How to find turkeys on public land?

[Bot12138]

Hi guys, new turkey hunter here trying to plan for my first season. Can anyone tell me how to find turkeys on public land? I live in Montgomery county; are there any public land nearby that have a decent number of turkeys? If so, do I just scout by going in early in the morning and blasting off a few locator calls? Or are there any terrain features that I should be aware of?
Any advise would be helpful, thank you.

 

[chale127]

Aren't they usually in the freezer section?

 

[Afrikeber]

Cracked corn and game cams will let you know if they’re around but cannot use that to lure them during the season. You might also capture pics of all kinds of critters as well. Also I found they like to bed in the pines if any in the area.

 

[babalou]

Cracked corn and game cams will let you know if they’re around but cannot use that to lure them during the season. You might also capture pics of all kinds of critters as well. Also I found they like to bed in the pines if any in the area.

This! I lived in mont county all my life until recently. Germantown the last 35 years after I got married. Tons heading out 118 to Darnestown and towards Poolesville

 

[OneGunTex]

If so, do I just scout by going in early in the morning and blasting off a few locator calls?

Yep. Find a high, preferably open, spot in the terrain before sunrise, sit and wait and listen. They typically gobble in the pre-dawn twilight before they get off the roost. At that hour, a locator call won't help.

Once you hear them, finding the roost can be very hard but worthwhile to try to narrow it down. There are a lot of large, tall, limbed trees for them to roost in. Often they roost on the ridge tops, sometimes down in the bottoms. Your most important task will be to find good places to sit within a few hundred yards of where you think they are. Note that we're pretty early still, and Tom behavior changes (esp roosts used) once they get into the season.

 

[Doco Overboard]

Right about the beginning of march or a week or two into it, head out to prospective location and listen for them gobbling on the roost.
If you’re real lucky from there you can determine where they’re heading when they fly down.
In the evening at dusk if you’re nearby you can hear them tree help and stuff like that.
Position yourself in between the roost and where they’re feeding.
Sometimes you can get them to shock gobble with a crow or hand held gobble call to figure what they do when the hens go to sit.

 

[GuitarmanNick]

Used to scout the area at dusk the day before hunting and use a crow call. Turkeys almost always respond if they can hear it, and if they do you can get an idea of where they are roosting.

Get into the woods well before daylight and your odds are pretty good of at least seeing some turkeys.

 

[Sundazes]

Can you even hunt in MoCo?

 

[Doco Overboard]

Can you even hunt in MoCo?

He said he lives in Montgomery county and wants to hunt some public land nearby.
To me that looks like some woods with maybe some fields in close proximity to a turkey roost.
Whether that environment exists in Montgomery county I cannot say, doesn't sound like it too much.

 

[mpollan1]

Can you even hunt in MoCo?

Yes, but know the dos/dont's/where's/how's/whens

 

[Alutacon]

Aren't they usually in the freezer section?

I've had much luck tracking them there!

 

[mauser58]

I usually hunt near Woodbine / Lisbon at little Patuxent. I travel the pole lines back in dark. and get settled in. Good view and sometimes they feed on the side of the woods at pole lines. Toms strutting. I have heard most hunters use crow calls. I use a diaphragm call. Too much to carry or keep the slate or box call dry if wet out.

 

[K31]

Using calls to locate turkeys may clue them into you being a human before the hunt.

Scout the ground beforehand and look for turkey poop, tracks, and places where the leaf cover has been dug up. The last is a pretty obvious sign not subtle at all.

 

[Melnic]

Go deer hunting during deer season and you will see turkeys.
Go Turkey hunting during turkey season and you will see deer.
Go Rabbit hunting during rabbit season and you will see a 12 lb bass.

 

[F-Stop]

Just drive down the road by Elk Neck. lol!

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[Doco Overboard]

I always did best locating turkeys in the morning and just prior to scouting and finally hunting them.
Roosting them in a tree never did much for letting me know where they were going to, especially during fly down in the morning. It does let you know where they are roosting no doubt.
Up until the past year or so maybe you could never hunt them past noon. That portion of the season primarily, a bunch of the breeding is over which happens during March in most places.
If your’e not seeing a bunch of turkeys like in the past, afternoon hunting and taking hens over bait in the fall combined with poor reporting could be why.
Idk if that’s been discussed in the other thread for where are the turkeys or whatever the title may be.

 

[Afrikeber]

He said he lives in Montgomery county and wants to hunt some public land nearby.
To me that looks like some woods with maybe some fields in close proximity to a turkey roost.
Whether that environment exists in Montgomery county I cannot say, doesn't sound like it too much.

Definitely seen and heard them in Poolesville near River Road. One season a few years back I did not see not one the whole spring season until the day after spring season closed. I saw a big Jake standing on the side of the road near Sycamore Landing watching traffic, go figure….

 

[Doco Overboard]

Definitely seen and heard them in Poolesville near River Road. One season a few years back I did not see not one the whole spring season until the day after spring season closed. I saw a big Jake standing on the side of the road near Sycamore Landing watching traffic, go figure….

I used to use my canoe and bow hunt for deer at Triadelphia.
Isn't that Montgomery county? Or maybe half in Howard it’s been a long time since going there. I think a permit purchase was required too but it’s been a long time.
I know that wild turkey proliferation has dramatically increased as a whole across the state since then other than in the mountains due to relocating birds, restricted seasons prior to establishment etc.

 

[mauser58]

Using calls to locate turkeys may clue them into you being a human before the hunt.

Scout the ground beforehand and look for turkey poop, tracks, and places where the leaf cover has been dug up. The last is a pretty obvious sign not subtle at all.

Good points Sir. Yes look for scratched up ground as they travel and forage.

 

[Alan3413]

Just drive down the road by Elk Neck. lol!

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Also, lots of turkeys on i95 heading into DC and 495 in general.