After years of deer hunting, I am thinking about turkey huntingforthe first time this Spring. Any recommendationson how to get started. I'd like to cut down the learning curve.

if you want to cut down the learning curve then read every post you can find here and everywhere else,lol.......there are alot of first timers posting the same question....dont over call, if youre huting public land, then go farther then the rest of the public and stay in the woods, dont leave around 10:00 like most, lol........start scouting now, lol...........

The fastest way to learn to turkey hunt is find someone in your area that has been at it for several years. Knowing where there at helps too!

Tom

Get in the woods and find out where they roost. This is one of my pet-peves of turkey hunting. Also know the land you are hunting.. get an aerial photo and study it. Look for Pine thickets and open fields. I would also suggest a good slate call, a good box call, and a comfortable turkey vest, and a butt load of patience and persistence. Good luck

Scout, scout, then scout some more. Learn where the birds like to roost and move. As season approaches double check all yor areas. As green up occurs the birds can move. I like to have several (read as many as possible) roost sites scouted before season. If I drive to one and another vehicle is parked there I have more to go to. Keep scouting during sesason as hunting pressure can cause the birds to change routine.

Practice a couple of diffferent types of calls so you can get some decent sounds.

Get a few easy calls (easy yelper works good) pattern your shotgun, practice your calling, you need a few decoys, scout your area for turkeys. Dont spook em watch from a road if ya can. Know your land you hunt, stay away from the fences and streams that will lock a gobbler up. Roost the turkeys on turkmas eve and wake em up the next morning with some soft yelps.

Here's a question for you "Seasoned Turkey Hunters" ....Do turkeys normally roost in the same location each spring? I was walking in the woods doing some after season deer scouting and came acorss a spot where there was turkery droppings all over the place. Did I find a roosting area? As you can tell I am also a beginner. You guys talk about scouting..... What are you looking for while scouting for turkey?

the turkeys around here normally roost in the same area, not necessarily in the same oak tree or river willow. Although, when the yotes start to make their rounds, the obviosuly tend to move, but always find themselves back in the same neighborhood. When I scout though, I am looking for numbers of birds, trails of droppings, any predator tracks, ambush sites, normal wind conditions, and any other human tracks throughout the selected hunting area, food plot, or inhabited landscape.

look up in the trees around those droppings are there any big limbs if so you probably found aroost site around here the turks winter in large flocks usually around a cow operation come spring they may move as much as 25 miles in all directions some birds will stay when i scout i look for droppings, feathers, tracks , wing drag marks indicating strut zones, dusting areas little depressions in the earth, scratchings in the leaves indicating feeding areas,and always listen for turkey sounds yelping, wing beats etc. Scouting Tip when you find sign wipe it out and return and see if there is anymore

Get calls, decoys, a good patterned shotgun, scout your area, know the lay of the land, and parctice those calls. Get a locator call as well.