Take the shotgun....there should be no shame in doing so...either way it is still a great accomplishment

Yup, if you never killed one go out and call and get all excited about a goobler coming in and strutting and doing his thing. If you can catch one on the roost that gets all hot, and then flys down and comes goobling andcrawling into you before showing himself, all the more fun. You got to get the fever.

Hey wait, I got the fever without killing one for a lot of years. I was just calling for other folks. LOL It doesn't matter. Do it without all these new fangled blinds and crap. Plop against a tree and make 'em sing. None of this bushwhacking crap. Call 'em or leave 'em Besides not having to kill one to have fun, the meat isn't all that good to me.

Here's my Turkey Thunder! Gun and scope are APG to match my 82nd!MAD Choke

Dan

I would say take the gun for your first bird so you dont get discouraged. Bow hunting gobblers is much more difficult even for seasoned verterans. Get that first turkey and it will be in your blood.

Just patterned the gunthis week and the 3 1/2" Hevi-Shot #6, 2 1/4 ounce loads were the best pattern. Now I find out those shells have been discontinued. At least that's what I was told[:@]

This pattern is at 40 yards. Not sure how well it will show up but there are 3 shots in the Turkey's brain alone.

No doubt this gun will reach out and touch'em

That picture is approx. 8" X 5.5"

Dan

The only way I would ever fire a 3.5" out of my 870 would be in self defense.

I'm still searching for my right retina after a few rounds of 3" from mine, and I think I might have bleeding on my brain?. []

Aaron - this question really doesn't have as muchto do with your status as a beginner, but moreso your preferred hunting methods. Both ways are fairly simple, and I wouldn't label one any "harder" than the other.

If you take the shotgun, you're mobile - and free to cover lots of ground and call like a maniac. Typically, this mode of turkey hunting is exciting if you get the hang of it - but if you're not a great caller, and not careful - you'll likely scare away 10x more birds than you'll ever call in. There are literally days where I've broadcast calls and glassed several thousand acres in one day.Also, if you're not careful, you run the risk of locking up all the mature birds in the area (callshy). If you're a true beginner, self-teaching at every turn in the road, your odds of success will be pretty close to zero at first. You'll never get bored, I guarantee it. When I take young guys out, this is how we do it, b/c they seem to really enjoy the locating, shocking, glassing and non-stop action.

However, if you bowhunt - you're married to the blind. That's not always a "bad" thing, especially if you're relegated to one small farm or geographic area.Just by virtue of the lack of mobility - the aggressiveness of the calling will tend to be more toned down, more subtle. It's a much slower-paced brand of hunting, but is highly effective. To me, sitting in a blind is mind-numbing.

In my honest opinion, if you just want to "get a turkey" - go sit in a blind all day in a known strut zone - and never make a single call. Take gun or bow - it doesn't matter - and shoot what comes along and stops to check out your deke. However, if you want to have a little fun and try to work some birds, take the shotty, walk around, glass some fields, start learning to use the land formations to your advantage, and enjoy yourself.

I fired 2 shots from 4 different type shells the other evening, 8 shots total

The Federal Mag-Shoks had the biggest kick and the worst pattern out of my gun/choke combo.

It sure got the wife's attention. She likes my bows betterShe said that thing sounds dangerous[8D]

Dan

cute kid my daughter and her would get along camo attire and all!

Ditto.