to be somewhere”. That’s gotta hurt, but at least you know where he is next season!

Jereme is currently in Iraq and for that we are really appreciative. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Thanks!

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When looking scouting for signs. The major things that you will look for are scratchings, tracks, feathers, turkey droppings, strutting areas, and dusting bowls.

The scratchings are simply areas where turkey pull back the leaves and debris on the ground to locate food such as acorns, insects, and new growth. They are in a V shape and this makes it easy to tell the direction that the turkeys are traveling. The tip of the V is always pointing in the direction that the turkeys are moving. Also, pay close attention to turkey scratchings around the base of trees. This is a sure sign that a gobbler made the scratchings!

When looking for tracks, walk the roads after rainy periods. You can tell if it’s a gobbler and how big by it’s size. Tracks that are 2 1/4 inches or bigger are usually a tom. The bigger and the deeper the imprint the larger the bird.  The track gives you definite direction in the movement of the birds as well.

When scouting, keep your eyes open for feathers. They will be located under roosting trees, in feeding areas, strut zones and in dust bowls.  A way to identify the Gobbler’s feather is by looking at the tip. The tip of a gobblers feather is black and squared where the tips of a hens feather is rounded.

Be on the look out for turkey droppings. They also will allow you to positively identify whether it’s a gobbler or a hen. The dropping of a gobbler are long and j shaped and the droppings of a hen are more of round blob. The forest floor will be full of droppings below roosting trees and will also be found through out the birds travel routes. Turkey dropping disintegrate quickly so you know that you are in a spot that has been frequented by the birds recently.

Finding strutting areas are the easiest to find by watching fields from a distance. But, if you are on foot you can look for strutting areas by looking for drag marks on the ground. These marks are left by the gobblers wings as he is bowed up spinning, moving around, and showing out for the ladies.

Dusting bowls are where turkeys routinely visit to kick dust up on themselves to rid their skin of parasites. They are used often and many times during the middle of the day. They make a great ambush spot to set up and call sparingly. The turkeys over time will create a small dug out area that many times looks like a tiller has been run through it because the soil will be so loose.

Scouting with trail cameras makes it much easier. With todays technology the digital trail cameras really make it easy to determine how often and at what times turkeys visit an area. They are worth their weight in gold to any serious turkey hunter.

Get out there and and find those scratchings, tracks, feathers, turkey droppings, strutting areas,,dusting bowls, and hang those trail cameras. Pay attention to what each of these are telling you. Is this a tom or a hen, which direction is the bird moving, how far is the sign from the roosting area, what time of the day is the birds using this area, and where is he going? This will allow you to put together the pieces of the puzzle and pattern your bird making it much easier to be in the line of normal travel, which will make it much easier to call the bird because it is always easier to call a tom if you are close to the the general area he is headed anyway.

Happy hunting… have fun… be safe!

Jeremy Cromer

Gobblers normally roost close to the hens. When you start finding scratchings and turkey signs, look around the base of the trees. You will know when you have found the roosting trees because they will have droppings below them. The gobblers normally roost pretty close to the hens. You can determine which tree the gobbler is using by the droppings. Gobbler droppings are approximately 2 inches long and j shaped. Where a hens is more of a circular glob.

Another way to get in the general vicinity of the gobblers roosting tree during the spring is by getting in the woods early morning and late afternoon. Early morning listening for a gobbler to gobble while on roost or the sound of wings flapping on the turkeys fly down is an excellent startegy.  Also, being in the woods in the late afternoon is a good way to locate a roosting area. During the afternoon, look  and listen. While watching feeding areas such as fields late in the afternoon, you can locate the gobblers final feeding ground before going to roost… the roosting area will not be far away. Also, listening for the flapping of the wings and the final gobble of the day late in the afternoon will verify a roosting area.

Get out and spend time searching for the roosting areas. Spending time afield early morning and late afternoon while watching, listening, and searching will put you one step closer to bagging your turkey(s).

Did you miss Turkey Hunting – Scouting is the Key to your Success – Part 1? Click here to read.

Spring Turkey season is just around the corner and scouting is the key that will unlock the door to a successful turkey season. The biggest mistake that turkey hunters make is going to their deer hunting spot opening weekend of the spring turkey season because they were seeing turkeys while on stand deer hunting. Many times I have wasted the first weekend or two hunting birds that had changed habits since I was last in the woods during the winter. Turkeys change habits in the Spring and so should you!

When you are deciding where you are going to hunt open weekend, ask yourself the following questions. Do I know where the gobblers like to roost?…the hens? Do I know where the gobblers strut zone is? Do I know where he is feeding? If you answer no to any of these questions you are not completely prepared for a successful hunt. Can you luck into a bird? Yes, but that’s not any fun! The fun is in the scouting, locating, patterning, and then executing your plan.

You should locate several of these areas before the season begins just in the event you arrive to your first spot and the bird is not gobbling or you arrive to discover a vehicle already parked in your parking spot. It is also useful in the quest to bag a season limit of birds and to rotate the spots you are hunting to keep from educating a single bird to the point of no return.

Don’t rely on past information. With just a couple of weeks left to prepare, get out there, get busy, be safe, take a kid, and most of all have fun!

Click here to read Part 2 – Finding Where The Turkeys Roost.

This is a nice 10 point that was photographed by a trail camera in Calhoun County Alabama on 12/07 2008. As far as we know, he survived the season.