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Started By
Message
Turkey hunting for idiots
Posted on 2/9/13 at 2:03 am
Posted on 2/9/13 at 2:03 am
Brothers. I am in a hunting club near tibbie Alabama overrun with turkeys so I am going to try turkey hunting for the first time. I bought all the usual shite and will feed them next two months. However, I don't really know much about turkey hunting. I know you call them in in am and that is about it. Since I saw turkeys up to three dozen every single deer hunt and only three members are hunting 1200 acres I am thinking best shot ever for me to learn and get a turkey for my 10 year old who hunted all year like a pro and failed to kill a single freaking deer. Any DVDs advice books on tape anything I can get to help bring me up to speed greatly appreciated. I need my little girl to kill a damn bird or we my lose one future hunter and quiet frankly she could be good at this with a little luck as she has dedication and patience of a pro which is very unusual for someone her age. Many thanks
6
Posted on 2/9/13 at 2:10 am to TutHillTiger
LINK
get this. I have had the pleasure of growing up and hunting with him.
get this. I have had the pleasure of growing up and hunting with him.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 2:16 am to TutHillTiger
I'm not a turkey hunter so I'm damn near clueless, but I'd slide out there the evening before and try to find some headed up to their roost. Sneak in the next morning, (not on top of them but close enough) and call (crow or squatch). If they're there they should show up. Again, I'm retarded and only witnessed Tounces kill a hen
This post was edited on 2/9/13 at 2:20 am
Posted on 2/9/13 at 2:52 am to TutHillTiger
Start with a box call and a good CD. Listen, learn
& practice at home. Don't go into the woods to practice. Scout as much as possible to locate birds & listen and watch them if possible. If you taking your girl i'd sudjest a blind. Turkeys can see & hear very very well. You'll have to practice with your daughter as far as when to raise the gun & shoot.
Don't know what she'll be shooting but pattern her gun & see how far out she'll be able to get a clean kill. I'm sure i've left some things out but it's a start
& practice at home. Don't go into the woods to practice. Scout as much as possible to locate birds & listen and watch them if possible. If you taking your girl i'd sudjest a blind. Turkeys can see & hear very very well. You'll have to practice with your daughter as far as when to raise the gun & shoot.
Don't know what she'll be shooting but pattern her gun & see how far out she'll be able to get a clean kill. I'm sure i've left some things out but it's a start
Posted on 2/9/13 at 6:45 am to Nascar Fan
Google Kenny Morgan. Best turkey video's I've ever seen!
Posted on 2/9/13 at 7:28 am to TutHillTiger
I am an avid turkey hunter so I must start with a warning. If you follow up on your plans to go after turkeys prepare to deal with the addiction of turkey hunting. It is a great sport and I think/dream/plan for it year round.
1. Find a mentor to go with you on a few hunts. I tried hunting on my own when I first started and was very frustrated. I was fortunate to make friends with one of the best turkey hunters in Alabama who taught me a lot about turkeys.
2. If you aren't able to find a mentor my beginning strategy would be for a low key approach similar to deer hunting. Place a blind around a green field or any other area where you see turkey sign. Get into the blind well before daylight and be sure to be careful about your flashlight because they will spook if roosted nearby. This is my least favorite way to hunt but it is probably the most effective especially for a beginner. Later you can try running and gunning for them which is what I prefer.
3. I recommend a good quality box call for a beginner. I use Southland calls but there are lots of good ones. Don't get a cheap call from Wal-Mart. Practice yelping and clucking on the call. The biggest mistake beginners make is calling too loud and too often.
4. A good shotgun choke/shell combo is critical to your success. I use an Indian Creek tube and Hevi-Shot #7 3.5 inch 12 gauge. I try to limit my shots to forty yards but on occaision I have misjudged the distance and this combo still killed the turkey. I am not encouraging you to shoot past forty yards because that is the turkey hunting standard. Some will tell you that #7 is too small for turkeys but with Hevi-Shot I can assure yot that it's not. #7 Hevi impacts with the force of a #5 lead and there are hundreds of #7's in the load.
Good luck with your hunt.
1. Find a mentor to go with you on a few hunts. I tried hunting on my own when I first started and was very frustrated. I was fortunate to make friends with one of the best turkey hunters in Alabama who taught me a lot about turkeys.
