Turkey Hunt Essentials
 

Hello to you who hunt the Gobler who can help a rookie like myself. This year was my first season of Deer hunting and I plan to hunt for Turkey this spring here in Southern Indiana. I am a Bow hunter and have a blind to hunt from so what I would like to know is what else will I need to get started such as calls,broadheads for Turkey and how best to set up for this bird. What about hunting from above in my stand is this something that is done or do people only hunt them from the ground? Any special camo needed or is my Deer hunting gear OK,color,patterns that better my chances if not in a blind etc? Thanks and Good Hunting!

doetrain,
My first recommendation for calls is to purchase a call of each kind to start with... This accomplishes 2 things... First you learn how to use the call and Second you learn which calls you like. Personally I prefer mouth and box calls versus the other types. I would also recommend spending a few extra dollars and purchasing a "custom" call... Nothing against the calls that are mass produced but after purchasing a "custom" box call this spring I will never buy another mass produced call again!
I would also recommend purchasing a few locator calls such as the owl hooter, crow, and coyote calls. These will assist you in locating the birds in your area... I will never forget when I used an owl hooter and had a turkey gobble back... it was music to my ears!
When it comes to camo the purpose is to blend into your enviroment so whatever you have for deer hunting should work fine for turkey... I use Cabelas camo for both turkey and deer and have had birds and deer walk by my location. I would suggest purchasing a vest of some sort so that you can have all your stuff in a convenient location...
I would also recommend getting some decoys! These can make the difference to having a bird hang up or come the last 15 yards.
I do not archery hunt for turkey but recommend reading the posts on here as well as asking other archery hunters what broadhead to use. I do know they make a broadhead specifically for turkey but again I know very little about it so ask around!
When it comes to hunting out of a tree stand I have never really heard anyone doing this but I am sure someone somewhere has tried it so do some research as well as watch turkey hunting videos... Especially the Primos series... Those guys know turkey hunting and as far as I can recall I have never seen them use a tree stand.
There is my 2 cents... I hope it helps you out and I also wish you lots of luck!

Turkey hunting is difficult even with a shotgun. But it's exceptionally difficult with a bow. I'd recommend you learn to hunt turkeys with a shotgun and then use a bow once you learn the basics. I know several excellent bowhunters that wound more turkeys than I'm comfortable with before they get a bird. And these guys know how to turkey hunt.
Turkeys will spot you in a heartbeat in a tree stand. They are constantly looking for sky predators. Get a pop-up blind, stay on the ground

hunting turkeys with a bow is hard in its own but with calls look for a triple reeded one for a mouth call but if you have never turkey hunted before practice those calls as much as possible to get good and be able to do a variety of calls cause the more sounds you kno the more your chances increase but i would get your first bird with a gun then maybe go after the second one with a bow but if your gunna stick with the bow get either a good strong broadhead like the turkey terrors or a broadhead like the magnus products they are awsome for any animal you are huntin but i use the magnus stinger buzzcuts and as far as the ground blind is concerned use it you will need it with the bow but dont get discouraged if something goes wrong and the bird runs off it happens to the best of us....

You need a copy of "Learning The Ropes of Turkey Hunting" you'll learn a ton...

Thanks For Input
 

I thank you for your input to my questions. I wish I could use a shotgun and not a Bow but I screwed up while very young and have a felony conviction so the shotgun is a no go even though it was something which happened over thirty years ago. I know the bow is a hard choice but like my first year Deer hunting season I have no choice. While hunting deer we have Turkey come within 15 to 20 yards of our blind so I have seen the possibility of a Turkey with a bow. I hope to become good at the calls and a good shot by spring with my Bow so I can put one down and not just nic it. Good Hunting!

Have you considered a CrossBow?

Don't know if that is legal for you to use or not........

And some food for thought........
Shooting a nice Tom is the end to that day's hunt........but calling and how to use calls and to be able to call one every time....up close to less than 20 yards......that outweighs shooting one any time......

JW

Just a note about turkey alertness and eyesight.

This past fall while bowhunting, 16' up, a jake came out, quartering away about 10yds. I've always heard they could see you blink, well he didn't. So I raised my shoulder about an inch. He was gone in a heartbeat!

You can't get away with any movement. Even in your blind, wear black and a black hood. Keep the windows open to a minimum. Make your move when he is behind a tree or brush, or at full strut facing away. Remember, they have something like 290deg vision with an almost non existent blind spot.

as far as camo goes the best camo is being still. but im sure your deer camo will work... i use realtree ap. calls- it will help to use a diaphram (mouth) call. you do not need a locator call but it would help. a good vest incase you dont have time to set up your blind. as far as broadheads go any big mechanical will work well.

Negatory on the treestand. Check local regs because it is illegal to shoot them out of a stand in some states. I see a lot of turkeys in the fall while bowhunting deer. They always see me in the tree, most of the time from 50-60 yards away. They will see you up there.

The blind is the way to go. They won't pay any attention to a blind, even set up in the wide open. I didn't believe it until I tried it. They walk right up and just about look in the thing. Wear dark clothes and keep the windows behind you closed and they won't see you.

Any broadhead will work for turkey. It has been my experience that if you shoot them with anything but a large diameter mechanical you usually have to go looking for them. If you don't break their back they will run off and you have to track them. Sometimes quite a distance. I prefer a mechanical for turkey for that reason. I use the NAP gobble stopper, it has a blunt tip and really knocks them. Hits them hard and most don't get up. Most any mechanical will work though.

If you are just starting get a slate call. I think they are the easiest to learn on and make good sounds.

Decoys will help with bowhunting. Put out a jake and a hen or a tom and a hen. Face the jake/tom toward your blind at about 15 yards. If a tom comes in he will want to face the decoy, that will put him looking away from you with his fan up and makes it easier to draw and get in position to shoot.