ksfowler

It doesnt matter what gear you are using if you dont know how to hide and stay still. From my experiences turkeys will give you one chance of being seen, once you get seen you have to be on the top of your game and not move at all but still get the gun or bow up and at full draw. Good luck you will fall in love with hunting them.

SouthernStrut56

I have an uncle in Huntsville, and my g/f is fromup that wayso I've been up around there a little bit. Good lookin land up there for turkeys. It would be a lot different thanwhere I hunt, it's more flat up there,sonot all the tactics I use would apply up there. The hunting would be a little different, that's all. Simply said, if you're fall hunting, just find where they roost and feed, set up between or right where they will come to feed. No need to worry with windwith turkeys, but keep in mind they see much much better than a deer. Full camo, always be ready, and keep movement to an extreme minimum, unless you know where the turkeys are and know they can't see you at all. Even then, they may be watching somewhere. Noise doesn't matter all that much, as long as they don't see your movements when you're making noise. Like someone mentioned, scratching in the leaves is an excellent tactic, but don't go crazy with it and don't do it too much, just pretend you're a turkey scratchin for bugs under the leaves. Learn the cluck and purr,it's a good fall season call, and great for mid to late morning hunting. This call is a sign of contentment, relaxation, and food. Not so easy on your boxcall you got, much easier on a slate or some type of friction call......glass, crystal, whatever.Primos power crystal slate with a purple heart striker or a flat tipped synthetic striker does a cluck n purr very well.Go ahead and buy a$4 mouth call, you will become addicted and you will WANT to learn how to use one.HS Strut makes great ones, that's all I use, one single HS Strut deuce cutter. Don't get sucked into spending$60 or $80 for any turkey call, that's ridiculous, you don't need the best to kill turkeys. Then again, the worstand cheapest calls sometimes don't get it done all that well. Crow callor woodpecker is a good locator call to make em "shock" gobble when they're being silent, owl hooter very early before they fly down. When they're hot, they will gobble at just about anything. I've had em gobble at my truck door shutting, horn honking (on accident),train whistle, siren from the dam, and thunder. Plant some wheat or oats in a small plot somewhere for fall season, if that's possible, and it will benefit you duringearly spring as well. Create other openings around the feeding and roosting zones, plow up some dirt for feather dusting and fresh bugs, but don't forget to leave some standing brush for cover if you were to check a food plot around late morning or mid-day and spot a gobbler to go after. Think about stand location and what would be the best path to get to your spot with little noise or movement detected.....this doesn't always work, you WILL spook turkeys off the roost, that's how it is. If this happens, don't give up, they probably all flew in different directions and really wanna find each other before the day starts. Knowing how to do a "kee kee" and assembly yelp call will benefit you greatly as you may be able to get set up in the area and call the lost turkeys back together. This tactic is very effective where I hunt, mostly ridges and hollows. The turkey can't see up on top of the hill because it's so steep, but he or she wants to find out where that turkey is (ME), so they can't resist and come to top to be blown away, unless it's a hen. In flat areas, may not work as well, but it could still be effective. I guess that brings chapter 1 to a close, haha . I'm tired of typing,just got into it for a minute there and couldn't stop myself. It was almost like I was in the woods! Ahhhhh, spring spring spring. Read some more, ask more questions. Good luck becoming a turkey addict!

SouthernStrut56

Wow I didnt realize it but I just rambled through that whole dadgum thing, haha. Sorry, but theres some good stuff in there. Nowhere near everything, just some rambling info.

