Often hunters see turkeys in a particular area and then assume that's where they should hunt. However, this is a big mistake. When you see turkeys, they have already spotted you and are retreating from where they were or where they wanted to go. So there's a very good chance they may not be in the area you plan to hunt.
Finding turkey sign is a much more reliable method of choosing a place to hunt than actually seeing the turkeys. Turkey sign has a degree of permanence. Most tracks and droppings will last until the next rain, and feathers will generally last until the next year. So what you have in the woods, once you learn to see and identify it, is a record of what the turkeys have been doing. There's a tremendous amount of evidence for the hunter who can read the sign. Experienced Turkey Hunters prefer to hunt the areas where the sign indicate where the turkeys should be, not the areas where they have actually seen a turkey.
The quickest way to learn to read sign is to go into the woods with an experienced turkey hunter. Let him show you the difference between turkey scratchings and places where squirrels have dug in the leaves for nuts. He can point out turkey tracks and probably give you reasons why a turkey was walking in that particular area. He can spot turkey droppings and teach you the difference between hen and gobbler droppings. He can show you how to tell an old scratching from a new one. A fresh scratching will have loose dirt around it. Often turkey tracks will be present in or near the scratching, and the ground will be relatively clear where the turkeys have been working. Also the toenail markings will be clear and easily defined. And if the turkeys are scratching in the leaves, the leaves will be piled up. Often, if the turkeys have been scratching there that day, the bottoms of the leaves will still be wet.
An old scratching will not have any fresh dirt around it. The actual scratches may not be well defined, and there may be leaves or pine straw in the scratched-out dirt. In an old scratching, the leaves will be relatively compacted.
The main thing you're trying to learn when you look for turkey sign is whether there are turkeys in the area you plan to hunt. If you know you're hunting where there are turkeys, you have more confidence in your calling and hunting. Your confidence will be much greater if you find a roost tree, get in the vicinity of that tree before daylight, and begin to call knowing there's a turkey that should answer.
If you find a fresh track, you know the turkey shouldn't be more than a mile away. And the odds are he'll be much closer than that. If the weather has been dry for several days and you discover a soft dropping, you know the turkey is so close he's liable to be looking at you.
Once you start to read and understand sign, you can really sharpen your turkey hunting skills and knowledge. The main thing that sign tells you is where the turkeys are. Then you can determine where to set up a blind or take a stand to call them.
