# Newbie Questions



## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

O.k., this is going to be my first year turkey hunting so I have a couple questions that might be basic so please no laughing . I will be hunting on my 10 acre parcel this year April 18th. The past couple of months I have been seeing consistanly birds everyday on my way home from work. These birds range from 8 birds up to 52 birds I counted one day. These birds are about 3/4 to a mile from my property. What is the home range of a turkey? Do they break up into groups like deer? On the average how many roost in a group? I guess what I am getting at is can I expect to see any of those 52 birds to come down my way. I have seen birds in the field adjactent to my property and I have tracks going through my yard but I was wondering about the big flock I have been seeing. Thanks for any info, hope I haven't sound to much like a rookie.


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## flockshot (Feb 23, 2007)

you could be covered in birds..or you could be vacant...i wouldnt be suprised if your vacant....they should break up quite well, but whether a bird finds your ten acres or not is a crap shoot. the crappy part is you wont know if they have untill a few weeks before your season...maybe even a day before...i wish you all the best! but i suggest you try to get permission on a few other spots.


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## ezcaller (Feb 21, 2009)

I would think those 52 birds will break up into several groups starting this month. It depends on how many toms are in that group and where the hens decide to go.The home range of a turkey can be as much as four square miles and even more at different times of the year. If there is a good food source there, they may stay together longer and start breeding in that area. There will be little gobbling or movement because they have everything they need at hand.Usually there will be one dominate gobbler to a group of hens and that can very to individual family groups.Three to ten hens would probably be a good estimate. 
As the spring progresses new food sources will pop up and the hens will begin looking for nesting areas as they move out, the toms will move with them.I think you have a good chance of birds moving through your area if you have something on your property or adjoining properties that they need.The question is will they move through when you are able to hunt them.
Look at all the properties surrounding yours and see what they have to offer. Ask the neighbors when they normally see birds and keep that info filed away because it could be a good basis to plan your hunt in the future. Do they begin their movement when the food source is gone or when the snow cover is gone -is there a river or ridge that they follow when they disperse. It will be somewhat of a crap shoot as flockshot says and start knocking on doors now.
If that ten acres is all you have then make use of every inch of it. Use various perimeter areas as calling spots to cover all the adjoining properties and pull a bird to you. 
Those were all solid questions keep asking and keep searching for answers. Good Luck


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## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

Thanks guys, thats the kinda info I was looking for. My 10 acres is all wooded with mature oaks, the surrounding properties are open farms, typical Monroe County farmland. I have a big track of land about a 1/4 mile to the W and about 3/4 of mile to the NE. I might be able to get permission to hunt some of the property to the W but the other will be difficult. I need to go talk the the one owner. My plan was to set a pop-up blind on my property and try calling birds that might be on the closer track of woods. I do have a locator call, so when it gets closer to the season I will have to see if they are there. The encouraging thing is that I have seen two flocks on seperate occassions in the field next to me. This has been in the last 2 weeks. The one flock was a group of 8 long beards and the other time there was 11 and they were mixed about half and half. I did notice fresh tracks in the back yard yesterday. Thanks for the info and keep it coming if you can.


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

They will break up before long. The hens seek out nesting ranges, and the gobblers will follow. With all the open farm land around you, I would suspect hens will be attracted to your wood lot. There will be feed, roosting and potientially good nesting along the edges, or any thick areas. Sitting in the pop up blind is the way to go. I would bring a lunch, call soft and hunt from early morning until 2:00. I hunt similar territory. The birds come on my place 8:00 to 10:00. The best hunting is quite often 10:00 - 1:00 on my land. Don't get out and walk around. The turkeys have great eyes, and will spot you across the open fields from 1/4 mile away with ease. There not like deer. Keep windows open in the direction you want to shoot, Keep windows behind you closed. The blind will look dark inside to them, and you can move around without being seen


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## buck11pt24 (Mar 11, 2007)

With only 10 acres, I wouldn't be out doing much as in walking around or trying to shock gobble them with locator calls. My prefered method of knowing if the toms are around, is to sit a few mornings from advantage point that keeps you from actually being visible from the birds, and just listen at day break starting a week before season. If they are there you will hear them doing their thing without human contact. This way you are not going to chance spooking any birds. 10 acres is easy to scare away the birds for season. Also when sitting up your blind, don't put it directly where you hear the birds. Put it between the roosted birds and where they travel after fly down. If there's a grassy opening on this route would be a good spot. You should be able to get a good idea of this path by listening in the early mornings. I am no expert, but I don't want you to accidentally bump the birds from your area. This is how I scout a new area. Good luck


