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Complete Noob here

Blake Tijerina

Blake Tijerina

Member
12
4
Holgate Ohio
Okay, So I want to make sure I'm set for turkey season. This will be my first time. I will be using an older 12 ga shotgun with a modified choke barrel (looking at 30 yards or closer). I have the location and permission from the landowner. As for clothes do I have to wear orange? I am having a hard time finding that answer. What is the best shot to use? and am I missing anything (I feel that I am :) ). Thanks.

Blake Tijerina
 
J nailed it. Camo only and no orange unless it makes you feel safer. Biggest thing with turkeys is to do your best not to move when they're looking your direction. They are dumb birds but they've evolved for 1000s of years to pick up even the slightest movement.
 
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Just go to Kroger’s...they also sell cold beer. Win/win😂

Personally I haven’t caught the bug yet, but I can share the importance of having fun. Lots of people hunt in teams, I suggest this. Also, don’t measure the success on killing one. The best hunting stories are often the ones involving a miss!

Keep an eye out for those tasty mushrooms and antlers!

Spray your gear down with Sawyers or something of the like.

Have fun!

Have FUN!

Be sure to stop back and share stories with us.
 
In addition to the advice already given, if you can scout the fields where you have permission to hunt so you know where they roost in the evenings and where they like to fly down to in the mornings. This way you’ll know where to set up in the predawn. Don’t get too close when scouting, you don’t want to alter their natural movements. Setup far away and use a spotting scope or binoculars. Also, when calling, less is more!! Don’t overcall. The more experience you get, you’ll know what the turkey wants to hear to bring him in.
 
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Above all.... Make sure you enter the TOO TURKEY CONTEST... Some great prizes...
 
@Jackalope gave me the best piece of turkey hunting advice I've ever received. "Call to a gobbler because he wants you to call, not because you are calling at him." In other words, it's easy to call too much because it's exciting when you call, then he gobbles. It takes discipline to not over call, but you want to feel that bird out and respond when he sounds like "yeah, where are you?" Tough to relay that through written word, so I hope this makes sense. Maybe he can expound on that.
 
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jagermeister said:
Biggest thing with turkeys is to do your best not to move when they're looking your direction. They are dumb birds but they've evolved for 1000s of years to pick up even the slightest movement.
Click to expand...

Don't let people fool you into thinking they are smart...they can NOT think like a deer. Their brain is the size of a peanut. It's not capable of anything other than reacting...usually in a negative way.
As far as hunting them: get out and listen before season, especially at daylight and right before dark. Learn their habits. It's much easier to call one to a spot he wants to go to. Get some different calls and practice with them. Slates and boxes are the easiest to use but require movement. If you can master a mouth call you improve your odds. Be patient but if you know the lay of the land you can sometimes beat them to where they are going.
Pattern your gun... 30 yards is going to be a tough deal to pull off. Maybe you will get lucky and it will be good a little farther but find out before going.

Go to youtube and search for "The Hunting Public Turkey Tour" videos from last year. This is as close to real hunting as you can find online. Not like the canned hunts you see on TV.
 
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bowhunter1023 said:
@Jackalope gave me the best piece of turkey hunting advice I've ever received. "Call to a gobbler because he wants you to call, not because you are calling at him." In other words, it's easy to call too much because it's exciting when you call, then he gobbles. It takes discipline to not over call, but you want to feel that bird out and respond when he sounds like "yeah, where are you?" Tough to relay that through written word, so I hope this makes sense. Maybe he can expound on that.
Click to expand...
I
I was listening to an elk talk podcast last week and Corey Jacobson shared a story that resonates with me. He was calling to an elk and it just wasn't working out. The elk would respond but not move and his dad asked him a pretty profound question. "what are you trying to tell that elk, and what do you think that elk is telling you".
 
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Sometimes I’ll give up calling the Tom and start calling the hens that he’s with. On more than one occasion, I had a Tom that would gobble but would not leave his hens. One time I could see them out in the field about 150 yards out. Everytime I called, he’d gobble. The boss hen would also answer my calling with some sass of her own. I imitated her calls and started to cut her off and talk over her. I would get louder and she got pissed. Whatever I said, she didn’t like it and when she came across that field, she brought the rest of the flock AND that Tom with her. I shot him at 30 yards.
 
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