2. If you aren't able to find a mentor my beginning strategy would be for a low key approach similar to deer hunting. Place a blind around a green field or any other area where you see turkey sign. Get into the blind well before daylight and be sure to be careful about your flashlight because they will spook if roosted nearby. This is my least favorite way to hunt but it is probably the most effective especially for a beginner. Later you can try running and gunning for them which is what I prefer.
3. I recommend a good quality box call for a beginner. I use Southland calls but there are lots of good ones. Don't get a cheap call from Wal-Mart. Practice yelping and clucking on the call. The biggest mistake beginners make is calling too loud and too often.
4. A good shotgun choke/shell combo is critical to your success. I use an Indian Creek tube and Hevi-Shot #7 3.5 inch 12 gauge. I try to limit my shots to forty yards but on occaision I have misjudged the distance and this combo still killed the turkey. I am not encouraging you to shoot past forty yards because that is the turkey hunting standard. Some will tell you that #7 is too small for turkeys but with Hevi-Shot I can assure yot that it's not. #7 Hevi impacts with the force of a #5 lead and there are hundreds of #7's in the load.
Good luck with your hunt.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 8:41 am to Choccolocco
quote:
1. Find a mentor to go with you
Best advice anyone can give
quote:
recommend a good quality box call
Lynch "fool proof", if they still make them.
quote:
low key approach
More good advice. I advise beginners to keep that call in your vest until you are within 100 yds of a gobbling bird. Too many turkeys get spooked by beginners walking through the woods calling like crazy.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 11:35 am to Choccolocco
Thanks for the advice. I am in the same boat and that is why I started the Rem 870 and Beneli nova thread last week. My little step-brother is a Clemson grad and hunting machine so I've already talked to him about following this season. I want to bag one and slow smoke that bird.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 12:07 pm to TutHillTiger
Lot's of good advice here...
My two cents..
What separates the good/average turkey hunter from the great ones is not being a great caller but rather knowing when to and when not to call. I'm convinced that a rusty nail and a tin can is equally effective as a competition caller when a willing bird is on the other end. Identifying the willing bird comes with experience.
Good woodsmanship kills a lot of turkeys. The most successful strategy is often being between where a turkey is and where he's going. This means doing your homework and scouting. Some guys say ambushing turkeys isnt real hunting. I say you've not lived until you've succesfully bellycrawled into a field after a turkey that wont respond to calling.
The other secret is this... You cant kill birds that arent there. Having turkeys in numbers is key to consistently successful hunting. It sounds like you've got this covered.
Accept now that a bird with a brain the size of a field pea is going to outsmart you pretty often. If turkey hunting was easy everybody would be doing it. Hunting side by side with someone is tough and with a child its even moreso. Buy some good blinds and place them strategically in places with high traffic before the season starts. If catching a bird off the roost doesnt work out(it normally doesnt) the blind is a good place to sit a bird out and allow kids to wiggle or move about.
I know a guy in FL who'd love to come up and chase Easterns with you(i.e. me...)
Good luck..
My two cents..
What separates the good/average turkey hunter from the great ones is not being a great caller but rather knowing when to and when not to call. I'm convinced that a rusty nail and a tin can is equally effective as a competition caller when a willing bird is on the other end. Identifying the willing bird comes with experience.
Good woodsmanship kills a lot of turkeys. The most successful strategy is often being between where a turkey is and where he's going. This means doing your homework and scouting. Some guys say ambushing turkeys isnt real hunting. I say you've not lived until you've succesfully bellycrawled into a field after a turkey that wont respond to calling.
The other secret is this... You cant kill birds that arent there. Having turkeys in numbers is key to consistently successful hunting. It sounds like you've got this covered.
Accept now that a bird with a brain the size of a field pea is going to outsmart you pretty often. If turkey hunting was easy everybody would be doing it. Hunting side by side with someone is tough and with a child its even moreso. Buy some good blinds and place them strategically in places with high traffic before the season starts. If catching a bird off the roost doesnt work out(it normally doesnt) the blind is a good place to sit a bird out and allow kids to wiggle or move about.
I know a guy in FL who'd love to come up and chase Easterns with you(i.e. me...)
Good luck..
This post was edited on 2/9/13 at 12:10 pm
Posted on 2/9/13 at 12:17 pm to dbllung
quote:
Google Kenny Morgan
The man killed a ton of turkeys and his "One man game" book is among the best turkey books ever written. The turkeys in LA gave a sigh of relief when he passed away in 2011...
