I have access to a piece of property that's really swampy with a creek that flows through it. I deer hunted a couple times this past week and heard lots of turkey gobbles in the early morning. I've never hunted them and would like to try this year. Anybody have any inputs for a beginner?
Get a Lynche's box call. It's the easiest to learn. You only need two calls, the cluck and the yelp. If you can roost one the evening before so you'll know where to setup the next morning. A blind is a good idea. Get there before daylight. When he gobbles from the tree. Do a soft yelp and shutup. Wait for him to flydown. You cannot move once he is in sight. Camo every inch of your body. Cluck a couple of times and yelp. If he answers, get ready. Good luck.You can PM me if you have specific questions. I'm by no means an expert but I've screwed up enough times to learn a few things.
When you think you should call, don't. After you call, if you think you waited long enough to call again, wait longer. One of the biggest rookie mistakes is over calling.
Don't call then pick your nose
Don't call then lean your gun against a fence
Don't call then look at your phone
Don't call then decide to pick flowers for your wife
Don't sit down under the tree the gobbler is roosted in..... these are the things I learned first hand the last two turkey seasons
I forgot that you need to look over a few turkey pics to be sure you know the difference between males and females. First one I ever called in, I shot and killed but didn't realize it was a hen for nearly 2 hrs
If i can give one very helpful piece of advice, it would be don't ever start turkey hunting. It will run you down like a buck in rut. It is addicting as hell, and you will probably get run out of the house because you will be practicing calling all the damn time.
Well here's my proof from about 21 yrs ago. Doubt your gonna beat these grins. This was about 10 minutes before I got pulled aside and told it was a hen. Guess I was a full fledged turkey googan. Chaps seems like a smarter boy than I was!
I considered that and I think it's a non-criminal or criminal misdemeanor of which they had 2 yrs to take me down. I'm obviously about admitting my mistakes and advising others here on being a more informed hunter. I bet if a hen runs up to Chaps at daylight on opening morning he will remember to look for a beard!!
I went and scouted today. As I was walking down a path, I heard some rustling in a tree and watched a turkey fly out. Can I assume that's a good location and set up very near by?
Also, what's the best shot to use in my 12 gage? Thanks
Nope, nah uh, don't go there. Give me the location and don't ever worry about it again. Also, you don't have to have the high dollar shells for turkeys, get them within 30 to 40 yards and just about any turkey load will work. Just shoot it and see how your shotgun shoots with whatever shell you buy.
Setup bout 100 yards or so. Go very early. No flashlights. Best shot depends on your gun. Mine shoots winchester 3" #5. Better then any 3 1/2" took a few different boxes to pattern my gun to see which put the most pellets in a 10" circle. Some other brands would shoot high right and others very scattered. So it really depends.