Public Hunting in Southeast Michigan

[chemiker]

I’m a new hunter, and was fortunate enough to pull a public turkey tag in unit GC in southeast Michigan this fall. The problem is, every time my friend and I go out to hunt, we don’t see a single bird. We were tipped off to a supposedly good location near a bean field in the Pinckney recreation area but have still yet to see or hear anything, despite having a general idea where they roost. Having no other friends or family who hunt turkey, I don’t know where else to turn.

I realize that fall birds are notoriously difficult to hunt, but do you have any tips for a novice? Any secret locations that you don’t mind disclosing via PM somewhere in unit GC? I love the outdoors and it's not just about being successful, but it can get frustrating when you don’t even see a bird, since it's difficult to take time off. I’ve been dreaming of hunting turkeys for years, and now that I finally have the chance, I can't find them! Are the turkeys scarce this year or have I just been at the wrong place at the wrong time?



Congrats to all who have been successful this season. I see the pictures on this forum and it just makes me want to get back out there right away!

[BassFisher91]

I'd take the time to figue out specifically where they are roosting, if you know a general idea this might not take tons of time. Take the time to scout, possibly splitting up with your buddy, and each go look for that roost. Once you find that roost, I'd find out which way they head once getting off of it. The more time you put into scouting, the better chance of success.

[chemiker]

What time of day is best to scout? Is it better to get out there in the very early morning before they come down than in the evening/night? I agree proper scouting is probably my number one deficiency, I wish I could get out there more than I do. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

[EdB]

In the spring, early morning is the best time to scout because the birds are very vocal then. In the fall, some days they are vocal, some days they are not. If you do get near a fall flock on a morning when they are vocal, the sounds they make are awesome. You'll here every type of call they make. The biggest issue you face in the fall is that the birds will flock and camp on/near food sources which at this time of year in southern MI is mostly on private ag lands. They don't range as much as they do in the spring. A lot of the birds that will be dispearsed all over state land in the spring are flocked up on private land now. One of the best scouting methods in the fall is to glass soybean fields or cut corn. There isn't much cut corn around here now. I have seen a lot of turkeys in the beans lately but there isn't any on state land around here. If you can find some state land with roosting cover adjacent to some bean fields, I'd focus on that. There is some state land planted with corn here in Waterloo but none of it is cut yet and I doubt it will be down by the end of fall turkey season. I like spring turkey hunting a lot more than fall turkey hunting because you have a lot better odds at calling in bird. You can call them in during the fall hunts but odds at finding responsive birds are much lower. Occasionally you'll find a gobbler to respond but nothing like the spring and on many days, the long beards are just plain shut up. The best way to call them in during the fall is to break up a flock of hens and poults and try to call them back together. I don't have much luck with that, I've tried it many times and I'm not fast enough. Usually the whole flock takes off in the same direction. It's been quite comical a few times. Dogs can help but I don't have one. Many fall hunters hunt them like deer and wait for one to come by and shoot them. When it comes to that, I'd rather hunt ducks or bucks. Good luck!

[chemiker]

Awesome post. That's exactly the type of information that I was looking for. I might be out of luck this season on public land but I'm already looking forward to the spring. Thank you!

[melvvin]

You say you have an idea of where they roost can you hunt near there? If you can figure out which way they head out to feed in the morning catch them then or get em coming back in the evening.

[hellbilly]

Look at the state land area around waterloo rd. in chelsea area. I Am a member of the Chelsea Rod and Gun club and there are a lot of turkey in that area. Also I know of a roost On hadley rd about a mile north of north territorial, Its public land and I only have a private land tag so i don't hunt there but i did this spring and had some action.

[chemiker]

Thanks for all of the great advice, guys. I went out for one last attempt yesterday, but came back empty handed. Had a good time though, and got within 25 yards of a nice big doe that walked right past my tree.

I found a roost in a cluster of pine trees, with shed flight feathers and droppings under typical roosting branches. For the second half of the day I just camped out nearby, waiting for them to return for the evening, but didn't have any luck. It might have been abandoned, or maybe I just left too soon. By the way, DNR says you can shoot up until 30 minutes after sunset, but by the stop time listed on their 2009 tables, it was still light out in my part of the woods. I felt shortchanged, but it probably wouldn't have made a difference. I enjoyed my time outside this fall and hopefully I'll have better luck in the spring.