mudhead1

i am wanting to get into turkey hunting but i knw very little about it. i would appreciate any advice anybody could offer. i have a primos box call and two montana decoys one is a hen the other is a tom at half fan. also i want to hunt them with a bow. so any help you guys could give would be awesome. thanks

BuckRogers

You want to hunt them in the spring or the fall? Sounds like you have the gear needed to hunt them in the spring. I cant really help you with fall turkey hunting. Also hunting magazines offer GREAT articles on hunting so get a couple of them as well. Specific questions you have would make it easier for us too.

SouthernStrut56

I've told this to many wanting to get into this addiction......Just DO IT. You will not become a successful turkey hunter from advice given on a forum. It helps, a lot sometimes, but you really just have to go and hunt em before you realize what kinda animal you're hunting. Turkeys can be the most enjoyable to hunt, while also being the most frustrating thing to hunt, all in the same day sometimes! As you can see, not too many people keep up with the turkey hunting forum when it's not spring (hypocrites! ...jk), so you might not get too much advice this time of year. During the spring, there are some sure enough turkey experts on here to talk to, but like BuckRogerssaid you should read a little bit and find out some info so you can ask more specific questions. Without questions I would just start typing and probably wouldn't stop until tomorrow sometime. Spring turkey hunting is my favorite season of all, always will be! When you hear two or three nasty toms gobblin their heads off on a foggy spring morning, you oughta be addicted right then! Even now I look forward to March 16, 2009. Any questions, ask em, I love talkin about it.

blackjeep04

Are you hunting private or public land?

SevenMag

mudhead,

I'm in the same boat, gonna get everything prepped for this coming spring, but you're way ahead of me on gear and stuff, i haven't even bought a shotgun yet... which brings me to why I'm over here...

I was thinkin about pickin up an Rem 870 for my turkey gun and a good friend of mine who's a serious pheasant guy tells me to check out the benelli nova as well...

any thoughts from the players gallery??

I figure i'm gonna need some kind of ground blind given the area I'll be hunting (family land in AL) and of course i'll use my standard deer camo clothing... are decoys a must for turkey??

SouthernStrut56

Don't waste your money on decoys Seven, trust me. I have a Rem 870 Special Purpose Turkey gun, made with a shorter barrell and turkey chokes. Shoots 3 1/2 in loads, but that's not a must. There are a lot of great guns out now, shouldn't be too hard to find one. Also depends on if you're gonna do any other kind of hunting with that gun. Dove hunting would be easier with a longer barrell gun, etc. What part of AL you hunting?

SevenMag

our land in in NW AL, town called Hamilton, not far from Florence...

EnglishHope

When you're turkey hunting in the Fall, you can move the leaves with your hand (make it sound like a turkey is making scratches.) And also when you are turkey hunting in the Fall, you can take a plastic grocery bag (a brown one so it's camouflaged.) And hold on hand on one end and the other hand on the other end and pop it. Good luck!

Hurricanespg

Sounds like you have the equipment you need for the hunt, now you just have to get out there.
If you are going to be hunting in the spring or the fall it is always nice to know where they are roosting.
When bowhunting a lot of peoplelike to use ground blinds, and seem to have good success with them . I prefer to brush myself in and hunt from the shadows. Obviously the toughest thing about bowhunting them is drawing back on them, so just make sure you are well concealed or drawing while they are looking away.
Here are a couple of aiming points to use while bowhunting.

Good luck, if you have any more questions just ask away!

Hurricanespg

Either of the shotguns you mentioned will be perfectly fine for turkey hunting, once you decide which one you want to go with let me know, and I will be happy to let you know what choke/load combos I have had success with.
I agree with southern, you do not need decoys....sometimes it is nice to have them, but you do not need them.
You don't really need a ground blind, but lots of people use them and they do work fine so that is really up to you.
Good luck, if you have questions just fire away!