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## Ack (Oct 3, 2004)

bishs said:


> They will break up before long. The hens seek out nesting ranges, and the gobblers will follow. With all the open farm land around you, I would suspect hens will be attracted to your wood lot. There will be feed, roosting and potientially good nesting along the edges, or any thick areas. Sitting in the pop up blind is the way to go. I would bring a lunch, call soft and hunt from early morning until 2:00. I hunt similar territory. The birds come on my place 8:00 to 10:00. The best hunting is quite often 10:00 - 1:00 on my land. Don't get out and walk around. The turkeys have great eyes, and will spot you across the open fields from 1/4 mile away with ease. There not like deer. Keep windows open in the direction you want to shoot, Keep windows behind you closed. The blind will look dark inside to them, and you can move around without being seen


Very good info here.....keep the intrusion to a minimum, do not over call, and hunt the mid-day hours and you'll tag your first bird this spring.


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## no thyme (Jun 25, 2009)

welcome to your new addiction!!!!!!!!!!!
carpenters rule: measure twice and cut once.
turkey hunters rule: call once, watch and listen twice as much.:lol:
good luck!


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## flockshot (Feb 23, 2007)

no thyme said:


> welcome to your new addiction!!!!!!!!!!!
> carpenters rule: measure twice and cut once.
> turkey hunters rule: call once, watch and listen twice as much.:lol:
> good luck!


 unless your admittably call crazy like me...its crazy..i cant stop.lol


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## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

Thanks for the info guys. Bishs, I do plan on pretty much hunting all day. I planned on just going out back and plopping my but in my pop up blind all day and see what happens. I do have permission to hunt the open field next to me, so I plan on putting my decoy in the opening and setting the blind in the woods on the edge of my property. I'm hoping something will see the decoy from a ways away.


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## double lung (Sep 7, 2007)

outdooralex said:


> Thanks for the info guys. Bishs, I do plan on pretty much hunting all day. I planned on just going out back and plopping my but in my pop up blind all day and see what happens. I do have permission to hunt the open field next to me, so I plan on putting my decoy in the opening and setting the blind in the woods on the edge of my property. I'm hoping something will see the decoy from a ways away.


If you can see that field from an area where you won't disturb birds then start checking the field in mornings right after fly-down time. They will fly down and strut somewhere first thing in the morning. If they are strutting in that field first thing in the morning the week before your hunt just watch from a distance, pick a spot for your blind, and STAY AWAY until kilin' time!!! 

If they're not strutting in that field and you can get somewhere close enough to hear them gobble on the roost WITHOUT SPOOKING THEM then you can listen to what direction they go first thing off the roost. Usually it will be to a somewhat secluded part of a field or to an open or semi-open woodlot where they can strut and the ladies can see them from 100 yards or so. After you listen to them a couple of mornings you should have their morning "strut zone" pegged and you can go in there in the afternoon, well after they are gone, and make a set to kill them from.

If they are flying down straight to the field from the roost it can be a real bear. The only solution I have found is a pop-up blind in the field right where they like to land. A deke can be a HUGE help on field birds, as long as they haven't been shot at or spooked when coming in to dekes in the past. Get to the blind 2 hours before daylight and take a nap until they wake you up gobbling. The blind right out in the open will not bother them, and it's about your only option to get close to field birds. 

If they fly straight down to a field you can also watch where they leave the field every day and ambush them later in the morning when they leave the field. 

Find where they strut first thing off the roost and you'll be well on your way to killing 




Oh, and welcome to the annual giant chess match in the spring woods!!


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## outdooralex (Jan 7, 2002)

Thanks for the info Double Lung sound like some good stuff. I know there is alot to learn and I am certainly not going to pick it all up in a month. I have been deer hunting for almost 30 years and I am still learning. I think I will start learning alot more about the location of the birds when I can get out and start scouting on the weekends. I wish this weather would snap.


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## don (Jan 20, 2001)

And don't be at all concerned with trying to conceal your blind. Turks pay absolutely no attention to it unless they see movement from inside.
Last year I had a hen come and stand on one of my tent stakes not 20 minutes after I had set it up in an open alfalfa field.

Turkeys and popups go together like soup and crackers which makes it nice, especially for someone doing it with stick and string....


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