First year Turkey Hunter

BJordan

Eight Pointer
Got a couple spots with a few Turkeys so I plan to see what all the fuss is about this year. I'm actually pretty excited about it. With that said what would you say is the most beneficial advice for a new turkey hunter like myself. I got the gun, already ordered some rounds to pattern. I have a couple places with some turkey. I don't have any calls or really even know more than what I've seen on TV. If someone want to point me in the right direction to a good book or article I'm eager to learn. Thanks in advance!
 

Wv67

Ten Pointer
Get ya a easy to use call , practice , scout , listen , and enjoy your mistakes and learn from them , Turk hunting is addicting , Don’t call to much , get out early when they start gobbling ( before season opens) and listen and watch what they do , especially the sounds they make .... there is nothing like a Tom gobbling and strutting in even if you don’t get a shot it’s awesome
 

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
I thought the need for a big caliber for whitetail was similar to having a jacked up truck that never goes off the road or a diesel that never hooks to a trailer. You know, for men that may be lacking in other area's.

Better not use anything larger than a .410, wouldn’t want anyone thinking you are compensating... 🦆
 

BJordan

Eight Pointer
Better not use anything larger than a .410, wouldn’t want anyone thinking you are compensating... 🦆
I bet you use a 12 gauge for little ol dove dont you? Not sure if you found humor in my post or are a little upset. Not sure why you brought that into a whole different thread either. One thread was posted as a joke and the other is a hunter trying to learn. Either way, let's get back to turkey hunting. If you want to joke and carry on go back to the other thread please.
 

bwfarms

Old Mossy Horns
I bet you use a 12 gauge for little ol dove dont you? Not sure if you found humor in my post or are a little upset. Not sure why you brought that into a whole different thread either. One thread was posted as a joke and the other is a hunter trying to learn. Either way, let's get back to turkey hunting. If you want to joke and carry on go back to the other thread please.

Jeez can’t take a little slap back can you?
 

JFH3006

Ten Pointer
Of course,wait till closer to season and make sure birds are still on the land u have to hunt.
Another whole thread on that but it is very important part.


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Datrip

Six Pointer
First advice would be to stop watching turkey hunting on tv shows. Watch instead on Youtube The Pinhoti Project or The Hunting Public for realistic turkey hunting. As turkeyfoot said, lots of good threads here. If you don't know what Permethrin is research it.....will not go to the woods without it being applied. Know your gun and its capabilities/limitations.....you owe it to the turkey.
 

Helium

Old Mossy Horns
Start the punishment now.. why wait? Get up and go empty your bank account, then get up at 3am the next few days after minimal sleep because you dreamed about gobbling birds all night, then go walk for miles and think you hear gobbles in the distance, go home with your head hung and tail tucked .... get ready to do it again the next day.

It’s an addiction that can’t be explained😂😂
 

Helium

Old Mossy Horns
In all seriousness, spend as much time listening to turkeys as possible. Read all you can BUT most importantly learn the terrain.

Ps Finding a mentor helps a lot but isn’t necessary
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
Start the punishment now.. why wait? Get up and go empty your bank account, then get up at 3am the next few days after minimal sleep because you dreamed about gobbling birds all night, then go walk for miles and think you hear gobbles in the distance, go home with your head hung and tail tucked .... get ready to do it again the next day.

It’s an addiction that can’t be explained😂😂
Man, how long you been following me during my turkey hunts and how the hell did I not know it ? Wait a minute....you must be the guy that does a damn good gobble imitation and has me creeping, crawling, and wading all over gods creation . Well, like ya said...strange addiction. See ya....orrrr...:hear ya ....in April
 

YanceyGreenhorn

Still Not a Moderator
@BJordan since ol @turkeyfoot mentioned it....here’s a recent good one....

 

dobber

Old Mossy Horns
As others have noted, its about to get expensive
things you need/must have
Thermacell
hen decoy
jake decoy
tom decoy
another hen decoy
slate call
glass call
multiple strikers (minimum 4 different kinds)
chalk
box call
push button call
a different box call
face mask
back up thermacell
vest to hold everything
knee pads
blind
low self esteem
a concept of how to deal with dissapointment
custom calls
crow call
owl hoot

i might be missing a couple more things that are an absolute must for turkey hunting, and with almost everything you bring you might not need to use them, and everyone will have an opinion on when to use them, or if you should use them lol

My first year i used one of them push button calls that attach to the barrel and pull the string, and a hen decoy, after that i started on the list above
 

Aaron H

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I think the most common mistake is to call too much. Once a gobbler answers your call he has pretty much pinpointed your exact location. If he's far away you can call a little more but as soon as he sounds like he's closer stop calling and get the gun up. Sometimes we can miss a turkey that gets in very close as the shot pattern is so tight. Aiming for that place where the naked part of the neck meets the feathers of the neck allows for a shot that might be a little high or a little low and still kill the bird. Aiming for the actual head is for the longer shots IMO. I agree with Daytrip, watching real hunts on You Tube can be helpful (avoid high production TV hunting).
 

