Anyone else ever trapped a property with so many turkeys they’ve had to cover their sets after a morning check, then go back in the evening and remove the covers for night catches? Been using old shingles.
Thought all that scent could hurt my productivity, but still catching the same amount as I do on other properties.
My 550’s are set at about 3.5# and will catch a turkey.

That’s crazy ! Never heard of that. Must not be many nest robbers on the property.

A couple years in Kansas I was trapping cats on some big ranches that had a lease agreement with some outfitters to hunt quail and prairie chickens. They had some prized dogs that they didn't want caught in my traps.

So I had to cover all my sets with some heavy bark pieces that I was lucky to find " on the line" each morning. Then go back late in the day after the hunting hours were over and uncover for that night. A pain for sure but the locations always caught several cats each week, so you have to do what you need to do sometimes.

Luckily this was only for a few weekends a month.

Not turkeys but geese.

I can understand that. One of my sons works on a plantation and the price of some of the dogs would scare a person, lol. They have dogs ranging from $5K-20K.

I've had turkeys uncover traps scratching before, but never caught one. No dirtholes or fresh dirt will help. But that isn't one hundred percent, I ended up pulling a trap in the snow this winter because a bird kept scratching all the snow and my wax paper off it. Clean trap, I believe a new lure I was trying was attracting it and it would scratch the loose snow over the trap off. Tried going without wax paper, thinking that might be it, but it still exposed the trap so I finally ended up pulling it. Assume I had to be set close to its roost.

I have problems with turkeys every fall. Put a dirt hole where there is sod and they think they need to scratch where ever there is dirt.

X2

Nope, our turkey populations are few and isolated. Pheasant or chukar once in a while, I keep my tension pretty light on sets that I think a kit fox might visit.

I caught a turkey by the middle toe. I think it was scratching for food and hit my trap pan. I kinda had to tackle it to release it. Crazy!!!

Yeah, they can get rambunctious in a trap, was hoping they’d be like a buzzard and just lay there, lol. I try and keep cameras on areas I suspect turkeys, the quicker I can get there the better.
Some of these places have gobblers that will die of old age. And yeah, they hunt them on all these properties. They just manage them well. Saw 3 gobblers and 3 jakes two days ago, they literally pay NO attention to my truck. Of course I’ve been driving the same truck for the last 20 years and trapping these places for 4-5 years. Even the deer know me, lol.

I thought turkeys were buzzards

They're not trying to 'dust bath' in the sifted dirt, are they.?

Might try blending chopped grass over the pattern, if so

I use my pioneers permit and fillet them overgrown chickens up.Baha

Don’t start!! I took one out for you, lol. I’ll be back next year and hopefully take a couple more!

I don’t have an issue with them dusting at a set, just walking all over the place. You figure a 10-20# bird steps dead center on the pan and it’s tripping.