Turkeys are one of the larger game birds in the US and make for a fantastic hunt. These birds can be elusive though, and one of the biggest challenges is just finding them.
Turkeys can be found in every US state except Alaska. They like to live on the edges of fields where they can roost in the trees and come down into the field to find food. This is the best area to start looking for turkeys. If there are no fields, turkeys will live in the woods near a clearing.
The challenge of finding turkeys can be intimidating to first-time hunters. We’re going to go over all of the basics of where and how you can find turkeys so that you can still be successful on your turkey hunt.
What Terrain Do Turkeys Live In?
Turkeys can be found in almost every part of the US, but there are a few terrain features that all turkeys like to live near. Similar to whitetail deer, turkeys like to live in the forested edges around fields.
Turkeys always want to have a place to roost at night. They will typically fly up into a tree to sleep and safely wait out the night. The birds will then come down in the morning into the fields or clearings in order to find some food.
Turkeys like to live near open areas like fields. Farmers will often find turkeys snacking on the edges of their fields and may be happy to have hunters come in and thin out the flock.
In flat regions, you’ll also want to find a place that’s reasonably close to a source of water, since the turkeys will not stray far from their main water source.
Hill country and mountains make it easier to predict where you’ll find turkeys. Turkeys don’t often spend a lot of time on the slopes of hills. They prefer to travel along flatter areas like benches, saddles, ridges, and down in the river bottoms. Oftentimes, a turkey will travel along the flatter areas before moving over a slope. If you study the area you’re hunting properly, you can pin a turkey down by finding pinch points.
Eastern State Turkeys
The US States east of the Mississippi are populated primarily by Eastern turkeys and Osceola turkeys down in Florida. Osceola turkeys are known for being the hardest turkeys to call to and can be difficult to locate. Eastern turkeys are fairly common and are found near a lot of farmers’ fields.
You can find turkeys in any state, but Tennessee and Kentucky are known to have good turkey hunting. Tennessee has great public land opportunities for out-of-state hunters to make use of when scouting for turkeys. Kentucky has very little public land, but it does have a high turkey population and you are likely to be successful in a hunt here. Both areas have great habitats for turkeys, but you really can’t go wrong in any state.
If you hunt whitetail deer, you may find a turkey as well. Turkeys and whitetails inhabit many of the same places back east and in the midwest.
Western State Turkeys
Turkey hunting in western states can be very different from eastern states. Western state turkeys include the Rio Grande turkeys in Texas, the southwest, and Utah, while Merriam turkeys inhabit the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
In the East, turkeys have suitable habitats everywhere, but in the West, it’s a different story.
Turkeys in areas like Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota don’t have many options for roosting trees so when they do find one you’ll end up with a lot of turkeys there. Because the trees are few and far between, turkeys in these areas will often roost much further away from where they spend the rest of the day eating than turkeys in the east that typically live and eat in a relatively small area.
The Rocky Mountains also present their own challenges. In the mountains, there are often plenty of suitable trees, but because food plots may not be as close and the weather differences, you’ll still find that the birds live in certain pockets and tend to move throughout the year. During the winter, turkeys will start to move down off of the mountains into the lower areas, but in the spring as things start to warm up, they also move up to higher elevations.
You’ll want to ask the locals where the turkeys currently are and then get started with your scouting. Just know that if you went scouting in January, the birds may have moved higher up the mountains by the end of march.
Spring Season
In spring season turkey hunting, you need to be ready with your calls in order to find turkeys. Luckily for you, the turkeys are also plenty noisy in the spring. Spring is when all of the toms are out trying to attract hens with their gobbles, which you can use to help you locate them.
One great way to find turkeys in the spring is with a locator call. A locator call is different from other turkey calls because you aren’t necessarily trying to sound like a turkey with one. Male turkeys get very agitated and territorial in the spring and will basically gobble at any loud sound near them. You can use all kinds of different calls or sounds in order to try and get the toms to gobble for you.
Turkeys tend to all come together in a smaller area in the spring to mate. Once you find some of them, they tend to stay in the same small place. You can set up to try and bring in your tom there.
Most states only allow bearded turkeys to be hunted in the spring, so you have to be a little more selective about the turkey that you intend to harvest. Knowing calls is especially important during spring turkey hunting.
Fall Season
The fall season is a great time to get in some turkey hunting. A lot of hunters forget about turkey hunting in the fall while they focus on the big game like deer and elk, but you can get in some great hunting. In many eastern states, you can hunt whitetail and turkeys in generally the same places.
Whitetail deer and turkeys tend to inhabit the same general areas, so you can do double duty in your preseason scouting if you plan to hunt both. In the west, this is harder since mule deer tend to behave a little differently, but this works well with whitetail deer.