TomstoSwans486

Four Pointer
OH MAN, you're ready for the most addictive thing in the land. Lots of good advice. I'll harp on what I learned my first year-
1. Call less; learn to cluck and yelp - that's it. A good slate call can be your best friend if the mouth call gives you trouble
2. Get in early, way early, sit down, and don't move
3. If you think you need to move, wait another 15 minutes, if you think you need to move, wait another 15 minutes
4. A decoy can work for you or against you. If you have birds located, leave the decoy at home
 
Have fun! Enjoy the experience! Turkeys are hard to kill. Especially in areas with low numbers. I take it as a successful hunt if I get a bird to respond to a call let alone see one. I see plenty while deer hunting but come turkey season they disappear.
 

BJordan

Eight Pointer
Stopped by Sportsman Warehouse today and was blown away at the wall full of calls, needless to say I left without one....
 

Winnie 70

Ten Pointer
BJordan, 1:42 in the morning and you got me awake wanting advise.....going to be short and sweet. Go back and read Aaron H over and over again....then remember this few years down the road every time you start to call a turkey. Have killed a pick up load of them in my time and it took a few years before I discovered the one call to start putting them in the bed. The CLUCK....that is your friend. That and scratching in the leaves about all I use. Once you hear a gobble cluck at him right at the end of his gobble....he will hear it 200 yds at least every time. Can't tell exactly where if you call just as he has ended that gobble. He will start coming many times especially late morning. Gun up..shut up....game on. Only cluck few times all morning....don't wear that spot out....scratch the leaves....feeding hen....they know where you at....just got to get lomesome. Do this and you will be a turkey killer in time. Short and sweet....back to sleep.
 

Brad_Colvin

Eight Pointer
Have multiple spots lined up. The places where turkeys are now may not have them come spring. They break up and disperse early in the spring. If you are going to hunt public land and you pull up to a gate or parking area and a truck is already there go somewhere else. The turkeys will teach you everything else. Enjoy the journey, spring time is the best time to be in the woods.

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turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
Stopped by Sportsman Warehouse today and was blown away at the wall full of calls, needless to say I left without one....
Don't get overwhelmed a simple wooden push button call can get ypu started a cheap box by prumos or Quaker boy will serve the purpose so so many YouTube videos on using them. start practicing now and you'll be good enough to kill one by April. That little hurricane by Quaker boy is waterproof will work till you get mouth call down on rainy day
 

kilerhamilton

Old Mossy Horns
Here is some advice, it gets a lot of turkeys killed or keeps them alive.

If a bird answers you in the morning he will come back to that spot to check you out. It might be right then or 3-dark pm or around lunch. If you can sit and wait without much activity you are more than likely to kill em.
I’m not one to give you that advice because I cannot sit still that long.
Meat eater had a awesome pod cast with a turkey biologist last summer that is well worth a listen.


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jparsons14

Four Pointer
In my opinion a mouth call is by far the best because you can call when they are within eye sight.

If you hear him stop gobbling assume he is coming to you.

They can see significantly better than you think they can.

Try your best to find where they roost and get between that and where they want to be. Keep at it. They will do something different every single time.
 
There is some good advice here.
I started hunting in 2011 when a good friend of mine carried me. We sat in a ground blind I killed one maybe 30 minutes after daybreak. I thought to myself "this is easy... why do folks talk about how hard this is?".
I hunted every single morning of the rest of that season and didn't kill another one. I got something far better though, and that was experience.
I always learn more when I mess up a hunt, but it is hard to see that at the time. We all have good years and bad years, but even the bad years are fun.
The advice I would give someone starting out is this:
Go to where the birds ARE, not where you think they should be.
It took me a long time to wrap my head around that, because I would always show up to a farm thinking the birds would be in XYZ field so I would head that way. Daybreak would roll around and birds would gobble in less than ideal places, so I would just wait. I had it in my head that every kill would be like the fancy TV shows, and that is simply not true.

Stilker said a whole lot when he said this: "Knowing your hunting ground and how and when the birds use it is half the battle"
If I truly understood this early on, I would have more spurs and less shotgun shells.

Aaron H said a lot up there too. Remember that silence can be used as a call too. Leaves scratching have killed more birds than just about any calls out there.

Good luck this Spring!!!
Josh
 
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