Who's been out scouting
- Thread starter matthew
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We usually don't start listening until two weeks before as birds can still be moving to their spots. I have been driving by our typical locations morning and evening and saw a flock with a strutter this morning. They show up in this location every year and typically we'll have that bird killed opening morning, rarely do we need a second morning to get it done.
Alex and I will start scouting not this weekend but next. The first week we hop around to all of our different spots and listen for birds. Then we will decide on an order in which to kill them. The week before season we usually spend each morning listening at different spots to locate their roosts. The morning before opening day we will spend listening to bird number one.
Since our birds are so sporadic and isolated we have to scout 90% and hunt 10%. Plan it out like a military strike op. But we typically account for 20% of the birds killed in the whole county so we must be doing something right. Lol.
Alex and I will start scouting not this weekend but next. The first week we hop around to all of our different spots and listen for birds. Then we will decide on an order in which to kill them. The week before season we usually spend each morning listening at different spots to locate their roosts. The morning before opening day we will spend listening to bird number one.
Since our birds are so sporadic and isolated we have to scout 90% and hunt 10%. Plan it out like a military strike op. But we typically account for 20% of the birds killed in the whole county so we must be doing something right. Lol.
Ya I now what you mean. We hunt public land (Woodbury ) in Coshocton. We do a tally of the birds just by listening because we hunt the 3rd week of season , most birds are call shy by then , so some morning's I won't even hear birds the 3rd week but I know they are there ,they all won't get shot . I think it was 4 years ago 4 of us hunted the 3rd week and got 5 long beards not bad for public land ...every body swore we were hunting private. We never done that good since lol but that's hunting. I believe it had all to do will listening pre-season and knowing where they were before they shut up or hen up .
I'm watching a few flocks but it's too early to get serious. They still haven't finished their "migrations" to spring territories yet around here.
Same here, Jim. I'm still seeing one flock where I was seeing them in the fall.
Had a buddy down south say he heard a half dozen gobbling sat morning. .but short lived , once they hit the ground it was all quite
Took these pics this morning,they are strutting away.
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Just glassed 2 longbeards strutting with 2 hens in the same spot I killed my bird last year. Heard one gobble at 11am.
twireman
Senior Member
I could probably kill either of these since I see them every day around 11...
[video=youtube;6v7OQaCcqFE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v7OQaCcqFE&feature=youtu.be[/video]
[video=youtube;6v7OQaCcqFE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v7OQaCcqFE&feature=youtu.be[/video]
Spencie
Senior Member
The season should come in on April 15th, regardless of day of week. You will be fine when season comes in....I hope.