Last year was my first year turkey hunting, i moved to northeast kansas and we thought we would give it a shot. Ive been hunting pheasants since i was about 6 so i knew this would be a whole different game. We went out one evening and found a spot we knew turkeys were around but we didnt see any. The next mornin we went out and by 9 a.m. i was lookin at a big gobbler headin right my way he came within range and i let him have it with the 3 1/2 in mag out of my benelli at about 50 yards, it knocked him down hard i got up and tried to get out of the thorn thicket i was in and next thing i knew he was runnin, by this time he was already to farr out there and i watched him ducked into the woods, so we went up found where leaves were turned over and followed the blood trail to some rock and there wasn't anymore sign of him. So sad to say after about 2 hours of lookin for him we gave up, it was so hard to do i didnt want to leave him there.And that was just the first of the string of bad luck, and not once but twice on public ground we had a tom comin in to us and some other hunters spooked the toms. So all in all last year was really frustrating but we had a blast doin it. Does anyone have any advice for new hunters im only 15 and im hopin to get a tom next week during youth season and we found a spot that i really like theirs quite a few toms and a couple jakes that we seen out scoutin yesterday so any advice will help for us new to the game

pheasantHUNTER121,
I remember my days of hunting as a 15 year old. Blessed with a family of life long obsessed turkey hunters, I learned the trades of being a consistent turkey hunter. Now, some simple advice I would suggest for yourself is to be PATIENT. This saturday morning when you're out in the woods, wait for a bird to gobble and try to head in his direction. Typically, a tom will start gobbling 15 minutes before flydown, but this isn't always the case. This past march I was in Alabama turkey hunting and I like to get into the woods quite early. Why? Well, I love to turkey hunt and there's nothing like being out there early, listening to all the natural sounds you'll hear. Moving on...that morning in Alabama, I was in the woods at 4:30 am CST, and around 4:40 I started hearing gobbles (one hour and thrity minutes til light). So you really don't know when they'll start gobbling. Now, I like to let the tom gobble naturally (without locator calls). After you locate a bird, try to get 80-100 yards from him or some where in your comfort zone. After you get positioned give him some soft tree yelps and see what happens. If nothing happens, get louder so he can hear you. If he responds, give him a couple excited yelps followed by a fly down cackle and listen for 3 - 5 minutes. Now, if he starts gobbling his head off keep him going. Give him some more yelps and keep it in short series. If you notice his gobble is getting louder then get ready cause he's coming your way. Like I said before Patience is going to be your biggest obstacle asa young hunter. Shoot I'm 24 years old and I still have problems with patience. Just know that if he's responding extremely well, then the ball is almost on your side of the court. If the gobbles are getting louder then theres a high probability he's heading your way. If you do encounter this, then quit calling and fight the urge to call again. This use to be my biggest problem. Oncea bird falls to my calls andhe's headed my way I'll over do the calling. In more cases than one, a gobbler will lose interest and head off in another direction. Don't get me wrong, I've filmed many turkey's that I call the "show boat gobblers," because from fly down, to the time I shot the turkey, the gobbler would gobble almost everytime I called. I would throw every single call at him from the time he hit the ground from roost til the time he hit the ground from my shotgun. I hope you have the best of luck this weekend and be safe. Remember, PATIENCE is a virtue in the wonderul world of turkey hunting!

David Ellis

The advice from above is good. Another piece of advice I would have would be if you are gonna shoot a turkey at 50 yards, make sure you have patterned your gun well and know for a fact you will put enough pellets in the head and neck everytime at that distance. That is a LONG shot in turkey hunting. I dont like to shoot much past 40 if I can help it but I know my gun will kill them at 50. 2 years ago I actually killed one at 55. I'm not saying you were wrong to shoot, just make sure you stay within the limits of your gun. Another piece of advice,be very PATIENT, and hunt as much as possible. Learn from the turkeys. Everytime you go out is a chance to learn something new and get better at hunting them. Good luck and have fun. Hope to hear a success story from you soon!

All the advice above is great, The best advice one can give is to fully no their limits on of thier gun. Also learn to judge yardages also.

o woops i accidently put 50 yards, my dad marked the bird at about 37 yards so i just figured 40 was about right. Ive got an xtra full in my benelli and we did go out and pattern it i don't remember what the pellet grouping was but my dads friend said it was pretty good. Do u guys think im still in range at about 40 yards or do i need to let them come in closer. Thanks anything helps.

You should be able to effectively take down a turkey at 40 yards with an extra full choke. On a side note, if you don't end up filling your tag(s), you're more than welcome to hunt with me and my buddies May 5-7 about 45 minutes SW of Olathe(between Ottawa and Emporia). We're on more birds than we'd ever be able to shoot. Let us know how you do.

Mark