Made a pass through some woods recently, and saw a couple gobblers crossing the roads. Two separate sightings, each in late morning/noon time. Due to time constraints, I couldn’t get out and chase them, so making plans for the future.

In the board’s experience, if you saw a gobbler cross the road at lunch time, how far will he roam before he roosts? Neither was spooked, just kinda eased back into the woods. Likely to stay within a few hundred yards of where I saw them? Turkeys aren’t like a rutting buck that will follow a hot doe into the next county, but how far are we talking.

Obviously this is a nearly impossible question to answer, but thought it could be a good topic of discussion.

Have you heard them in the morning?

They can and will walk miles from lunch to roost time.

You trying to guess what a gobbler is going to do before dark. That is going to be a tough one.

A turkey doesn't know what he's going to do in the next 5 minutes. Trying to figure out what he will do tomorrow is pointless.
The only thing you can do is look for patterns and hunt according.

Like a lot of animals. Some barely move all day and others take a cross country hike. Just be glad he isn't a Rio.

This^^^^

Turkeys never read the rules and definitely don't follow them

In my experience this year, on a 500acre lease. I know of 2 gobblers roosting near the same location every time I have hunted it.. knowing this bc it’s The only 2 I’ve heard. One I’ve heard work a group of hens in a circle of 200 acres give or take... and the other works the other half... I’m not 100% positive they don’t use more space but due to seeing and hearing and pics, I’m pretty close on the acreage of use that I’m sure of, at Another location I hunt without game cameras sorta been the same... Sunday till today from daylight till 7-7:30 they split up and go out away from where I hear them, but 9:30-10:30 they have all been coming back to where they start due to their hens doing what they do.. I’ve noticed at the second location it seems they each have a couple of hens a piece...and are using at least 100-150 acres... this is the only hunting I do outside of coon hunting so I pay a lot and I mean a lot of time and attention to them, take in mind groups of Jakes, boss toms, wild hens all will move turkeys this is just my experience on my places.. population prolly has the most to do with it i don’t know

Yeah i figures it was impossible to know, but good discussion


Back home in LA, buddy feeds them leading up to the season and has cameras on the feeders. He says he can about time then to day for which feeder they’ll be at. They on about a three day cycle. For example, on Monday they’ll be at Feeder A, Tuesday at Feeder B, and Wednesday at Feeder C. Then on Thursday they’ll show back up at Feeder A and start the cycle over. Always thought that was interesting. Now THAT is patterning some birds

Seen this years ago. I sat in a deer stand all day and noticed the flock of 30 plus came by about 9 am headed in one direction moving at a good pace. Then about 4 pm they came back. That is good walk to give you an idea. They will just try to be back by dark and they seem to know. Unless something changes some have a pattern and some seem to change it up.