needing turkey hunting tips

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cooperjd

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 29, 2006
Messages
335
Location
Alexandria, VA (DC)
guys i am thinking of getting into turkey hunting this year a little. on ft. belvoir where i deer hunted, there is also turkey hunting, but its bow only. so my chances of success are pretty slim, but why not give it a shot. problem is, i've never really turkey hunted before. any calls you could recommend for a beginner?
whats the best way to clean one after you kill one? never seen it done.
 
Scout, scout, scout, and scout some more. You will need to find a place that the birds frequent often. A feild, a logging road, a random opening in the woods. Once you have an idea of the daily patterns of the birds, set-up a blind near one of these areas, either a store bought blind or you can make one out of natural vegatation, get a hen decoy or two and put them out and wait. Remember a turkey cannot smell like a deer, BUT they can see as good as an Eagle, make sure you are concealed well and keep all movements to a minimum. Camoflage all exposed skin it is nec. Calling can be accomplished with a simple slate or box call, I would suggest a slate call. The only two sounds you need to worry about the first year are the Yelp and the Purr, use them sparingly. After a while you will learn what the sounds of the birds are in the woods and you will be able to mimic them with your calls. Bowhunting them is difficult, remeber they will not leave a blood trail like a deer most of the time so be very vigilant when you shoot one go after him pretty quickly if he gets out of sight. Take your deer hunting skills and apply them to the turkeys, that will give you the greatest chance at success the first year.
 
If your gonna bow hunt you need to get proficient with a "mouth" or diaphram call, so your hands are free. Although, I think the easiest call for a beginner to use is a slate. Night and Hales 'ol Yeller and the pocket puppy are easy to master. You probably want to either go with the gobbler guilotine or some type of expandable for your broad heads. Shot placement needs to be just above the drum stick(vitals) with a broadside shot. The best advice I can give is to spend as much time as possible in the woods listening to turkeys, that will help with the calling aspect. But the #1 tip I can give is DONT CALL TOO MUCH!! I've killed birds by simply scrathching in the leaves and never touching the call. I could go on and on, if you have any specific questions PM me. I'm sure you could get several opinions from several people, you have decide what advice you are going to employ! I should also tell you, I've killed enough turkeys to fill the bed of my truck up but never with a bow. I have several friends who have, and its one of my goals, but its tough and takes an unreal amount of patience. Good luck and feel free to ask any questions you may have!
 
Trust me you dont need to PM anybody man stay to this thread and you will learn all you need. In the meantime buy a slate call and practice.Practice,and be persistant it will pay eventually. Learn to play mind games with them and only shoot the red headed onesemoThumbsup
 
<div><font face="Arial">Churly gives great advice, and you will have a good chance if you take it. The only thing I would change is the call for a beginner. I have worked countless consumer shows from teh Buckaramas, to teh NWTF National conventions, selling and displaying all kinds of turkey calls, and I can promise you a newbie 80% of the time cannot make acceptable sounds on a slate call of any brand.  A box call would be my recommendation. That is not to say some folks don't take to it like a duck to water though!  I rarely ever use a box, but always carry one, and prefer my slate, and mouth calls 99% of the time. You should start practicing NOW for next season if you want to use a mouth call....you are practicing enough when your wife-girlfriend-mother-child-boss and the like tells you to stop blowing that dang-blasted contraption or the are going to beat you with a dea-turkey!
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</font></div><div><font face="Arial">Good luck man!</font></div>
 
thanks guys, i know it'll be insanely tough for me to actually connect with one of these birds with my bow. i have been on 2 turkey hunts in my life, with others calling for me, and i'm 0-2, with 1 opportunity, but not a clear enough shot to risk it.

i will heed the advice of not calling too much for sure, i've played around with calls and i do not sound much like a turkey, but i'll start practicing. my trouble is scouting, the rules on the base are pretty strict, so i hope i can find a couple nice people to share a little information with me on where to start. i deer hunted out there and never heard the first turkey, but i concentrated on a small area.

i'm sure as i get out there, i'll have more specific questions, i don't know enough right now to know what i don't know, if that makes sense to ya. i appreciate the help.
 
Sorry about all the typos on the last post...but anyway. Coop, scouting for turkeys in that situation is not extremely difficult. Learn what turkey scratching looks like, turkey droppings, (food plots) and of course turkey tracks, and set up where you find alot of that type sign. You will want a blind anyway, and be prepaired to sit as long as possible, wait, watch, listen. Trying to get close to gobbling birds and setup a blind and bow is hard enough for die-hards, newcomers its out of the question. I cant tell you how many birds I bummped off the roost in my first two years.
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 My suggestion for likey spots would be food plots, or BIG stands of hardwoods if you have any mast on the ground when you plan to hunt. Turkeys are not much for dense/thick woods, too many things want to eat them!
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I have set a blind up in the middle of a food plot before, and had birds close enough to spit on them....a blind is dang-near invisable to them. </p>
 
Great tips guys!But remember days like today and yesterday hunt in thick wooded areas exspecially thickets along creeks,bottoms, swamps. Turkey are just like us we dont stand in the middle if a food plot while pouring rain and wind lash you around.....;)
 
lkolb - 3/31/2008 5:16 PM

Great tips guys!But remember days like today and yesterday hunt in thick wooded areas exspecially thickets along creeks,bottoms, swamps. Turkey are just like us we dont stand in the middle if a food plot while pouring rain and wind lash you around.....;)

lkolb, I'll have to disagree on this one! I always look for the birds to be either in pastures, fields, or very open woods during these rough conditions. Deer are the opposite! Turkeys cant see or hear well durring storms/rain/ even ice! Therefore they usually head for an open area where they can see any approaching coyote, bobcat, etc. Think about it, if the turkey is in the thick stuff durring the wind and rain, it is easy for a predator to sneak up on him. A light misting rain or even snow doesn't seem to bother them. I actually took a bird several years ago on April 13th, in the snow on the cumberland plateau!
 
<font size="2">  Several great tips from some no doubt seasoned turkey hunters. For bowhunting, I would tend to stay in the more open areas, ie, foodplots, grassy areas(especially wet days) and open woods where there are droppings and scrachings. Hunt from a blind, (the pop ups are great) and use a slate call and spareingly. No need to be perfect, JMO. I might add, if legal where you are hunting, you might get out around the open areas where there is sign and hunt in the evening. You will not have anyone around and they feed a lot in those areas before going to bed. Good luck cooper!</font>
 
emoUpsmile Yea Churly I took my #1 of 08' on april fools day when it stormed like the dickens in a Very thick/dense cover in the bottom of a grove/bottom/creek.............so yea they they do stay out of the weather just like any other animal /person!emoGeezer
 

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