anyone have advice for a beginner turkey hunter?

[kgkjager522]

anyone have advice for a beginner turkey hunter?

[steve182]

Yes, stay very still.

[FairChase]

Gear Wise: Get a good pad to sit on, that is a must. Good camo, couple of simple calls, box, slate, or push button, and learn their uses. And maybe a decoy, a hen and a jake work good. Thats the basic gear. You can expand later with different calls, vests, etc.

Huntin Wise: Listen and learn from the turkeys, how they communicate. Learn their habits and behaviors. The more you hunt the more you'll learn. I'm self taught, and have had a lot of sucess. And read F&S for more helpful tips.

[BBD19]

Sit very still and have your gun up before you can see the bird cuz if not you'll be seein nothin but tailfeather

[usmcturkey]

Be still and full camo is a must. Pattern your shotgun and know your distance.

[huskerguy]

Full camo, learn to use a couple diffrent calls, just listen to the turkeys while your out there. They can teach you alot, and it's kinda fun to argue with a hen while she's bringing in a couple toms with her. You'll learn new things and ways to hunt each time you go out. For some many people saying their stupid birds they can be hard to hunt.

[kolbster]

full camo and 12 ga

[shane]

Get turkey head targets, and shoot the crap out of them. Get good with light loads so it's cheap, then make sure you are just as good with heavy magnum turkey loads. Unless you are hard-core in the recoil category, don't feel the need to shoot 3.5"s. But it won't hurt. Much. 2 3/4" magnums will kill them, as will a 20 gauge. 3"s are perfect. Use size 5 shot copper plated and buffered shot, even though your everyday 7 1/2 will work too. An all camo gun is great, or you can camo wrap or tape or even paint your gun.

I like to use a box call and some loud yelping for distance, then a mouth diaphragm call for hands-free motionlessness when they get closer.

Be very very camo'd up. Little to no skin showing. This means camo gloves, a full coverage camo mask, and in my opinion, some camo paint for those little bits the mask still leaves exposed. Those birds have some serious eyes. You can never be too concealed, but remember, they have no sense of smell. You can stink all you want, and after a good, hard hunt, you probably should by the time you get back in the trunk.

Stay hydrated. And don't be afraid to jump up real quick to make a tough shot. Just make it quick and take your time and blow his head off. You'll figure it out.

[Beekeeper]

Good camo including headnet and gloves. Pattern you shotgun with several different loads to determmine effectiveness out to 40 yards. Work with a glass or slate friction call. They are the easiest to learn and make all the differnt calls you will need. Lean your hunting area, get maps of your hunting area to help you learn the terrain. Practice your wood craft. Calling is only about 20% of turket hunting. Minimize the use of locator calls. Check out this link to the NWTF for more tips and tactics.

http://www.nwtf.org/for_hunters/

[Drew135]

Just Get some good rest before you go out in the morning or you will end up falling asleep

[Joehunter12]

c'mon guys! JUST HAVE FUN!!!

[s-kfry]

Find some friends who know what they are doing, will cut the learning time in half or more.

[kgkjager522]

i already have a remington 870 12-gauge, but i need to stock up on the camo, calls and ammo. the reason i asked was because i don't know anyone who turkey hunts... i'm gonna have to teach myself. thanks for the great advice.

[Del in KS]

What state do you live in?

All the above is good advice. Just keep in mind you can't move when an alert bird is in sight. Wait until his head is behind something to move your gun. Some birds come in silent but if he comes in Gobbling have your gun up and pointed where you expect him to appear. Many birds do not come straight in they like to circle and sometimes pop up where you don't expect so always be still. Another trick is to practice aiming your gun lefthanded. Then when he comes in on your right you can switch the gun to your left shoulder when his head is down and kill him. Learned this after I lost a bird that way.

[Del in KS]

These birds are very wary but smart? I've read the stories bout birds that are impossible to kill but have not met one yet. There was a bird that always hung out in the middle of a pasture. The only cover was a patch of wild roses. Using my clippers I cut out a hole in the middle and crawled in the next day before daylight. That Gobbler went home with me that morning.