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Post by Bubba on Feb 25, 2007 18:06:41 GMT -5
Ok... I've never hunted turkeys before. I didn't think I'd ever get a chance but the guy that went with me waterfowl hunting all them times this year has invited me to go. I've got my new/used ATV to get me around so walking won't be a big issue... I can park it and take a few steps to get set up.
Anyway, my question is, what's the most important thing to know about turkey hunting... I probably won't need to call, he said he'd take care of that... but what I need to know is stuff like ... Camo, gun, ammo, set up positioning... etc....
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Feb 25, 2007 18:53:25 GMT -5
That's a very broad question and you might want to break it down into a few more threads (don't forget we're having a contest the month of march - I had to throw that plug in). Keep in mind all of the advice you'll be recieving is purely opinions and personal favorites. There's no right or wrong answers. Gun and ammoI say 12 ga full or x-full Matte finish would be prefered but a gloss isn't the end of the world. If you have a gloss blue and want to camo tape it and have the couple dollars - that's fine. Ammo- if you have a gun that is only 2 3/4 it will be fine. Otherwise I'd opt for 3in If you have the capability I'd go 3 1/2in If you're shooting 2 3/4 I'd be using #6 shot If you're using 3 1/2 I'd be using #4 shot (personal preference) CamoMore controversy here Camo pants, longsleeve camo shirt, camo hat, facemask, and brown or camo jersey gloves. (the last two are overrated but nonetheless I use them anyway.) People overthink clothes as much as guns. Brown jersey gloves are fine as is white socks if that's what you normally wear. If it's raining, a olive green poncho would be acceptable. Also a good idea on public land to wear a orange cap when walking around. setupI imagine your buddy will be in charge of picking the location of where you're going to sit, calling, and location/distance of your decoys. So I will avoid that in this thread. Comfort is #1. Even if you hear a bird and get set up there's a good chance you have a while. When you start out turkey hunting you're going to think that a bird is gobbling really close when he's still a ways away. They sound clear when they're far away. But when he gobbles and you get an eary vibration in your chest - he's getting within 50 yards or so. It's a very wierd sound when he's close. It sounds like you take one of the gobble tubes and beat it against a drumset --- a very hollow thud with a very strange sound and vibration. So while it's important to have your knee up when you're anticipating a bird comming you have to be comfortable and not tire yourself out in an akward position with a heavy gun. Strapon knee pad is a good investment. The most important piece of advice I can give you is that turkeys are a pain in the butt and are unpredicable. A lot of times they come in silent (ussually from behind and right if you're a right handed shooter ) They are very spooky. A deer will stand there and watch you raise your gun. If you see a turkey do a 180 and start doing that "bird head poke thing" that means it's time to raise the gun as fast as possible because you're going to have to jumpshoot him. And in my personal opinion, most of the time you're going to end up with somekind of running shot because things just don't work out most of the time. And it's really just bad luck- they come from behind and don't make a sound till they get in shooting range. If you're lucky a bird will come from the front of you where you can see him 50-60 yards in advance. Make all your movement very slow and when he's behind cover --- unless again you know he's going to bolt in which case you have to spring up and hope he gives you a running shot. A flying shot is very tricky - maybe you'll hit him in the head and he'll glide 100 yards and crash dead. Maybe at the best case senario you'll break a wing and you'll have to run like hell after him. I think for every 100 birds you shoot at flying you'll kill 1. With your health, I wouldn't even waste my time on a flying shot. I'm sure you can only shoot a bird with a visable beard. Here's a hint - if it's a big red head and you KNOW it's a turkey but you can't see his body - I'd shoot. Even if it's a young male he'll ussually have a little 1/2 beard sticking out. I've only been burned on this once - it had a black body, and a head that I knew didn't belong to a hen. It spooked and ran but gave me a good shot. I assumed it had a beard and shot. While I'm 100% sure it was a small male, it didn't have a beard. It was on public land so unfortunatly I had to leave it. Well that's all I can think of for now. I would recommend starting new threads for new questions to keep things organized.
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Gila
Grand Member
and a Vernier sight. It's marked up to twelve-hundred yards. This one shoots a mite further.
Posts: 622
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Post by Gila on Feb 25, 2007 23:20:30 GMT -5
I would dissagree with the white socks. Anything white, red or blue should be absolutely avoided as the gobblers will notice it right off (if the law requires blaze orange, then you will just have to do what you have to do). Birds are not color blind like deer and such. Turkeys will pick out the slightest movement as well. Every turkey will act differently. some will come right in and act almost stupid and some might sneak around and catch you without you even knowing it. That's what makes it such a fun sport. Man, I love turkey hunting! That's one of the things I miss the most by working over here in Iraq...
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Post by klsm54 on Feb 26, 2007 9:09:49 GMT -5
Any old camo is fine, just so you cover as much as possible, including face and hands. I see no reason to shoot more than a 3" magnum 12 gauge. I prefer #5 or #6 shot, but some will use #4.
When hunting turkey's, just figure that they can see everything, and see it well. In reality, they can see twice that well. Learn to be still. Keep movements to an absolute minimum, and move slowly and smoothly, very slowly and very smoothly, when you do have to move.
