new to turkey hunting....help
 

hello i have never been turkey hunting in my life but have seen loads of turkeys while deer hunting so i would like to hunt them.....
Could you give me some advice on how to hunt turkeys?
I already have a box call by quaker boy which i guess works pretty well because last spring every morning i heard them out there before school and i used the call and they answered back ( it was very entertaining)
do i need a special choke? where do turkeys like to go? any scents to use or food to put out?
i also have more quesrions about turkey hunting but it would fill up the whole page. but just remember I HAVE NEVER BEEN TURKEY HUNTING AND HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT ANYTHING
thanks

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

hey um im only 14 years old but i know alot about turkey hunting. Ok, 1st i would put some corn out, but make sure its 200 yards of where you'll be hunting (its optional to put corn out: most ppl dont but i do) buy yourself a groundblind and some decoys. i use pretty boy decoys. i have a tom and a hen. Put the decoys about 10-15 yards from your groundblind. i use a box call, a crow call and a owl call, because gobblers will gobble back at any of them. i get up around 6:30 am and i go out to where ill be hunting and ill stay until 9:00 am. you dont need any kind of choke just use your gun as it is. you dont need to put out any scent. if you call a gobbler up to where your hunting you have to be realy quiet and realy still. the only direction a turkey cant see is behind them. they cant see straight, left or right, and they can see 10 times as good as you can. just incase you dont know you use turkey load for ammuntion and you shoot the turkey in its head. (P.S: it will not die if you shoot it anywhere else but its head.) I shot 4 gobblers last season, so do what i tell you and i promise you you'll get one. Good luck....

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

Welcome Mossbergman11 to the wonderful world of turkey hunting. Let me just say to me this is the greatest hunting in the world. Im a turkey hunting nut. The first thing you need to do is collect as much knowledge as you can. This site is a great place to start. For one killing a turkey is a hard thing to do. They are very tough to hunt. Yes you must have a good patterning gun and one that will deliver a killing shot. Almost every turkey hunter I know has a good shooting gun with a turkey choke for there gun. You need to practice calling. Learn about turkeys and their sounds. Next is decoys. Some use decoys and some dont. I use decoys. There is so many things to learn about turkey hunting. If you have any questions feel free to ask here or just drop me a PM and I will answer what I can...

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

so i should get a turkey choke? i own a mossberg 500 12 gage in case that is any help to you...

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

I would if I were you. I experimented with a full and a turkey choke, and while they both patterned well, the turkey choke was that much better. Works good too.
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RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

PM me if you would like to talk! I would be more than happy to help you.

Also, any turkey hunting reading is VERY helpful!!

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

Yes Mossbergman11 you need a turkey choke for your Mossberg500. I shoot a Mossberg 500 as well. I use their factory choke. Its an extended choke. They are pretty inexpensive. Mine is an xxfull turkey choke. I wouldnt sell my Mossberg 500 for anything. It shoots that good and has a very tight pattern. PM me if ya have any questions...

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

OMG you can take turkeys and deer without a $700-$1,000 gun!?!?!?!? :eek: I've been on several different boards lately and they all make it seem like you can only kill deer and turkeys with these expensive shotguns, its been getting on my nerves :D I'm a Mossberg fan myself.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

So,
Unfortunately the area the birds are in now may not be where they are in the spring. Generally, birds will break up before the spring and only good scouting will ensure your take of a big gobbler. Don't expect to have to use corn or fancy deeks... Get a few calls NOW and get used to them. try and mimick hens as well as possible. The NWTF website used to have wave sound bites of turkeys you could listen to and the diferent calls they make.
If your going to hunt this spring, getting ready starts now and not opening day, if you go out with doubtful calls and a fall location area... your chances suck.
Get a hen decoy, don't bother with a jake, you don't know how the birds will react to it.... Hens are just to get the attention off you anyways, put it 15 yards directly in front of you. Post up an area that you can see well... make sure you've got some good cover. Put the sun at your back, nothings worse than having the sun in your face.
Pattern your gun... I shoot differently than you do, what I do probably won't work. Get your gun, buy a turkey tube and get about 5 boxes of shells, get a turkey target and pattern your gun at 35 yards. you want to get at least 7 pellets in the head of the target to consider a kill.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

