Looking to get into spring turkey...

[A&N_Hunter]

Hey Guys & Gals...

 

The wife and I are considering going out for spring turkey this year for the very first time..ever. Outside of reading the regs and practicing on a diaphragm call, I know absolutely nothing about where to go and what to look for in a set. We don't have any real access to private land, so we would have to look at public land.

 

Does anybody or would anyone be willing to offer any advice as to where to go or what exactly to look for?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[Williemo]

First you got to find a good location for your stand and then bait like crazy. They love corn.

[mazzgolf]

Start scouting now. If you are around public land that still has snow, look for tracks in the snow (I found a spot or two like that in years past). But if not, if the ground is soft, or muddy, look for tracks. Can't miss turkey tracks! Scout edges of fields - the birds love the fields in the rain. In fact, when it rains, go hide yourself next to some fields and see if they come out.

 

They are pretty much everywhere in south and central Jersey - no idea how it is up north. But if you start scouting now, I'm pretty confident you'll be able to find one or two places by the time season comes.

[Cedars]

Good luck. Turkey is a load of fun.

[johnnyo8148]

1st - Where are you located?

2nd - Mouth calls are the hardest to use for new turkey hunters -- a box call is always the best tool with which to start. HAving said that, get a mouth call and start practicing.

3rd - I've taken a lot of birds off of public land (even during D week), so scouting is key. Right now the Toms are rejoining the group (at least that is what I'm seeing in my areas) and patterns are starting to form, so scouting, as others have said, is key.

 

Spring turkey is one of the best hunting seasons because it is so interactive. If your calls are ok to decent, the Toms and Jakes will respond.

[Devil Horns]

The permit lottery period ends next week. Make sure to get your application in.

[cecil973]

I've had limited success turkey hunting public land but one big tip I got from an old timer that's helped me alot is to not call or call very little on public land. Public land birds (at least up north) by me are so conditioned from everyone else calling at him they begin to work away from all these false calls. And like other have said scout alot and go deeper than the lazy guys good luck!

 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[Njkoren]

Turkey hunting seminars for north and south jersey. I am thinking about going to the south seminar. I put a lot of time in last year and didnt see much. Think the turkeys are less vocal now because of predator population.

 

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/news/2017/turkseminarnorth17.htm

 

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/news/2017/turkseminarsouth17.htm

[Bucksnbows]

You want to scout looking for droppings, dust bowls, feathers (often in or around those dusting bowls), and turkey "scratchings" where the leaves are turned over, often under oak trees as they search for last fall's acorns on the ground.  Find properties with some openings and/or fields near the hardwood forests up north.  Plenty of public lands birds, but as others mentioned, they are often overly called to by hunters scouting pre season.  Less is more when it comes to calling, always remember that!  Newbies get excited when their calls are answered by a gobbler, but they often then make the mistake of continuing to call and call, often getting response gobbles.  But in time, that gobbler loses interest and heads off.  Shut up instead and let the gobbler(s) come look for you.  They are accustomed to the hens finding them, so if you get their attention, sometimes the best thing to do is shut up and wait.  They may very well come in silent, so don't move around and be watchful.  If you do have a hot gobbler coming in, there is few things more exciting in the woods!

[Capt Hook]

Shoprite is a good place to hunt Turkeys I haven't miss yet .  Good luck

[mazzgolf]

Plenty of public lands birds, but as others mentioned, they are often overly called to by hunters scouting pre season.  Less is more when it comes to calling, always remember that!  Newbies get excited when their calls are answered by a gobbler, but they often then make the mistake of continuing to call and call, often getting response gobbles.  But in time, that gobbler loses interest and heads off.  Shut up instead and let the gobbler(s) come look for you.  They are accustomed to the hens finding them, so if you get their attention, sometimes the best thing to do is shut up and wait.  

 

This ^^^ is the #1 piece of advice I was given. I've seen this first hand. My first few times out, I was calling every 5 minutes, I was hearing gobbles come back to me almost every time, and I thought that was it. Well, no. Never came in. I can remember one time, I had a gobbler literally circle me (360 degrees) never to come in closer than 60 or 70 yards the whole time. He was waiting for that "hen" he heard to come to him.

 

Well, when I started being disciplined and called only every 20 to 30 minutes, I had MUCH more success. That isn't to say it works all the time, and I've been busted plenty, but I've seen a change. You don't call a lot. Toms, if they heard you once, know exactly where you are. How they do it, I've no idea - they have some kind of radar or GPS in their head, but you could be silent for a half hour and that Tom might still come walking in looking for that hen that he was SURE was RIGHT HERE a half hour ago

[bill43]

Look for the sign. As others have said. Its pretty obvious if Turkey's are in the area. Also get out in the woods at sunrise and just sit quiet and listen for gobbles. Then try to pinpoint their roosting areas.

[Bucndoe]

This ^^^ is the #1 piece of advice I was given. I've seen this first hand. My first few times out, I was calling every 5 minutes, I was hearing gobbles come back to me almost every time, and I thought that was it. Well, no. Never came in. I can remember one time, I had a gobbler literally circle me (360 degrees) never to come in closer than 60 or 70 yards the whole time. He was waiting for that "hen" he heard to come to him.

 

Well, when I started being disciplined and called only every 20 to 30 minutes, I had MUCH more success. That isn't to say it works all the time, and I've been busted plenty, but I've seen a change. You don't call a lot. Toms, if they heard you once, know exactly where you are. How they do it, I've no idea - they have some kind of radar or GPS in their head, but you could be silent for a half hour and that Tom might still come walking in looking for that hen that he was SURE was RIGHT HERE a half hour ago

They have tremendous hearing and can see almost 360 degrees with outstanding eyesight. That's how they do it

[A&N_Hunter]

Thanks for the valuable insight guys! I'm going to pick a WMA to scout out this weekend!

[DBuck]

First you got to find a good location for your stand and then bait like crazy. They love corn.

Now that was helpful misinformation for someone that might not know any better.  Most guys offered good advice. Like someone mentioned, the turkey lottery application period ends next week, so go to Fish and Games website and apply before that. Be sure to look at the Turkey area map because turkey zones are different from the deer zones. For example I hunt DMZ 5, But the TMZ for the same area is 4. Depending on where you hunt, a lot of Saturdays and A weeks sellout and won't be available to buy over the counter. Especially the southern counties. Someone also posted the free turkey seminars coming up, do yourself a favor and attend one of them, not overly informative but some good info for newbies. Go on youtube and search for turkey calling vids,there's a ton of them, for mouth calling look up Scott Ellis, he's one of the best. When it comes to Turkey hunting,don't get frustrated,it takes some patience,but then again you might just kill a bird your first time out. Some of my best hunts resulted in me not killing the bird I was after. What area do you hunt? Good luck this season,and welcome to the addiction!