Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk ALTurkey Talk -- Beards and Spurs Mountain turkeys

Any tips for locating mountain turkeys? We don't have any cropland/open bottomland. We have some green fields but they are pretty small (maybe a half acre each). 5000+ acres and there aren't 50 pine trees on the place. There are a couple creeks that only have water in spots unless there's a recent rain. Not trying to kill y'all with questions and I've done searches on this but there's usually some pretty good info here.

They are by far the easiest ones to locate.......
A few days before the season opens, pick a real good pretty morning that's nice and still and get on a high place right at daylight and listen.
Done. You've located them.

I hope it's that easy. Some of the fields before you get to our gate will have between 50-200 in them in the afternoons during deer season. Should I get as close as I can to them near the property lines?

I am not sure of everything you have. But early in the season, they usually feed on left over red oak acorns, beach nuts, maple seeds, if there are any available. And just because the acorns have germinated doesn't mean that they don't eat them. I have killed hardwood mountain turkeys thats crops were full of germinated red oak acorns.

Food plots will help them, but I have expereince when they get so tall they aren't as productive for gobblers. Hens will nest in them, and they will also eat the seeds, and the insects that fill up the seedheads, but gobblers are reluctant to go into them and strut back and forth. Your flat hardwood ridgetops, benches, and flat bottoms will be likely places gobblers will hang out earlier in the season.

I don't have much luck in hardwood mountains though after the first two weeks of the season. They seem to migrate to areas of big cow pasture, 1 year old clear cuts, and whereever else hens can leave to find better nesting ground and brood habitat.

On Saturdays yes. On weekdays go ahead and get right in there with them. Those other guys won't care if they've got 200.

Seriously, You can get way ahead if you get a topo and pick out good big points, saddles, and coves. Turkeys up here couldn't care less what kind of tree they fly up in or whether or not there is a creek under them but they will relate to geographical features like that. East-facing slopes are good too because they get the earliest sun.
You've probably been seeing a lot more turkeys around those fields this year because of they acorn shortage. It was the same way in 2007.
Turkeys aren't hard to find they're just hard to kill.

Ha! I said "near the property lines". I didn't say which side.

I use my topo map a lot for deer hunting. I know where all the good saddles are but the problem with deer hunting them is those saddles are where all the roads cross the ridges, too.

Yeah that's the way it usually is for deer hunting but it makes it better for turkeys. If you can find a good quiet road you can slip around on and listen, observe and maybe even prospect a little with some calling you can get rough on the turkeys on a place.

Brent I've killed a few birds where you are talking about. Get yourself a good pair of boots and hunt all day.

Have Danners will travel.

Well we'll have to plan one then.

Sounds good to me. I only saw turkeys once this deer season. I guess it was the lack of acorns.

They are there you just have to know where to look.