Posted on 2/9/13 at 1:41 pm to wiltznucs
"Good woodsmanship kills a lot of turkeys. The most successful strategy is often being between where a turkey is and where he's going."
I have a buddy who will tell you that he is a terrible caller. His owling is bad too, it sounds like a ruptured duck. But he always kills as many as anyone because he is an excellent woodsman. I still have to stifle a chuckle though when he let's loose with that hooter.
I have a buddy who will tell you that he is a terrible caller. His owling is bad too, it sounds like a ruptured duck. But he always kills as many as anyone because he is an excellent woodsman. I still have to stifle a chuckle though when he let's loose with that hooter.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 1:58 pm to wiltznucs
quote:
Accept now that a bird with a brain the size of a field pea is going to outsmart you pretty often.
They have made an arse out of me too many times to count.
Another thing, when you get one coming and he shuts up and you think you've waited long enough give it another 15. Trust me on this.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 6:21 pm to Choccolocco
quote:
I have a buddy who will tell you that he is a terrible caller. His owling is bad too, it sounds like a ruptured duck. But he always kills as many as anyone because he is an excellent woodsman. I still have to stifle a chuckle though when he let's loose with that hooter
I'd imagine that 15% or so of my harvests have come from guerrilla tactics. Some folks frown on it, but as I'm eating sweet pan fried wild turkey nuggets and their eating Butterball or Jenny-O I feel like the ends justifies the means.
This post was edited on 2/9/13 at 6:22 pm
Posted on 2/9/13 at 7:35 pm to wiltznucs
We had a turkey that we hunted once that was absolutely allergic to calling. The slightest call would send him in the opposite direction. We used that to our advantage and set up on both side of him. A few calls sent him right to my buddy. That's part of the fun of turkey hunting because they sometimes require unconconventional startegies.
Posted on 2/9/13 at 7:50 pm to TutHillTiger
I'm no expert but those suckers are thick during deer season and disappear in the spring
Posted on 2/9/13 at 7:54 pm to Redfish2010
quote:
I'm no expert but those suckers are thick during deer season and disappear in the spring
They sure do
Posted on 2/9/13 at 7:55 pm to Redfish2010
Very addictive. Wouldn't hurt to take someone with experience a few times just to learn. Wack a bigun!
Posted on 2/9/13 at 9:43 pm to Redfish2010
quote:
I'm no expert but those suckers are thick during deer season and disappear in the spring
If you pattern birds you will pick up on this. Birds have their fall/winter spots & their spring/summer spots.
Posted on 2/17/13 at 9:38 pm to plazadweller
Thanks a ton guys.
So far grabbed a two man chair blind and a pop up and few calls Nitro ammo and dvd/cd's have a few experienced hunters ready to show me how to do it. I also put out half a dozen can feeders and a couple hundred extra pounds of corn to make sure they dont geaux anywhere before opening day. I will corn the fields again in two weeks. I have already spots in minds near where they have been roosting that have lots of nature cover and with my gilly suits they will not see me. I have watched them and listen to them all fall basically out of boredom. Watched them for hours sometimes. Watched the trails they used, their habits, groupings, trees they roosted in etc. (Didnt see a lot of deer so had to do something.)
I am ordered the DVDs you guys recommended and that 7 ammo too. Not sure what else I can do but pray for luck. (LOL)
Ohh, Do you need to have scent cover with them too? Should I get a camo cover for my shotguns? Do
So far grabbed a two man chair blind and a pop up and few calls Nitro ammo and dvd/cd's have a few experienced hunters ready to show me how to do it. I also put out half a dozen can feeders and a couple hundred extra pounds of corn to make sure they dont geaux anywhere before opening day. I will corn the fields again in two weeks. I have already spots in minds near where they have been roosting that have lots of nature cover and with my gilly suits they will not see me. I have watched them and listen to them all fall basically out of boredom. Watched them for hours sometimes. Watched the trails they used, their habits, groupings, trees they roosted in etc. (Didnt see a lot of deer so had to do something.)
I am ordered the DVDs you guys recommended and that 7 ammo too. Not sure what else I can do but pray for luck. (LOL)
Ohh, Do you need to have scent cover with them too? Should I get a camo cover for my shotguns? Do
Posted on 2/17/13 at 10:42 pm to TutHillTiger
No need for scent cover and if your daughter can sit still I wouldn't use the blind. If you know where they like to roost you're off to a good start. Don't get discouraged when the groups you see/hear in the Spring aren't as big as the ones you saw during deer season.
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