Turkey Help Needed (general and NV specific)

[Wednesday Caste]

I took my neighbor's boy to hunt turkey yesterday.  We've both never hunted turkey.  We went locally arriving at the Carson River in Lyon County a little late (6:45AM @sunrise).  We did not get the chance to go before season to spot their roosting trees so we did not know where to set up and opted to stalk since there were no birds in the trees when we arrived.  After 4 hours of stalking (and driving to different stands of trees) I'm not sure if there are even turkeys in the areas we searched. Prior to our hunt yesterday we did some internet research to determine if there are birds in our area but could not find any specific population info but understand pops are low in general. Though he did not shoot one shell (I shaparoned), it was still a fun time since we found some nice antler sheds (for him to make antler rattles) and know where we can hunt geese when they're in season- saw plenty of them.  Plus it's so neat to see a 15yo excited about the hunt and outdoors.  Remaining tags for turkeys are still available and I would like to take my bow with me on our next outing but need to get more info to hopefully make it successful.
      My question: what exactly are turkey signs if you see (or heard) no birds?  How to ID roosting trees and what to look for- droppings/feathers on the ground- we did not see either?  If you hunt Lyon County and have some help on this area, we would love to talk to ya.
Thanks.
Quinn

[whitebuffalo]

You will find many droppings in a roosting area. Go out before dark and roost them, then you know where they are the next morning. Sounds simple right,,Just amke sure you don't get to close and spook them while roosting or on the roost,,Look also for scratchings on the ground where they have been feeding,, Kinda looks like a small buck scrape,,also keep your eye open for dusting bowls they make while they dust themselves in sand or other very loose dirt like sand. These are just a few signs to look for but usually the most obviouse to find,, Good luck,,J

[onemississipp]

The birds here, are coming off the roost and will talk to ya for about an hour and half. Then they get tight lipped until they are headed back to roost.

I like you did not get to scout early, so I hit the green fields and stream beds, looking for tracks in the mud and on the edge of the fields.

[Wednesday Caste]

OMG-I just found some spring-07 harvest info.  For the county, 23 were harvested!  23 the entire county!  2 Rivers and 23 birds!  Man I'm looking for a needle in a haystack.  That means there's probably 2 left after '07 fall season harvest LOL!  We spotted deer tracks, got sheds, found goose tracks and feathers.  But nothing to tell us the remaining 2 turkeys were around. Anyway, I'm going to have to drag that kid out some evening to see if we can spot some (those last 2 birds) going for their roosts.  
Thanks guys.

[Wednesday Caste]

Doing some research for turkey tracks/scat/marks, I found this site that I found helpful for a newbie like me. Thought I'd put it up for other newbies.
Quinn
 http://www.bear-tracker.com/turkey.html

[BlacktailBowhunter]

I spend a lot of time on the phone with wildlife biologists. I call every local wildlife office and figure out where the best spot is too hunt.

I drive close to 200 miles to hunt for 3 days, but it is worth the drive. Nothing beats pre-season scouting especially when I do most of it on the phone.

Check out the National Wild Turkey Federation website for all the info you'll need. At:  www.NWTF.org

Good luck.

[tamure]

Greetings, Quinn, and welcome to Tradgang.  

The only place I've ever seen turkeys in Nevada is at the Mason Valley Wildlife Management Area. I've put in for a tag there a couple times, but never got one, and I gave up trying several years ago. The over-the-counter leftover tags are, I believe, for areas that have few turkeys and/or the turks are on private land.

My understanding is that turkeys are not native here and that they were introduced with, as you've seen, limited success.

Just wondering, are you new to Nevada?

[Wednesday Caste]

Blacktail,
Thanks for the NWTF link.  The info on there is limited too based on the info Tamure noted above.

Tamure,
Thanks that's the info we have found in our research....You have PM.