Scout wild turkeys now

Scout from a car or truck and stay inside to glass. Look for big gobblers like this one.

Hunters have plenty of time to think about the upcoming spring turkey season. That time can be well spent looking around right now.

Turkeys are gathered together in large flocks, and some flocks number 60 to 100 birds. Occasionally a big gobbler will be with them, or will be found nearby, but many of these huge flocks are hens and last year's poults.

It's somewhat easy to do a bit of really early preseason scouting. We don't really try to single out an exceptional gobbler, but if one is seen, it pays to remember where it was found. Each time we go for a drive, and look for birds, keep a mental or physical written note on where birds are found, the time of day, and approximate size of the flock.

A short drive allowed us to find a large number of birds. Keep track of them.

My wife and I was driving home a week ago when a dozen gobblers scooted across the road and flew. When we were 100 yards away, we saw a large number of hens and poults cross the road and they studied us as we drove by.There were two or three really large Toms in the original group, and the group of hens and poults had some little jakes with their perky two-inch beards. They were casually noticed, and the location remembered. I know a guy that owns that land, and it's likely I can get permission to hunt it if the birds stick around that long.

Obviously, no one knows whether they will draw a first- or second-season tag this spring, but those that applied for the guaranteed last season will get a permit.

Another thing that we don't know is whether those big gobblers we saw will be within five miles of where they were seen last week. Winter birds hang pretty tight to areas where they are being fed, or where food is found, but they seldom stick around much after April Fool's Day. They may continue to be very close if there is a large number of hens, but if the hens split for another area, it's a sure bet the gobblers will follow.

This mid-winter scouting for turkeys is no more than an excuse to spend some time looking for birds. Most hunters know the birds will be scattered before the season opens, but it gives us a chance to pursue our sport without harming the birds.

Mid-winter scouting is easy but keep good notes on where gobblers are seen.

It's always a wise idea not to crowd the birds. I have a window-mount for my Bushnell spotting scope and also carry a good pair of Bushnell (1) binoculars. I drive the back roads, and if birds are spotted, out comes the binoculars and spotting scope, and the turkeys are studied from a distance.

There is no need to get out of the car, and it's wise to keep conversations low. Turn off the car, sit still, don't talk with the window down, and study the birds. Draw a map of five or 10 square miles, and mark where birds are seen.

Note the number of gobblers seen and approximate beard length. Count the number of jakes seen, and note the locations and time of day. Turkeys often develop a pattern of feeding, moving, displaying, dusting and all the other things they do.

In due time, these maps showing date, time of day, number of gobblers seen, travel route etc. will form the basis of a pattern for these birds. As turkey hunting season gets closer, study maps and times to pin down where the birds are found at specific times of day.

If they are seen flying up to roost, note with specific detail where these roost trees are located. If it appears the birds will still be there when your hunting season opens, check with landowners for permission if the birds are roosting on private land.

Turkey scouts become quite adept at hiding their whereabouts. I know a guy that leaves one man in the car, and another outside (away from the birds sight) who appears to be getting ready to change a tire. Hunters who sit motionless, with two pair of binoculars trained on an open field or woodlot, will attract attention from passing motorists.

Do your best to avoid being seen glassing for gobblers. It doesn’t pay to advertise.

I've watched other turkey scouts lay down in the seat to avoid being seen by people in cars passing by. They don't want people to see them studying distant birds.

Looking for birds is a fun way to pass the day, and doing some of it now and again just before the season opens, can be of great help when the season does open. Just make sure to do it often enough so you know where the birds will be on opening day.

And ... don't trespass without permission. Stay in your car, watch, make notes but leave your turkey calls at home. People who sit in a car with the window down, and call to visible birds simply educate them, and there is no sense in doing that because it will just hurt your hunting success.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Quality optics make hunting easier

               

Paul Kerby of Mancelona with a big coyote. Notice his big scope.

My vision, at best, is only fair in my right eye. I'm blind in the left eye, but when snow covers the tag alders, and a deer stands motionless back in this type of thick cover, they are very difficult to see.

There's no doubt in my mind that some deer sneak past me without being seen. I cherish what little vision I still have, and those deer that I do see.

Quality optics means everything to active deer hunter like me. The difference between good and bad optics is like the difference between a good apple and one filled with worms.

Even people with wonderful vision should use quality optics for hunting.

I've always believed in fine optics, and also believe that you get exactly what you pay for. I have a pair of Swarovski binoculars, and I'd rather leave home without my bow release than without my binoculars. I know that I can still shoot with my fingers and make a killing shot, but I don't have the same confidence in my vision without using quality glass.

A friend of mine returned to Michigan many years ago from a deer hunt in southern Alabama. He and his wife were hunting with some Louisiana Cajun shrimpers from the Mississippi River delta area, and they all carried big, heavy binoculars and big heavy high-powered scopes.

"What's up with the big binoculars," he asked one of the Gulf Coast shrimpers. He was quickly given a demonstation of the difference between his binoculars and theirs.

"Our binoculars give us another 15 minutes of quality hunting time once your binoculars no longer work," he said, once shooting time had ended. "Look yonder. Can you see that buck standing 10 yards inside the cover by that lightning-blasted pine stump?"

My buddy couldn't see the animal with his optics. The Cajun offered his Swarovski binoculars, and he quickly spotted the buck. That short demonstration offered him more light-gathering qualities, greater magnification and a much greater ability to see deeper into the brush.

We use Swarovski binoculars and rifle scopes.

Alabama is wrapped up in deer, but once they get into thick cover along the edge of the green fields, they are nearly invisible without great optics. People who hunt down in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, spend the extra money needed to buy quality binoculars and scopes.

My ability to see deer enables me to better plan on how to hunt them. In some cases, it means allowing the bucks to come to me; in other situations, it may allow the hunter to make tactical changes in how he tries to hunt that animal.

It goes without saying that seeing deer before they see you is of paramount importance, wherever you hunt. My wife and I each own Swarovski binoculars and scopes, and they've improved our hunting in Michigan and everywhere else we've hunted. Quality optics can help make that happen. For instance, the other day I saw some snow appear to fall off a tag alder in a dense thicket.

There was no wind that day, and I wondered why that happened. I studied the area from my stand, and it took several minutes but then the beam of one antler came into sharp focus. I kept studying the area, and the buck was bedded down inside the alders where he though he was invisible.

Good optics are expensive, but with care, they will last a lifetime.

He wasn't, and he came my way and offered an easy shot. I didn't shoot because I was waiting for a bigger buck. He didn't show up, and I proved to myself again why I shelled out a big chunk of hard-earned money for top-of-the-line gear.

Quality binoculars and scopes are important. Without them, you can have a $5,000 firearm that won't do squat for you because you don't have the optics needed that would allow you to see game.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors