Struggling to find Fall Turkey South East Idaho

[KRA17]

Hey Everybody,

New to the forum and new to hunting.

I am taking my hand in some public land turkey hunting and I am looking for some tips to locate the turkey.
I have spent two weekends now up in the Cache national forest and have not seen a sign of turkey yet, or even a gobble. Currently my tactic is to start 500ish feet above the snowline and work my way down. I have been in elevation of 7500 to about 5800 feet. Driving, stopping, hiking, I have definitely put the miles on the boots and seen plenty of wildlife, but no turkey. I will hike in an hour, try and find water holes or creeks, find a few spots to do calls and hope for a gobble. I wait for about 30 minutes at a time in each spot.

Not looking for any secret spots, I do not mind putting in the hours, but I am curious what the best strategy is for locating birds.

I guess I am curious about a few things:
1. If there are turkeys in the area would I expect them to call back? Or if there is no sound I should move on.
2. Will turkeys be at this kind of elevation going into the winter?
3. What are some tactics I can use to help locate birds?

I am going to be heading out again for 2 or 3 nights in a couple weeks before the close of the season November 30th. Hoping to have some better luck.

 

[spencerkwick]

I haven't done any turkey hunting this year but I have run into quite a few of them up near Rexburg and the Palisades. I have not heard much nor had many of them respond to my attempt at calling them with my mouth. I have always seen them at lower elevations too. I can only imagine that they go even lower the colder it gets.

 

[dtrkyman]

Generally not going to gobble in the fall, try jake yelps for calling.

Keep covering ground and looking around, they flock up so they will be concentrated.

I would stay below the snow!


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[MOwhitetail]

I would try your local grocery store. They seem to flock up there this time of year.