Most hunters know that scouting is very important if they want to succeed while in the field but it is something that most hunters spend the least amount of time doing.  I know that for a fact because I am guilty of making that mistake myself! 

With full time jobs, family, and all of the other demands of today’s fast paced life, it is very hard to find time to get to the woods to hunt much less to scout!  I decided that I was not going to make the fatal mistake of not scouting enough this year.

With turkey season on the horizon, I decided it was time to get out and scout some public property that we were going to hunt this year.  I am very lucky,  Texas does not have very many hunting opportunities on public property but the public property we wanted to scout was only a short drive from my house. 

I had been trying to get out to do some scouting for the last three weeks but something always seemed to come up to prevent me from making the trip. 

Another weekend arrived and I told Donna that we were going to scout for turkey season on Saturday no matter what!

Saturday arrived and we were pulling out of the driveway by 2 P.M.  After a few pit stops we pulled up to where we wanted to do some scouting. 

We had not gone very far from the truck when we started seeing deer tracks everywhere.  As we rounded a corner of a tree line, I heard Donna quietly say, “Deer!”  I looked up to see a full-grown doe looking at us.  Behind her was another doe grazing on some grass out in the field.  The deer did not hang out long and quickly vanished into the thick cover of the forest behind them.

As we strolled through the woods we managed to locate several good deer hunting spots for the upcoming season but that is not what we were scouting for this trip.

As we walked behind a pond that we were checking out for fishing, Michael said he saw a big bird fly off from the ground.  We slowly started walking in the direction of where Michael saw the bird and it was not long until we saw movement up ahead of us.  We stopped and started looking for the source of the movement when we saw several huge turkeys run across an opening in the woods.  There were at least 10 birds in this group. 

After further inspection of the area, we found lots of turkey tracks and droppings.  We had just found one of the spots that we would consider hunting this spring.

After we were done checking this area, we headed to the truck to go check another area.  A few minutes later we were parked in front of the gate to the next piece of property that we wanted to scout.

Before we tackled this next piece of property everyone wanted to take a break so Donna broke out the snacks.  Everyone refueled and we were off!

We had not gone very far at all when I saw movement out in the field several hundred yards in front of us.  It was turkey!  Lots of turkey!

I used my Bushnell binoculars to inspect the flock of turkey.  This group had three large Tom’s and several hens.  There were approximately 20 birds out in the field scratching around.  Things were looking good for the upcoming season!  We watched the birds until they moved on into the cover that was behind them.

Once all of the turkeys were gone, we checked out the woods where the birds had gone.  There were turkey tracks everywhere.  There were so many tracks it looked like a turkey feed lot!  I think we definitely had hit the jackpot!

After surveying the area, I found a spot where a Double Bull blind would fit in nicely.  We had definitely found our second potential hunting spot for the upcoming season.

Darkness was approaching fast so we headed for the truck.  Our scouting trip was over.  We had a great family outing and a successful scouting trip! 

We will definitely be making at least one more scouting trip before the season arrives.  It is a great feeling knowing that the area you are going to hunt is holding game.

As you can see it is easy to involve the whole family in your scouting trip.  If your family is not interested in hunting, they can still participate in enjoying the outdoors by going with you on your scouting trips.  Give it a try and you will be pleasantly surprised! 

Scouting is also a great way to introduce new hunters to the outdoors.  You can teach the new hunter about finding sign and show them what types of tracks different animals make. 

James Ferguson

President/CEO

Bowhunting North America, LLC

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