Hey all.

Im new to hunting so pardon my " Lame-ness"

I never really hunted Turkey before .
I understand there is different types of turkey and was curious as to how I can tell which are which.

I live in New York City , so for the first 80% of my life the only turkey I knew of was Boars head.

Noone ever showed me , how or what so now I am trying to get this all on my own.

I hunt alone. mostly upstate NY Catskills

What type of turkey habit this region ??

What do I need to hunt them in Spring and what do I need to hunt them in Fall ??

Gun , Call, camo , shot , choke yelp, decoy, scent block , ???

and how do i use all this ???

like I said i appreciate all the help I can get..
Growing up in NYC, you really dont get much of this knowledge..

I could probably tell you how to ride the subway though.......

Thanks , best of luck to all this season.

Just about anywhere north of florida and east of the missisissppi river, you are hunting the Eastern subspecies of turkey.

The guide didn't copy and paste, but the color Blue is easterns, Green is Rio Grandes, Red is Merriams, Orange is Osceloas, tanish color is Goulds and baby blue is Oscellateds. Yellow is overlap area where you will find a few hybrids.




Easiest way to tell them apart is by and large where you are hunting them. You will not kill a Rio east of the mississippi... unless its an escaped domestic bird (which there are several Rios and Merriams... or at least they look like them). On sight, the way to tell is mostly by the color of the tail feather tips.


Here is an eastern... notice the buff brown colored tail feather tips.



This is the Rio Grande... note how much lighter/khaki colored the tail feather tips are.



Here is the Osceloa. They look similar to easterns, but have a predominant black barr on their wing feathers. Some folks call them Black Wings. They are in south Florida only.


This is the Merriams. They have almost white tail feather tips. They are the mountain and cold weather birds.


This is the Gould's turkey. There are a few being replanted in southern Arizona and New Mexico... largely they are found in old Mexico. They have almost pure white tail tips. Whiter so than the Merriams.



Lastly, you have the oscellated turkey. They don't have spurs, and they don't gobble. And they look rather unique of course.. more like a peacock than a turkey really.... but they are infact a species of wild turkey.

Yhat is a oscellated hen the males have huge spurs. That is one way to tell you are looking at a male.

Thats right, my mistake... it is beards that the males lack.. not spurs.... got confused.

thanks for the elaborate map and pictures.

this will be helpful in the months to come while i am doing scouting and stalking sites ...

mark

now that you know what type of turkey you will be hunting, you need to know what you need to hunt them with. lets start with guns. most people favor shotguns by remington, mossberg, or benelli. you can check out several models at www.remington.com, www.mossberg.com, or www.benelliusa.com. Federal, Winchester, and Remington area few good shell brands. # 4, 5, and 6s are the good shot sizesfor turkeys. personally i prefer #5s. all will pattern differently, so try each one to pick out the one you like best. your pattern will also change with different choke tubes. you should get a full or extra full choke for turkey hunting. your gun should come with at least three different size choke tubes, including a full choke. ifyou are interested in anaftermarket choke, there are severalbrands to choose from. i use a primos jellyhead, but i've never tried anything else so you'll have to find other opinions on that. in my experience though thejellyheadhas been a great choke that throws awesome patterns.calls are an absolute must forturkey hunting, and there are several different kindsand hundreds of brands.box calls and slate calls are best for beginners, as the mouth calls are a little more advanced. you can findsome good brands at reasonable prices, such as knight and hale and quaker boy. both companies make great sounding calls. decoys are a nice accessory, and so is a small portable blind. if i missed anything or forgot something, please let me know guys. good luck!

As far as shot goes , the pellets get larger as the number goes higher ???
Is that how is goes ???

Also , Choke...

As far as i know theyre are 4 types of choke.
Improved , Full , Modified and Open...

What do each of them do different from the other, Which makes a big spray and which makes a smaller tight one....

with shot, it is the opposite. #6 shells mean smaller pellets and more shot. #4 shells are bigger pellets with fewer shot, and #5s are in the middle. i prefer #5s because i think the #4s don't have enough shot in them, and the #6s don't pack as much of a wallop, so i settle for the in between shells, and they work great for me. now as for the chokes, they go like this. the function of a choke tube is to constrict the barrel, or in other words tighten it up making the pattern smaller. there are several sizes. and here they are.
Cylinder- the most open of all the chokes, and throw a large pattern better for close range work.

Improved Cylinder- slightly tighter than the regular cylinder, and throws a slightly smaller pattern that is effective at close to moderate range.(20 to 35 yards)

Modified- tighter than the IC, used for longer range hunting.(35 to 50 yards)

Full-very tight constriction, used for the same range as the Modified, but makes the pattern smaller at those ranges. used for larger waterfowl and turkeys.

Extra Full (or Super Full, they mean the same thing)-tightest constriction there is, used primarily for turkey hunting, and creates an extremely tight pattern that packs a punch at very long ranges. (anywhere from 35 up to 60 yards, although i certainly don't recommend taking a shot at a turkey sixty yards away. stick to shots ranging from 25 to 45 yards.) one thing to remember. since this choke is so tight, any shot under 25 yards will be about the size of a bowling ball, if that, so there is very little room for error. keep that in mind.

well, i think thats it. sorry for writing a novel but you need to be well informed. one last tip: NEVER, and i mean NEVER shoot steel shot out of a Modified, Full, or Extra Full choke tube. lead shot and copperplated lead are compatible with all of the chokes. i hope this has helped, and please let me know if you have any more questions.

The pull down menu at the top of the page should help you a lot, all you have to do is go to features; then Turkey hunting, this show tell you a lot

WOW some good advise. Welcome to the wonderful world of Turkey hunting and welcome to the board.