Hardcore spring gobbler hunters begin scouting early, spend every waking minute thinking about turkey hunting, and planning every aspect of the hunt right down to pulling the trigger. We all know, however, that turkey hunting is seldom predictable. Even worse, much of the scouting we do is fruitless. And that's the problem — half of the scouting we do is useless, but we don't know which half!
I seldom — no, make that never — do all the scouting I like. Unlike the hardest of hardcore hunters, I never have an inventory of 20 or more known gobblers to choose from. I spend my scouting time focusing on two or three properties. I make sure gobblers are there, and that the properties haven't undergone any major changes. My scouting method is basically speed-scouting, a three-step process that usually results in filled tags.
If you're behind the 8-ball on your spring scouting, the scouting time you have left is enough to raise your odds of bringing a nice, big longbeard to your shotgun. Read my advice, "Speed Scouting — a Three-Step Plan" in this week's Jamestown Gazette.
To access more of my writing on hunting topics, go to the home page of my blog, Mission: Hunter.