In the fall, turkeys are often quieter and tend to spread out more. Calls can work, but generally aren’t as successful, so you need to do some scouting to find out exactly where the birds are. Focusing on the recommendations we mentioned in the terrain section above will give you a good idea of where to start looking. Focus on clearings, either recently cut fields or on clearings with tall grass where the birds are eating bugs. The cut areas where powerlines go through the forest can be good places to start looking as well.
Looking for feathers, droppings, and scratches can help you know if turkeys are nearby.
Sound is Better Than Sight
Turkeys can be really hard to spot in many situations. Oftentimes, they’ll be hiding in the pine trees or the tall grass. Oftentimes, you are better off trying to hear the birds before you see them.
Turkeys are vocal animals and make a lot of sounds when they communicate with the rest of the flock. Getting out into the woods in the early morning will give you the best chance of hearing them. They usually become fairly vocal in the evenings right before it gets dark as well.
Shock Calling Turkeys
Shock calling is the practice of using a locator call in order to get the birds to respond to you. As we mentioned before, toms will gobble when they are agitated. This works especially well in the spring when the toms are already agitated and territorial, but it also works well in the fall.
Turkeys will gobble at any sound, whether it’s a professionally made call or you hitting two rocks together just right. There are a few calls that people have found to work particularly well at getting the gobblers going without spooking them too much.
- Crow Call– A crow call sounds just like a crow. Crows are common in turkey areas, and making these sounds can get you a response. Crow calls work very well when the birds start to quiet down later in the morning.
- Owl Call– Owls are also fairly common in turkey woods and can be a nuisance to toms. This is a good call to do just before dawn, unlike the crow call, since it is a natural time for this sound.
- Cutting Hen– This is the sound that a hen makes to attract a tom.
- Truck Door– Believe it or not many hunters say that just slamming their truck door can oftentimes elicit a gobble from nearby birds.
- Bigfoot Sounds– Sometimes just knocking on things and whooping can get turkeys to gobble back at you. This may not be the best strategy, but it can work sometimes.
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Pre-Season Scouting
Pre-season scouting is indispensable and one of the most effective things you can do to make sure you get your bird this season. Start getting out a month or two before in order to find out where the birds are. This will save you hours of frustration during the hunting season. Plus, it extends the fun out and you get to spend more time in the woods.
Even before you go scouting, get out some topographical maps or download a hunting app like ON X Hunt or HuntStand and start getting a general idea of the area. If you look for features like we mentioned in the terrain section above, you can get a good idea of areas to go look at before you start trekking through the woods.
When you go scouting, try to get to your scouting spot before first light. Turkeys are the most active early in the morning, and this will be the best time to see some of them. You should take your preferred locator calls with you and start looking for flocks.
You’ll want to find an area with a large mature flock, so don’t give up after finding just one bird. Preseason scouting gives you the best opportunity to take all the time you need beforehand.
Turkey Scouting Necessities
There are a few things you’ll need if you want to successfully find some turkeys. We’ve already mentioned a bunch of them, but I’ll list some here.
- Topographic Maps – are important for determining where turkeys will be and how they will travel. These maps are especially effective in hill country and mountains. There are some great apps for this such as OnX.
- Calls– Make sure to have a couple of different calls to mix things up if you don’t hear any turkeys. This starter kit from Cabelas can help you cover three different sounds.
- Camo– Turkeys are one of the better game animals at spotting hunters, so you’ll need to camouflage your silhouette if you want to find some birds. Something like this camo set can get you heading in the right direction to stay hidden.
- Land Permission– In a lot of states, you’ll need to do a lot of your turkey hunting on private lands. If you’re not going to be hunting on your own land or on a friend’s land, make sure that you get permission to hunt in writing early on. You don’t want to spot the perfect spot only to be turned down. A lot of landowners may turn down hunters if they already gave someone else permission, so make sure to get this as early as possible. They might even give you some invaluable tips. OnX hunting app can help you with identifying private land.
Best Tip: Find a Mentor
The best way to find turkeys is to go hunting with someone who already knows where they are and how to find them. It used to be that most hunters learned hunting from their fathers. Now, however, there are a lot of new people getting into hunting on their own. The benefits of hunting are enormous from getting outdoors, spending time with family and friends, connecting with where your food comes from, and just having a good time.
If you’re new to the sport, you might find it intimidating at first, but don’t be afraid to ask someone for help. The hunting community is generally very welcoming and helpful to new hunters. We love to see new people getting into the sport.
If you know another hunter, ask them if they will join you for their hunt or if you can join them. Many hunters would love the opportunity to show a new person the ropes. If you don’t personally know any other hunters, you can try going to your local sporting goods store and asking around or trying some online forums and groups. Even if you don’t find a hunting partner, you’ll likely find someone willing to talk to you and point you in the right direction.
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