How Far Will Turkeys Travel From Their Roosting Area?

Gobblers can be patterned much like you would a mature whitetail. Here’s how to do it this spring.

Locate roost trees, feeding areas and strut zones to get the drop on tight-lipped toms in spring. (Photo by Paul Rackley).

The first time I got a response from a gobbler was a really good day. I was standing on a hill overlooking some rolling hardwood bottoms that dropped into fields. I let out a series of yelps and cutts because I figured it was a likely area, and I enjoyed the rush of getting a gobble in return.

During my initial years of hunting, my approach involved locating a probable spot and attempting to attract birds using either turkey calls or locators. After all, that was what everyone said you were supposed to do. Sure, scouting was important, but hunting mostly consisted of listening for gobbles early in the morning. At the time, many experts recommended staying out of the timber altogether to prevent bumping birds.

It wasn’t until much later that I understood I could locate turkeys using many of the same strategies I used to locate deer. This made it clear to me that it is much simpler to call a gobbler into range if I am in close proximity to where the birds prefer to travel. I also understood that the birds hadn’t entirely left the area just because they weren’t answering calls. After the first few weeks of the season, when the vocal birds have been killed, many hens have given birth, and the mature birds have learned to keep their mouths shut, hunting can become challenging. This is particularly true on public land, where hunters of all stripes experiment with different calls and tactics that quickly acquaint turkeys with new information. Advertisement.

This is when knowing where birds typically travel becomes extremely important. When birds aren’t responding to calls, slower approaches are actually more effective. Sure, calling aggressively to get a thundering response is incredibly fun. The typical spring hunt for me begins near where I’ve found turkeys roosting. If I can’t get one to come straight off the roost, I shift my strategy and go to the area I’ve discovered they frequent. Although there’s no guarantee I’ve made the right decision because birds can change their routes for a variety of reasons, knowing that birds have passed through the area before gives me more confidence. Given how easy it is to pattern turkeys, it would seem insane to go into the woods and make blind calls. You just have to know what to look for to find the birds.

Turkeys, just like every other creature in this world, have certain needs that must be met. Most hunters know this. However, turkeys also have routines, which not every hunter realizes. Turkeys typically take the same paths or circuits to the same locations every day, provided that those locations meet their needs and desires.

With this knowledge, hunters can position themselves directly in the path of the birds, or at least quite close to where they usually travel on any given day. The truth is that calling birds to where they are already inclined to go is far simpler than trying to swerve them off course. Advertisement.

Rather than trying to lure mature gobblers to you, concentrate your efforts on smart scouting and setting up where they want to be when they go silent. (Shutterstock ).

Now, in order to propely pattern turkeys, you have to scout. Yes, everyone says that, but not many actually perform this step. Or if they do, it’s a cursory effort. You can’t pattern birds by listening to gobbles from the truck. Yes, this can serve as a starting point, but you will need to carefully navigate into the woods to discover the actual location of the birds’ homes. Of course, with today’s technology, scouting can easily be performed year-round.

Cameras are used by deer hunters to help them choose where to place stands, but after deer season, they frequently remove the cameras or cease monitoring them. However, turkeys often use the same areas, as they have many of the same needs. Throughout the winter, turkeys gather in larger flocks and are constantly in search of food. As spring hits, they start to break up. This is when gobblers start vying for dominance even though hens aren’t quite ready to breed.

As turkeys begin to follow their spring patterns, leaving cameras installed or even moving them to better locate the birds can yield useful information. Just be careful to not bump birds when checking cameras, as this can change patterns. If you determine turkeys are near a camera, back off and check it later, even after dark. In recent years, these cameras have become more affordable and widely available, so if your budget permits, think about acquiring one or two for your collection.

Locator calls are a great way to determine if birds are in an area, particularly coyote calls. However, avoid using turkey calls as they can agitate the birds and in certain places are prohibited prior to the start of the season.

More than a string of loud yelps, gentle clucks and purrs will calm advancing gobblers. (Shutterstock ).

When trying to pattern deer, hunters typically start with bedding areas. Just because turkeys sleep in trees doesn’t change anything. If you want to pattern turkeys, you need to start by finding where they spend the night. Luckily, hunters can find roosts by simply listening early in the morning and late in the evening. Unfortunately, turkeys change roosts often, as they can fly up into pretty much any tree. They do, however, prefer certain areas and types of trees, such as mature hardwoods with towering limbs. Turkeys also like to roost along their circuit, as long as nothing spooks them off their pattern.

Actually, turkeys frequently move up to a mile in either direction or in large circles while making a circuit, sleeping in regular roosts along the way. They frequently roost up and down running terrain features, such as creek beds and hill lines. After finding roosts, it’s time to move on to food sources because hens will continue to eat even after they start to breed.

Turkeys eat a variety of different foods. In fact, they’ll eat pretty much anything they can fit down their throats. However, some foods are preferred in the spring, and the food’s proximity to roosts means a great deal. Food sources include any remaining acorns, but in areas where forests meet openings, grasses, seeds, and insects are more likely to be present.

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Game & Fish Staff

Game & Fish Staff

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How to QUICKLY Find and Pattern Turkeys | Turkey Hunting

How far do wild turkeys walk?

They Walk Wild turkeys generally move a mile or two in one day depending on habitat and distance to food and water sources. The annual home range of wild turkeys varies from 370 to 1,360 acres and contains a mixture of trees and grass cover.

How do you find a Turkey roost?

Another way to locate turkey roosts is finding sign, which can be difficult. In areas where turkeys roost you will see lots of bird droppings under trees large enough to support turkeys. Turkey droppings are larger than other birds and the area will also have remnants of turkey feathers. Often turkeys can roost for generations in the same trees.

Why do turkeys roost in trees?

It is a life-saving technique because roosting in trees helps birds avoid ground predators. Poults begin roosting from about 14-28 days old, depending on the sub-species, location and temperature. Turkeys may use traditional roost sites night after night but they generally use different sites and move from tree to tree.

How many turkeys are in a roosting tree?

Roosting trees tend to have good-sized branches that lay parallel to the ground. There can be as few as one turkey or even dozens in a single tree. In the spring as males begin their search for breeding hens they can often change roosts many times and break from the larger flock.