I have spent the last couple of hours reading this board. I have read all the posts I could find for new turkey hunters. I am grateful for all that info.

I usually watch whatever turkey shows I can find and have been reading a ton on turkeys for the past year and a half to two years. Some how, I managed to get bitten by the Turkey bug.

Here are my questions:

1. Many times on the shows, after a bird is shot, it is flopping around a bunch. The host walks over steps on its neck and... then cut to the bird draped over his back as he walks out of the woods. Now, I just read somewhere about the potential for injury if you try to pick up a flopping bird. What is the best way to dispatch the bird in this situation?

2. Good guides to field dressing, preparing, etc. ?

I am absolutely new to hunting and ask this in the event I can't find an experienced hunter to mentor me.

Thanks in advance.

I'm sure others can help you more, since I'm pretty new to it too. But I am fortunate to have a buddy who has called in a bird for me in each of the past two years. Last year, I shot one at right around 40 yards as he turned to leave, and he was still alive for a while. My buddy stepped on his neck until it succumbed, which seems like a good way to do it, since the bird didn't flail at him and he wasn't holding it where he could get injured. Having said that, I went and got it and brought it back the 40 some odd yards before he finished it off, and it didn't do anything to me either.

As for cleaning, I plucked the chest feathers and breasted it out, cutting the skin, pulling on the breast meat and cutting where it stopped. I'm sure others in here can elaborate on that more for you.

It's always nice to see a new face in the woods. Seriously though, a turkey can split you wide open, so you do need to be careful. When I pull the trigger, the first thing I do is RELOAD, watch him for about 5-6 seconds, if he don't get up, or flops around, I put my gun down and make a run for it! I grab the first stick or rock I come across, and whack 'em a good one if he is still movin' when I get there. You should of seen the ONGA-BONGA stick I came up with last year. Knock out a buffalo with that sucker!LMAO Didnt have to use it though. Can't help ya with the field dressing. I just cut open the stomach, pull out ALL the insides. Gotta feel around REAL good. Make sure you git the fecal tube! Then I rinse em out with water real good, throw em in the cooler, and they are good to go for awhile. Make sure you have a good sharp knife.

"There is NO such thing as JUST a jake, a Turkey taken fairly is a Trophy"

You probably already know, but make sure it is a good head shot[not in strut] from a patterned shot gun. And yes reload, I agree! Step on head or neck and I get both feet and pull til I feel the neck break, then get out of the way til the old boy quits flopping. To clean, make a cut at the bottom of the breast bone down to the tail. Make sure you cut around anus and pull it out with the guts or you will have a mess. Reach up and cut wind pipe as high as you can get. I skin my birds for 2 reasons: 1 I hate to pluck and 2 I put the tail and back on a board and dry them. They look great on the wall. Fan the tail out and pin it out, do the same with the back. I use canning salt and borax mix to dry the pelt. Takes about 3 weeks to dry out the tail.
Gselkhunter