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Post by Jack on Feb 26, 2007 10:55:45 GMT -5
I've seen it said that turkeys see 8 times better than humans, and hear 10 times better than humans. Camo everything is good advice. I would recommend a face mask, as, when a turkey is close, he can see you blink (no, I'm not kidding). In my opinion, what pattern of camo you use isn't very important. As to what to shoot, a 12 guage is your best bet, 3 inch if possible. It is vitally important that you test your gun with your turkey loads. Turkey shooting is like rifle hunting- you aim, and try to hit a spot (the head and neck). And, you use a very tight choke. It is important to know where exactly that load of shot hits, in relation to where you aim. Not uncommon for a shotgun to shoot a foot high or low, and that will result in a miss or a wounded and lost turkey. So, try some turkey loads in a few different shot sizes, and see what yout gun/choke combo prefers. My turkey gun likes #5 shot, so that's what I use. When the time comes that you want to do your own calling, get a box call and a turkey calling tape, so you know what sounds you're trying to make. And don't get panicked over whether you sound like some world champion caller- individual turkeys all sound a bit different, anyway. Every time I hear some caller in the woods and say to myself "Durn, that's the worst caller I ever heard" it turns out to be a real turkey.
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Post by dovehunter on Feb 26, 2007 15:31:20 GMT -5
I prefer the 3-1/2" mags. but, in truth, the 3" is more than adequate. I would not use anything smaller than a 12 ga. unless you can them to come in really close. My turkey gun - a Mossberg Ulti-Mag - patterns best with the extra full turkey choke that came with it. I prefer 4s or 5s. I like decoys too - both (at least one) hen and jake. I personally think camo'd guns are a solution looking for a problem. I also think scopes on shotguns are an aberation.
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Post by Jack on Feb 26, 2007 17:26:42 GMT -5
For sights on a turkey gun, there are lots of choices. Maby of the dedicated turkey guns these days have Firesights on them- open sights like a rifle. I have a Red Dot type sight on mine. Some folks use low power scopes. I lean towards what Dovehunter said- you don't really need the magnification of a scope at tukey hunting ranges, but having an adjustable sight set up that lets you adjust for up/down and L/R to get the gun looking exactly where it's shoting is a big asset, IMO
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Feb 26, 2007 20:10:18 GMT -5
The way I view white socks (or whatever color socks) is there is only going to be at most 4 or 5 inches showing. If you look in the woods, white is not an uncommon color - flowers and other plants, gravel dust, trash, etc. I wouldn't go out and buy new socks because of it.
Another Bubba, I don't know how good you can sit and if you have back problems, etc. If the woods are thick, don't be at all afraid to stand and lean against a big tree as opposed to sitting. In fact, if the woods are thick I personally will choose to stand. But to each his own.
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Post by klsm54 on Feb 27, 2007 13:09:03 GMT -5
It is not the color white, in itself, nor red, pink, blue or whatever. It is how noticeable a light color is when you move the body part that has the bright color on it.
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Post by dovehunter on Feb 27, 2007 15:10:34 GMT -5
Why would anyone want to wear white socks anyway?
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Post by Bubba on Feb 27, 2007 16:09:22 GMT -5
I only own one 3 1/2" - 12 ga ... that's my wife's waterfowl gun ... it's a Bennelli, Super Mag... It's Mat-black in color and has interchangeable chokes.... not knowing if I'll ever go again and not having a big use for super tight chokes, I think I'll just go with the regular full choke. I've got a couple different camo patterns that I use duck hunting... I recon one of them will have to do. I also have a light mesh face mask that I use duck and goose hunting ...
All these things have been useful. I didn't know that about the bird's eyesight. I know they could see a whole lot better then we can but I didn't know it was 10X as good... Like I said before, I probably won't do any calling so that's not a big concern... The movement thing might be an issue for me... I can't sit directly on the ground ... If I did, I'd need a block-n-fall to pick my big butt back up .. so.. I have a stool I sit on. Also, I have to move my legs because of bad circulation... I think I'll invest on one of them 3' mat-grass looking blinds... that should conseal most of my leg movement.
Thanks a million... if you have any other tips, please let me know... any and all advice is greatly welcome...
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Feb 27, 2007 22:57:01 GMT -5
Why wear white socks? If you're not anticipating a lot of walking, you might just put on your Hanes. A full choke will do just fine to 50 yards and a tad over --- you never know because it only takes one pellet. At the longer range you're just crossing your fingers that one pellet hits. I think the 3' foot blind will be "alright". You really don't have another option. Just get up right next to a big tree or brush pile or something. The tricky thing is going to be holding the gun steady. With deer hunting, it's normally a straight forward thing. Wait till it gets 50-60 yards away, pull the gun up, and shoot ussually within 10-20 seconds. With a turkey you're going to need to hold the gun up in a shooting position for at least 1-2 minutes I would think. That's not something I would do offhand. You need to figure out a shooting stick of some sort. UNLESS you sit on your stool facing the tree. Your rest is taken care of but your field of view is significantly less.
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Post by deputydon on Feb 28, 2007 8:03:12 GMT -5
Here's MHO..............Turkeys are the dumbest bird in the world w/ a pea sized brain that controlls that big body; you trip over them while deer hunting;they are always running about 10-15 yards ahead of you while your trying to still hunt other critters............................UNTIL you try hunting them then their brain swells and they become the smartests race (including humans) on earth!!!!! I'll throw in my 2 cents about huntin' them later today.
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Feb 28, 2007 10:58:45 GMT -5
I'll agree with that lol
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bounce
Royal Member
Posts: 5,727
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Post by bounce on Feb 28, 2007 18:56:10 GMT -5
Just go huting other crtters with a 12 ga??? at 10 or 15yd shot in front of you should be doable if you should have a change in mind on critter!!!! "Gobbal"
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