First time scouting Eastern Ghosts

[TheStovePipeKid]

I do believe that Hello would be the first order of business for a greenhorn of the forum like myself. I'm currently in the Port Orchard area here in Washington. I was born and raised in Washington and spent most of my time fishing and camping. A few years back I went with my Dad and two of my brothers over to Eastern Washington and I was able to bag my first Turkey on some property owned by old Duke (Some of you might know old Duke, we met him while scouting for Turkey). Anyhow, jump forward a few years plus a marriage and we haven't been out hunting since. I'm bound and determined to get back into hunting, so I proclaimed to my Father that this would be the year we would do a spring hunt and a fall hunt. My Wife and I are expecting our first child, a boy, at the end of April! She has given me permission to go on a day hunt, or short weekend hunt at the opening of the season. This means that if I want to take part in the spring hunt I'm going to be chasing the ever elusive Eastern Ghosts. I will be scouting down south and hoping to run into some evidence without getting eaten by a cougar.

Well I figured I would introduce myself, lay out my life story, and in the end shamefully promote my own hunting agenda. Wish me luck, I understand that I am definitely going to need it.

[turkeydancer]

Kid:

Hunting the "wetside" ghosts is a tough proposition.  You might be better going back to Duke's even for a short hunt, because you will spend a lot of time and shoe leather just trying to locate the birds even if you know a general area to start.  Add to that the fact that many Eastern hunters protect their honey-holes by removing all turkey sign they find, the fact they are in smaller groups, they are quieter by nature along with our dense folage eating up almost all sound, our copius amounts of rain that makes them even less willing to play ... well you getting the picture.
 
That said, PM me and introduce yourself ... I'm from Gig harbor and work @ PSNS.  I can get you to some general areas to start searching ...

Of course not near my honey-hole ... 
 

[TheStovePipeKid]

I'm at a bit of an impasse at the moment. I don't have anyone to go scouting with me and my very pregnant wife has issue with me becoming cougar poo from scouting alone. I always carry my 9mm with me as my EDC and I'm picking up some bear spray for scouting as well as general hiking and fishing uses. Any safety recommendations from those who go scouting solo? It will certainly help set my wife's mind at ease and help me be better prepared. Thanks in advance. And thanks to Turkeydancer for helping me out with a PM!

[turkeydancer]

Keep your eyes open, look around a lot, use locator calls but never turkey calls before season (to easy to educate the birds making it tougher during season), wear head to toe camo just like you were hunting, use good woodmanship (ie - don't call from the middle of a field or forest opening, call or peak around a tree at corners rather than just walking around them), use a bike if you have one (cover more territory faster, but still slow enough you can still spot sign), and if you see a cougar make yourself appear as big as possible, don't turn your back on him, and retreat slowly so you don't trigger an attack response.