HEY YALL WUZ UP? IM NEW TO TUREY HUNTING AND NEEDS SOME HELP.I HAVE A MOSSBERG 500 AND HAT SIZE SHELL IS GOOD FOR TURKEY HUNTING? WHAT CALL IS GOOD TO GET USE TO AS A BEGINNER? ANY TIPS WOULD BE GREAT.I AM FROM CENTRAL ILLINOIS.

Any 3" Mag. shell with #4 or #5 shot . For a newcomer, I would recommend starting out with a friction-type call . A good slate or a box call... even a plunger -type call would work. With a little pratice,you should make any of those calls sound like a hen . That would be my advise. I'm sure there are others on here that can addmore or better info. Good luck !

Welcome turkeyman, The gun should be fine and generally #4 or5 shot is best for turkey. As to the brand, they all pattern a little differant ineach gun. I use Federal #5 shot in my Rem 870 exp magnum 3", with a extra full turkey choke. As to the call, I would suggest a slate or glass friction call for a beginner and ya better get to practicing. I use a Glass Witch or Slate Witch from HS Strut (Hunter Specialties). Be sure to follow the directions on conditioning your call before using it.

Also, what type of choke does your mossberg have in it? You need to have a full or extra full turkey choke in it to get the tightest pattern. There are many brands to choose from. Any local gun shop or Walmart should have some to choose from. The best name brand does not mean that it will pattern best for your gun. Mine happens to be Remington and came with my gun. I have tried others that are supposed to be top of the line and didn't pattern as well as my rem.

You can pickup alot of tips and information on this forum go back as far as you can and do alot of reading.

Hey turkey man - one word caution or warning first - turkey hunting is a dang disease!


Now PM me and I will give you a phone number - am in Wisconsin myself and have hunted 20 years now.

Yoou need help - post specific questions.

To your first question the easist call is the push pin call - followed by the box and or a pot (slate)call.

The Hurricane to Typhoon Call by Quaker Boy are good.......go to a sprotinggoods store and ask them to help show you how to call. Is real easy as I taught a 13 yr old boy a few days ago and he called in his first ever Tom as I sat there!

Don't get frustrated with this site - people do help - is one of the nicest pages I have ever found!

JW

i use 4 shot and friction calls

Everyone learns differently (faster, slower, etc...) and for some weird reason, I had trouble learning to get a good sound out of a slate call for the longest time, therefore, I would have to say start out with a box call. Very easy to use and as long as you have chalk on the lid, it works great! Most people use 4, 5, or 6 shot when hunting turkey. If you have someone around you that knows what they are doing, ask them as many questions and learn personally from someone. If you don't know anyone (as was my case), then you will have to learn through this site and making lots of mistakes. As JW! said, it is very addictive! Best of luck!

I'm new to turkey hunting also. Went out and bought a pair of Mossberg 500's, one for me and one for my son. Shot it twice and went back to the store and bought a limbsaver butt-pad, didn't shoot it again for three days. I started out patterning Federal, 3", 5's and 6's at 30 yards with the full choke, nice tight pattern. Patterned out again at 40 yards and wasn't very impressed. I added a Carlson, ported xtra full, turkey choke and tried out the Remington Heavyweight #5's. Very few pellets off thepaper at 40 yards, shooting at the Primos turkey targets. We'll be trying out everything we've been learning this coming weekend. Can someone tell me how to keep my thumb out of my eye?

The calls aren't that hard to figure out, slates and boxcalls seem to have a slightly smoother learning curve than the mouthcalls, but I really like the sound of the mouth calls. I picked up a Knight and Hale slate, and a Primos Wetbox boxcall, because it's supposed to either rain or snow, or both, while we're out there. I'm sure glad that you can now buy reasonably priced, camo, quiet, raingear now.

I actually use 6 shot, you get morepellets that way, and it works better, since you're only using 3" mags.