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Late this month is the magic time for many Pennsylvania hunters -- the spring gobbler opener.
That means that preseason scouting is a priority for hunters who need to get out in the woods and find out where the big boys are hanging out. I have been driving around some wooded areas, stopping just to listen to see if I hear any gobblers sounding off.
The hunter's biggest concern right now is that for the last couple of seasons the birds have been annoyingly silent. We could be out on the nicest days and hear nothing. Unfortunately, hunters' scouting techniques are a lot to blame for this quietness.
Besides having the sharpest eyesight of most animals in the woods, turkeys are very sensitive to anything that seems out of place to them.
A glimpse of movement from a hunter will cause a bird to race for half a mile to get away.
We have learned that if we set out a couple of decoys and a gobbler approaches them and is spooked for any reason, it is quite likely they will not respond if you take those same decoys out and set them up in the same area the next day. They will eye them suspiciously and then walk away. Same goes if you call in a bird with a particular call and then spook him -- don't bother using that same call the next day. They recognize it and shrink back into the woods.
So preseason scouting should be a silent venture for the hunter. Going out and letting turkeys learn your calls, your decoys and just the very fact that the enemy is lurking out there will ruin your hunts.
Once they learn that season is on, they sneak to calling quietly and slowly and ignore the decoys that they saw yesterday.
I leave my calls at home when I am scouting. Having even one in my pocket tempts me to answer if a gobbler gobbles.
Looking for signs of turkeys quietly, noting where you see tracks, dusting places -- likely watering holes -- and watching certain fields to see at what time they like to come into it: These are the things you need to learn without betraying your presence.
Good scouting is a nerve-wracking assignment.
Other things I like to find out when preseason scouting are likely set-up spots, roosting trees and dusting places. A set-up near a dusting place is a spot they don't often get bothered, so it's a great place to have a hiding place or to set up a blind.
Finding good roosting trees but not bothering them is a good deal. When we have the all-day hunting part of the season, sneaking into a roosting tree site before dawn will be a bingo time. It's like fall hunting. Turkeys make their way to the roosting tree by late afternoon, so if you are hidden nearby and are patient, you'll be liable to get a good shot.
Now that turkeys have turned silent during the season, we must do the same. Don't let them know you are out there. There is a reason why patience is so vital for the turkey hunter. Patience and quiet are two definite things the spring hunter needs to develop.
Don't sabotage your hunts by spooking them before season.