Turkey Hunting Advice As Spring Season Begins
With turkey season in many southern states ready to begin or already started, perhaps now's the time to think about preparations to make for a successful spring gobbler hunting experience.
Several of the following tips should help hunters get ready to bag a longbeard:
(a) Since mouth, box and friction calls are the three main tools turkey hunters use to call wild gobblers within shotgun range, it's a good idea is practice calling daily and religiously. Ideally a hunter should practice calling months before the season begins and continue through the season. Realistic calls and knowing how, when, what loudness and frequency help kill turkeys.
One good tip is to practice calls in the woods and record the sounds, then play your calls at least 40 yards away to listen how good or bad they sound. Listening to recordings of live wild turkeys is a good idea, as well as watching DVDs made by turkey hunting experts, paying particular attention to the sounds the birds make.
(b) If possible, try to spend time listening to wild turkeys in the woods before the season begins. The sounds turkeys make are many and most hunters will be surprised at how soft are these sounds.
(c) It's always a good idea to practice shooting several types of shot shell-loads with a turkey gun. Most turkey guns are shot once a year, so hunters should become familiar with the patterns different loads and a particular gun will throw. Shoot loads from a sitting position at a target. Pattern and use the load that does the best job (density and penetration) at 40 yards. Some hunters shoot and kill turkeys at longer ranges, but 40 yards is about the maximum distance a hunter should pull the trigger on a wild tom.
(d) Know where to aim. Always put the front-sight bead on the 2 to 3 inches of neck below a turkey's head. Avoid shooting at flying birds. Killing a flying wild turkey is nearly impossible because its neck (most vulnerable part) probably won't be exposed to a shot and pellets most likely will hit the turkey's feathered body and may be fatal days or weeks later.
(e) Scout as much as possible. Before the season begins spend as much time listening to and watching turkeys at a chosen hunting area. Scouting from a distance may reveal turkey locations, feeding areas and directions of travel. Keeping human interactions at a minimum is important. Never walk through an area one intends to hunt or call turkeys the day before the season opens. It's fine to listen for turkeys flying up to roost in the evening but don't call to them.
(f) Become familiar with the local wild turkey flock and its habits and dominant hens and gobblers, plus the terrain you'll hunt.
(g) Take a patient approach. The lives of turkeys, woodsmanship and becoming part of wild habitat are nothing like the fast-paced world where most of us live. Turkey time is slow time, so be prepared to move and set up slowly, sit still a long time, be alert for hours without moving and have patience.
(h) Roosting turkeys is fun and productive. It always works best about an hour before to darkness fall to total darkness. Turkeys are like chickens and fly up into trees to spend the night in relative safety. Turkeys may hop from limb to limb but usually roost as a mixed flock (hens with gobblers). Hunters who set up the next morning before daylight can experience the thrill of turkeys making tree calls, hearing them fly down where they may be lured into shotgun range.
(i) If you enter the woods just before daylight, set up as near to a gobbler as the terrain will allow. The relevant factor in the South is the amount of foliage on trees. At the season's start, gobblers in trees can see longer distances than later in the season when the leaves are unfolding and greenery covers the landscape. Also remember that in open woods gobblers can see farther than they can in thick woods, plus they may sound farther away than they actually are – so don't be fooled into moving too close to a bird.
(j) Streams are a problem. Wild turkey gobblers rarely will fly across a stream. If a hunter knows a bird is on the opposite side of a stream, look for a fording spot and cross the stream or set up as close to the stream as possible. Sometimes gobblers will walk up and down a stream bank, gobbling to a hen. Another trick is to walk away from the stream, then stop and call. Sometimes a gobbler can't resist a retreating hen and will follow.
(k) Calling is the key. The best idea is to be subtle and soft when reproducing turkey yelps, putts, clucks, purrs and feeding sounds. When you "feel" you've reached the right set-up spot, sit down, sit tight, make a few soft calls and wait without moving, then listen for the gobbler. His responses will tell you what to do.
Several of the following tips should help hunters get ready to bag a longbeard:
(a) Since mouth, box and friction calls are the three main tools turkey hunters use to call wild gobblers within shotgun range, it's a good idea is practice calling daily and religiously. Ideally a hunter should practice calling months before the season begins and continue through the season. Realistic calls and knowing how, when, what loudness and frequency help kill turkeys.
One good tip is to practice calls in the woods and record the sounds, then play your calls at least 40 yards away to listen how good or bad they sound. Listening to recordings of live wild turkeys is a good idea, as well as watching DVDs made by turkey hunting experts, paying particular attention to the sounds the birds make.
(b) If possible, try to spend time listening to wild turkeys in the woods before the season begins. The sounds turkeys make are many and most hunters will be surprised at how soft are these sounds.
(c) It's always a good idea to practice shooting several types of shot shell-loads with a turkey gun. Most turkey guns are shot once a year, so hunters should become familiar with the patterns different loads and a particular gun will throw. Shoot loads from a sitting position at a target. Pattern and use the load that does the best job (density and penetration) at 40 yards. Some hunters shoot and kill turkeys at longer ranges, but 40 yards is about the maximum distance a hunter should pull the trigger on a wild tom.
(d) Know where to aim. Always put the front-sight bead on the 2 to 3 inches of neck below a turkey's head. Avoid shooting at flying birds. Killing a flying wild turkey is nearly impossible because its neck (most vulnerable part) probably won't be exposed to a shot and pellets most likely will hit the turkey's feathered body and may be fatal days or weeks later.
(e) Scout as much as possible. Before the season begins spend as much time listening to and watching turkeys at a chosen hunting area. Scouting from a distance may reveal turkey locations, feeding areas and directions of travel. Keeping human interactions at a minimum is important. Never walk through an area one intends to hunt or call turkeys the day before the season opens. It's fine to listen for turkeys flying up to roost in the evening but don't call to them.
(f) Become familiar with the local wild turkey flock and its habits and dominant hens and gobblers, plus the terrain you'll hunt.
(g) Take a patient approach. The lives of turkeys, woodsmanship and becoming part of wild habitat are nothing like the fast-paced world where most of us live. Turkey time is slow time, so be prepared to move and set up slowly, sit still a long time, be alert for hours without moving and have patience.
(h) Roosting turkeys is fun and productive. It always works best about an hour before to darkness fall to total darkness. Turkeys are like chickens and fly up into trees to spend the night in relative safety. Turkeys may hop from limb to limb but usually roost as a mixed flock (hens with gobblers). Hunters who set up the next morning before daylight can experience the thrill of turkeys making tree calls, hearing them fly down where they may be lured into shotgun range.
(i) If you enter the woods just before daylight, set up as near to a gobbler as the terrain will allow. The relevant factor in the South is the amount of foliage on trees. At the season's start, gobblers in trees can see longer distances than later in the season when the leaves are unfolding and greenery covers the landscape. Also remember that in open woods gobblers can see farther than they can in thick woods, plus they may sound farther away than they actually are – so don't be fooled into moving too close to a bird.
(j) Streams are a problem. Wild turkey gobblers rarely will fly across a stream. If a hunter knows a bird is on the opposite side of a stream, look for a fording spot and cross the stream or set up as close to the stream as possible. Sometimes gobblers will walk up and down a stream bank, gobbling to a hen. Another trick is to walk away from the stream, then stop and call. Sometimes a gobbler can't resist a retreating hen and will follow.
(k) Calling is the key. The best idea is to be subtle and soft when reproducing turkey yelps, putts, clucks, purrs and feeding sounds. When you "feel" you've reached the right set-up spot, sit down, sit tight, make a few soft calls and wait without moving, then listen for the gobbler. His responses will tell you what to do.
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