cvillehunter703

Hey guys i will be hunting turkeys this upcoming spring for the first time, so i know nothing. i have a slate call and will be hunting witha crossbow. Can you oldtimers and experts help me out and tell me what calls i should use how i should hunt(i will be on the ground) as in where? i know where they roost also. what decoys should i buy like what type jake, tom ,etc i have no idea, please help me out and tell me some good tips. THANKS!
and also what are crow and owl calls used for?

turkeyslayer15

alright here is a quick lesson...turkeys roost in trees and the toms gobble before the come off the roostunless they r spooked or they have hens in trees or its cold. anyway... prolly u need to go the night before u hunt and see if you can hear one gobble when he goes to roost... so u will know where he will be the next morning. since u got the net u can google turkey sounds and listen to them and that will teach u what different sounds sound like. the most basic calls r yelps of a couple different kinds ex. excited yelps, soft tree yelps. u need to learn the cluck and purr. if u can be real quiet in the woods try to set up @ 75 yd or so from the tree the gobbler is in but if you cant get that close get as close as you can or feel comfortable doing. if the gobbler wont gobble on his own get a crow call or qwl hooter and use it to make him swhock gobble. i like to do some soft tree yelps to let him know im there if he answers me i shut up until he flys off the roost and then it it depends on the situation whether i call or not. if he goes off with hens go find another bird. if you can use a diaphram call thats the best for when turkeys get in close as far as decoys if you hunt private land u can get a b mobile struttin tom and a couple of hen decoys. just a hen decoy will work too u dont have to have a bunch of decoys. where i hunt if a turkey sees a decoy he goes the other way so i dont use them if there is anything else specific i can try to answer send me a message.l

IL-Cornfed

Hunt 'em like deer. DO YOUR HOMEWORK and scout.... that's the key to successful turkey huntin'.

Locate their Roost area and then find out where they like to feed and strut and half the battle is over. It sounds like you've already gotta a pretty good grip on this. Locate these areas and it can be as simply as setting upata location and simply waiting for the birds to show up. Of course, when the target birds do happen to show up.... IF you have a Jake & Hen or a Strutter decoy& a hen, at about 15 yards away and FACING you .... you'll get your shot. With this strategy, you won't have to rely on calling much at all either, an occasional yelp sequence may be all that is needed to seal the deal. Remember though, just like with deer.... DO NOT call if the birds are already heading your way. Good luck and good huntin'

barefoot

First off, LEAVE THE CROSSBOW AT HOME![] ...at least until you get one or two with a shotgun. These birds can cause you more consternation, confusion and embarrassment than you can believe. Getting one per season into gun range is an accomplishment in itself. A shotgun is tough enough, a crossbow might be a little optimistic.

On the other hand, turkey hunting is all about the hunting, not the killing. Have fun whichever way you go!

Chuck7

Just read this article from JW..It helped me call in one last week...

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=3340156

cvillehunter703

i wish i could use my shotgun, but my county only allows bows

cvillehunter703

thank you all for your help and great tips

CowboyWade12

In a post early it someone said something about a diaphram call, since your new to turkey huntin most likely you havent ever tried to use one. They can be tricky and frustrating, it takes alot of practice and patience to learn to use one. But learning what the turkeys sound like and the diffrent noises they make, also can help u, just whenever you feel confident enough to use a diaphram, sound like the hen tht is sayin it all "so to speak". And about your locator calls they dnt always work, where i turkey hunt; crow, owl, peacock, woodpecker, and goose calls Do NOT work. The only thing tht will get a tom sometimes may only be another tom gobbling and in my case thts what it is. But experience does play an important role in all of this, dont just expect to go out and kill a huge tom, gotta start small and work ur way up sometimes.