I'm sorry, I just had to. Oh yeah, make sure you put that corn out, then get ready to explain to the game warden why you are doing it. Just keep reading the forum. There will be plenty of informative tips about turkey hunting throughout the season. BTW, don't put corn out, it's illegal in most states and it takes the hunt out of hunting.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

I was thinking the same thing....DON'T PUT CORN OUT!!!

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

I normally don't put corn out while turkey hunting (we do for deer hunting) and it is legal in Texas to use corn year round and you can hunt over the corn, too. As someone else stated, get you a couple turkey calls and learn to use them now. One call to definitely get use to using is a mouth call. It is pretty much the most versitle call that you can use, however, it is also the most complex and hardest to use call. What is great about the mouth call is that you can use it with hardly any movement. I would pick up a slate call, mouth call, and a box call to start off with. You really don't need decoys, although it does come in handy if you are on the edge of a wide-open field. I use them when on the edge a open field and I have had gobblers come running to me from about two hundred yards (talk about getting your heart racing)! Get a turkey choke for your gun and go out and pattern your gun and see how it performs. This is very important becuase you need to know the maximum distance you can effectively kill a turkey. If you ask the question: "what size shotshell and what kind of choke should I use?" you are going to get several different answers. Based on a recommendation from a very knowledgable person, the best to use is 3" with #6 shot shells becuase it has been proven that in most cases (not all) that a 3" shell will pattern just as well and usually better than a 3.5" shell and the #6 shot allows for more BBs in shell. I would start off with some Winchester Supreme 3" #6 shot and go from there. You may have to use a different shotshell if you begin to see several "holes" in your pattern.

Just make sure to get out there as much as you can and you will learn from your mistakes...I know I did!

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

i put corn out for deer. how much and what are some good turkey loads?

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

In my opinion as long as you are using 3" shells it dosen't matter if your using #4,#5,or#6's it will kill a turkey. Also when calling in a turkey if you get the bird tostart commingto you if you just quit calling the bird is more likely to come in. But it dosen't always work, sometimes they won'tcome in at all.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

I myself use Federals 3" magnums 2oz. 5 shot. Thats the best shell used from my gun. But 4 and 6 shot work well. I agree dont put out corn. Practice your calls everyday. Better go outside cause it will drive everyone nuts in the house. Pattern your gun... I agree with using hen decoys. I dont like to put out a Jake decoy.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

yeah..............lol i have done it im my house
how much are hen decoys? what kind are the best?
arrowmaster wat is team chaos?

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

A really popular turkey load is the Winchester 3" shotshells. You can get them in either #4, #5, or #6 shot. #6 shot will give you more than enough nockdown power up to 50 yards or so and will also give you the added benefit of having more BBs.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

i have a Remington 870 Wingmaster. I cannot change the choke in it. I use it for turkey, duck, smallgame, roosters, deer, clays.
PS- Does anybody know what the choke is in a Wingmaster.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

Decoys can be as expensive as you want them to be. I use some made by delta that are very durable. I have had them for about three or four spring turkey seasons and have had great success with them when using them on an open field. Mine came in a "love triangle" which is two hens and a small jake. The love triangle cost me around $40 or so.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

thats not to bad really how many decoys do you need? is one hen good enough? do i have to wear full camo and a facemask because ive heard that you but i dont know.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

It's best if wear full camo. Turkeys cansee very very well and you need to get as much of an advantage as you can.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

You can get a single hen decoy for about 10 bucks at walmart. Decoys arent that expensive. Just depends what type you buy. Yes 1 hen decoy is enough. I prefer at least 2, but Ive killed turkeys before using 1.

