A Question Of Timing

[RickB]

Short version:
 
What is the minimum time you require between the last scouting trip and the first hunt on a property?
 
 
Long Detailed Version:
 
I own land that I intend to turkey hunt which is 3 hours away.  I am trying to set up an appointment with the rep from the USDA to get the land enrolled in CRP.  This guy will want to walk the land.  I'd like to kill two birds with one stone and get the meeting taken care of as well as do some scouting.  However, I am afraid that the meeting will take place too close to opening day.
 
Meeting/Scouting    => Friday 4/16
Opening day           => Monday 4/19
First day I can hunt => Saturday 4/24
 
So, this scouting trip would be about a week before I would be able to hunt, but only 3 days before opening day.  There is a lot of public land VERY close by (measured in hundreds of yards vs miles) which will have some hunters traipsing thru the woods (and possibly trespassing on my land).
 
Would you combine the meeting and scouting, or would you do an earlier scouting trip and postpone the meeting until after turkey season?
 
 
Rick

[Everyday Hunter]

Welcome to the forums, Rick.

My answer might differ from that of others. I would say scouting will take many forms. Have yours take the low impact form, and then hunt when the season opens. Here's my rationale:

If you live 3 hours from it, and there are turkeys on it, someone else is likely to be on the land before season -- even opening day --especially if they know the landowner lives hours away.

A walk-thru will have not have the effect of scaring the turkeys off. Where would they go? To the public land that is likely to have even more human activity? If you bump turkeys but do not act as a threat to them, they'll move out of your way but stay in the area.

A week between your scouting/CRP meeting and your first opportunity to hunt is more than enough. In fact, use that trip to look for droppings (kick them off the trail so no one else sees them), tracks (stomp them out, and leave your own tracks so any potential hunters will think they have competition), scratchings (cover them back up so they look old), and feathers (pick them up and carry them away.) If you can convince any trespassers that there are no turkeys there, you'll be better off when you return to hunt.

Good luck.
Steve