gmil6184

I think that is awesome you would like to try to take one with the bow and if that what your heart is set on then go for it. In my honest opinion you might want to think about trying to get one or two with a gun first though. Turkey hunting can be very challenging and very frustrating, especially when you are just learning the ropes, and using a bow. Once you get a couple under your belt and get the hang of things then try taking a few with your bow. But like I said if that is what your heart is set on don't let me talk you out of it.
As for any specific gear you need, you are already off to a good start. You need full head to toe camo, including gloves and facemask, a call or two, gun or bow and you are set. Granted there is lots of specialty gear you can get, but most of it is optional. As for tactics to use, the first thing i would do is try to find out where the birds are roosting, as they generally return to the same areas. After that see if you can figure out any travel patterns they might use. This is important because you always want to be where they are going or want to go...even the best calling in the world wont do you any good if there are no birds around, or you are some place they don't want to be already.
As for calling, keep it fairly simple. Learn the basic yelp, cluck and purr, then from there you can work on the more advanced stuff like keekee runs, cutts, cackles, etc. there is a fine line between calling enough to keep a bird interested, and over calling. Unfortunately that line moves around a lot and what works once, on one bird, in one situation might not work on a different bird in a different situation. I call it "taking a birds temperature", if he is real hot and gobbling at everything you can pour it on because that's what he wants to hear, if he is real quiet and hardly gobbling or not gobbling at all you might have to really tone it down, or stop calling all together. Learning how to call only comes with experience though and you are bound to mess up more then you get it right but that is what keeps it fun. It also depends on what time of year we are talking about, what works in the spring (breeding season) probably wont work in the fall. In the fall i tune it way down, just throwing out a few yelps and clucks, and try to ambush them as they go to roost. Anyways i hope that helped some, good luck out there!

SouthernStrut56

I like what gmil said about takinga fewwith your gun first. I was thinkin about that as well, but I also thought that if you were to bow hunt turkeys before you gun hunt them, you will probably respect the turkey and turkey hunting way more as bowhunting turks is a little tougher. But you also might get so frustrated that you just flat out give up. I agree with gmil, you might wanna think about taking your gun a few times and trying to get a couple under your belt, but don't let us stop you. I gota buddy that has never killed a turkey, and he refuses to take a gun turkey hunting. Everytime we go he takes his bow, he's like you, wants to takehis first with a bow. There's nothin wrong with it, just knowthat there are no guarantees in turkey hunting and you're gonna have to screw up a lot to learn a little.

superstrutter

Great information guys. SouthernStrut, you are dead on, there is nothing like Spring turkey hunting. I love deer and duck hunting, but there is just something special about hunting turkeys. It's a combination of many things only a true turkey hunter would understand. If you ask Will Primos, Knight and Hale, Eddie Salter, the Drury brothers, Michael Wadell and many otherswhat there favorite species to hunt is, I bet they will all say the Wild Turkey. BTW, I was going to suggest starting out with a shotgun first, but ya'll beat me to it. I'll talk turkey anytime.

Rebel Hog

When you do take a Turkey with a bow will mean that you have mastered the Turkey Calls to bring them in that close. If you can consistently do that you will out-do many shotgun hunters............Same with with hunting other animals, learnthe techniques from other Archers, learn about firearms from Gunners.

mudhead1

thanks for all the advice i really appreciate it hopefully i'll get a chance to use it this fall thanks again

BowHuntingAddict

I'd recommend you hook up with someone experienced, and buddy hunt with them a few times, if they are willing. I had a friend willing to help me when I first got started, and learned a lot from him. Ideally, they can teach you how to locate birds on the roost, set up in good proximity to them before they fly down, and start to work them in. If that gobbler gets henned up off the roost, then you can always change position, or try to cut them off. Being familiar with the land you are turkey hunting is a big help. My buddy taught me a lot about locating and roosting birds, when to move and when to stay put, and a ton of other tips that he learned from years of prior experience in the woods. I owe my many subsequent years of successful turkey hunts to him.

I'm partial to slate calls, as you can get some great sound off them once you learn to use them. But it really helps to practice with a mouth call. I used to practice in my truck to and from work. It was good use of idle time, and gave me good opportunity to become proficient with them. Movement is the one thing that can really bust your turkey hunt up in a heartbeat. Turkeys have great eyesight. Slate calls and box calls require two hands to use. When that gobbler gets close, set them down. A mouth call doesn't require your hands, so there is very little movement involved, and lets you keep your finger near the trigger.

Best of luck.