As for my Avatar Team Chaos 43. Thats the team Im on in the bowhunting contest on here. Just hang loose there will be a turkey contest this spring where you can sign up. Its fun I recommend it. We have a good time here and I just love this site, but not as much as turkey hunting... Just drop me a message if you need to know anything...

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

Getting the Deeks, the Camo, the choke, and the calls are all important, but I learned the hard way that even with the best of equipment - unless you learn how to properly call birds with your calls you may not be able to coax a bird in close enough to kill cleanly. By learning to sound like a real hen with maybe a box or slate pot call and also with a mouth call you will shorten the time it takes to smack yourself your first tom! The box or pot will work to bring birds in from a distance and as they are moving your direction you can then switch over to the mouth call that leaves your hands free to steady your gun and get ol' tom in your sights.

Another thing that I would suggest to improve your chances is to learn how to judge distances. Mkae a game out of pacing-off the distance between your porch and a rock, or the base of a tree you pick and a bush that is out away from you. If the distance of your stride is right around 3 feet (from the heel of the back foot to the toe of your front foot) and you count how many strides to the object - you get an approximate yardage. Do this enough so that you can tell what 30 yards is and then try to wait for your tom to get into that range.

There isn't anything quite as much fun as calling a tom into range and then making a clean kill. Before you know it you will be just as addicted to turkey hunting as the rest of us. Keep asking questions, there's a lot of experienced and successful hunters on here. Good luck!

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

Excellent advise right there..;)

When it comes to calling...Practice, Practice, Practice!!!

A Buckwing Bob-N-Head hen is all I carry any more...Then I don't use her very often unless I'm working a field bird...Just the slightest breeze will make the head move like a feeding hen and that movement makes her easier for the toms to spot...This guy and his partner ran to her when they saw herdancing in the windfrom acrossed a field.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

Thats a good looking decoy TPhunter

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

Practice, practice, practice.... Turkeys are tough...the more you ACTUALLY DO IT THE MORE YOU LEARN>>>

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

Thats the best tip. Learn from your mistakes.

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

It is best to have as much of your body camoflauged as possible. Turkeys have very good eye-sight due to constant preditor pressure. I read somewhere that, and I don't remember the exact percentages, but a turkey egg has a 10-20% chance of becoming a full grown turkey. It may not be that exact percentage, but I do know that it was an extremely low percentage. Because of the constant preditor pressure, they have learned to have a very good eye. If you see a turkey, don't move! If you can see him, then he can see you and the more camoflauged you are the better.

Calling is very important and make sure to practice a lot! I usually start practicing hard and heavy around January or so, especially with a mouth call. Yes, it will drive everyone around you crazy (just ask my wife), but it is worth it:).

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

Full camo head to toe
The best advice for shot is really whatever patterns the best for your shotgun. I prefer 3" #6's 2oz. but with a different gun, I might find different shot works best.
I like to start with 3 hens and 1 jake but as the season goes on, I leave the jake at home and eventually work my way down to just the one hen. Seems to work for me.
Whatever you decide, good luck because this stuff is fun and very addicting.
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RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

You have to get this close.

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2 4319839

RE: new to turkey hunting....help
 

IM 15 BEEN OUT FOR TURKEYS 2 TIMES. O TURKEY. BEST ADVICE- DONT GO OUT INTO THE WOODS AND EXPECT A TURKEY. I DID THAT N GOT VERY MAD! GO WITH A GUIDE FIRST (AS MY OTHER POST- MAKE SURE HE DONT BRING A GUN AND SHOOT YOUR TURKEY). BUT GOING WITH A GUIDE OR SOMEONE THAT HAS TURKEY HUNTED LETS YOU LEARN ABOUT CALLING AND THEIR TACTICS. PM ME IF YA NEED ANYTHING.