Rawmeat
New member
Hi,
This is my first year going after spring turkeys. My wife and I have tags. We are in North Dakota and it has been a very late spring. It is April 17th, the ground is still mostly frozen frozen, we are walking through snow about half of the time, and their is not a single piece of green flora outside. I am wondering how behavior of the turkeys changes on years like this, or if it does at all.
So far I am having trouble just finding the birds. We have access to a few spots of private land that are known to have turkeys in the past. I am finding sign in some areas, mainly in the deep wooded draws and in some of the stubble fields which is what I expected. Although, none of it has been very heavy or fresh. In a lot of these areas there is very little cover besides the trees because the grass was grazed very short last year.
I have heard a couple reports from friends saying they have seen turkeys in the area, but they are still in bunches of 15-20. Is this normal this time of year? Will they even be breeding yet, and coming to calls?
What kind of habitat do turkeys nest in when there is no new growth? Am I wasting my time hunting areas that have very little grass? What should I be looking for to find the turkeys?
Any advice is much appreciated. The wind is whipping 30+ today so I decided to stay in and get some things done around the house. I will be going out the next two mornings though.
This is my first year going after spring turkeys. My wife and I have tags. We are in North Dakota and it has been a very late spring. It is April 17th, the ground is still mostly frozen frozen, we are walking through snow about half of the time, and their is not a single piece of green flora outside. I am wondering how behavior of the turkeys changes on years like this, or if it does at all.
So far I am having trouble just finding the birds. We have access to a few spots of private land that are known to have turkeys in the past. I am finding sign in some areas, mainly in the deep wooded draws and in some of the stubble fields which is what I expected. Although, none of it has been very heavy or fresh. In a lot of these areas there is very little cover besides the trees because the grass was grazed very short last year.
I have heard a couple reports from friends saying they have seen turkeys in the area, but they are still in bunches of 15-20. Is this normal this time of year? Will they even be breeding yet, and coming to calls?
What kind of habitat do turkeys nest in when there is no new growth? Am I wasting my time hunting areas that have very little grass? What should I be looking for to find the turkeys?
Any advice is much appreciated. The wind is whipping 30+ today so I decided to stay in and get some things done around the house. I will be going out the next two mornings though.