# Rookie Turkey Tips



## bpskibum (Aug 13, 2012)

Hey gang-

I will be hunting Turkey for the first time ever in the Spring with my son, plan on using our Crossbow. Any high level tips for a newbie? Basic field strategies, broadhead recommendations, (currently using NAP Spitfire for Deer), time of day to hunt, etc.

After having a bust deer season with my son, I hope to give him some success with a Turkey. Any help is appreciated...thanks!


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

Start Reading.. I think all but one chapter is in the preview.. Probably the best book I have read for a beginner to get a good base knowledge of the wild turkey and its hunting from which upon to build his knowledge base with his own experiences and also to come here and ask more specific questions. 

http://books.google.com/books?id=ukYqfB3PmfIC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false


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## bpskibum (Aug 13, 2012)

Thanks for the reading tip! Will buy the book.


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

bpskibum said:


> Thanks for the reading tip! Will buy the book.


You can read all but one chapter there.. Ray Eye is a tremendous source of information


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## boomstick (Aug 31, 2010)

I've had great luck mounting a jake decoy on a hen and having a few hens decoys waiting around to be serviced in my decoy spread. It drives a dominant tom nuts. They run in fast and beat up ur decoys! This works best on the edge of a field. Don't over call. Best of luck.


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## brownitsdown84 (Jan 19, 2009)

I think closer to spring your scouting will answer a lot of questions. I started turkey hunting two years ago. I just started scouting and put out cameras and found out when and where the turkeys were coming through.. maybe where they were spending a lot of time... then I got out to my spots I picked before daylight and sat down.. the rest is pretty instinctive. Turkeys give themselves away pretty easy. But hard to not spook

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## brownitsdown84 (Jan 19, 2009)

Also slate calls are easy to use. You can put a single hen decoy down and have success. When they get down from the roost at sunrise you can usually hear if they are near by. When the get down they start moving.. you can either sit and call or move to them. But with a cross bow stalking might be tough. Also if ur gonna sit on the ground(which oi like to) get a butt pad or cushion. It the spring the ground is full of twigs and what not. Comfort means everything.

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## bpskibum (Aug 13, 2012)

Thanks for the tips!!


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## cast and tug (Apr 25, 2010)

Do not over call, and never call while scouting. I don't know everything that works but that's a couple that don't, and good luck on what will become a new addiction!


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## TheLionsFan (Dec 20, 2011)

IMO, pretty much any broadhead will work for turkey. Like deer, shot placement is key.

But turkey hunting in general I will give you my #1 piece of advice - by far. PATIENCE.

I cannot count the number of times I would have ended the season without a bird because I gave up, or didnt wait that extra hour, or simply got impatient and tried to hurry the situation. Patience is key - Trust me. If you know you have birds in the area, then keep at it.

I could go on and on about that, but will touch on a few other things.

Something you will find out really quick is that turkeys can see, and see EXTREMELY well. When you think you can make a quick movement because you dont think he is looking your way, think again. They can see 270 degrees. When you hear that gobble, BE READY. By being ready, I dont mean having your weapon in your hand ready. I mean be looking down the sight ready. Wear gloves. Wear a mask or head net. Be concealed.

Last season, I was "flirting" with a tom some distance away, but he was closing in. Couldnt seem him, but he sure was responding. I figured he was still 100 yards off or so and that once he got close enough he might gobble again to sell his location. Im sitting there with my gun on my lap - "kinda ready". Well he apparently decided to stop being vocal and snuck in on me at 25 yards no warning. Made one small motion to try and lift my gun and it was all over. Had I been "READY", he would have been history.

Now, you're gonna hear a lot of the same "tips" about turkey hunting, all which are very helpful. So Im gonna touch on a few smaller things, but darn near equally important.

Toilet paper. Think im kidding? So you have 3 toms 200 yards out. They cant see you. Those hens should be leaving them soon. All you have to do is wait them out. The game plan is set. But NOW, YOU have to go home because you cant hold it no more. Toilet paper, my friend. Stay out in the woods. Get some Charmin to go, works perfect.

Snacks. Kinda like toilet paper. You have birds in the area, but your breakfast isnt holding you over. But its a good thing you packed yourself a few sandwhiches, right? Not only can you take a lunch break to eat, itll give some time for things to move around and for you to stretch, take a break yourself. Turkey hunting can require long hours to get the most out of your hunt. 

Binoculars. Turkey wont ALWAYS gobble. Sometimes its good to pull up the optics and scan everything. There will be times youre gonna spot that tom out there with his head up trying to find that hen, but if you never had your binoculars you would have never saw him and chances are he would have surprised you when you arent ready.

I will tell you this, and I guarantee all turkey hunters can back me up on this. If you are set up in a spot, and the ONLY spot you cant get a shot is behind that little bush, or that tree. Watch...that is exactly where he will stop and hang up. Or, lets say you will shoot at 40 yards MAX. He will come all the way in from 200 yards and stop at 41 yards and hang up. Its frustrating. But its turkey hunting. They will outsmart you 9 out of 10 times. But that one time you win the battle, you are looking down at that nice tom with more excitement than ever thinking how much you cant wait til next Spring. 

Some guys wonder why I love turkey hunting so much. I tell ya, its just in a turkey hunters blood. Others just dont understand. I've seen big bucks and I love deer hunting. But man, when I hear that gobble, my heart is pounding out of my chest.

I hope you enjoy turkey hunting as much as the rest of us do. Be smart, be ethical, hunt hard, and have fun! (And did I mention be patient??)


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

cast and tug said:


> Do not over call, and never call while scouting.


Can you explain over calling: number of yelps, yelps per minute etc.. And why not call while scouting? Trying to glean information myself and would love to have some concrete evidence of why the above is bad.. Thanks.


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## ezcaller (Feb 21, 2009)

The hardest thing about turkey hunting is finding birds you can hunt.ask your turkey hunting buddies now if they will be willing to get your son out and on birds.If your using a blind practice from it.Checking limb clearance think horizontal not vertical.All of my bow and crossbow kills have come with the tom approaching the jake or strutted decoy.i place the tom decoy very close at 10 yards and use they hen decoy as my yardage maker further out. Learn what a basic yelp sounds like then practice and record it and see if it sounds like what you hear on cd DVD or television.Good luck


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## cast and tug (Apr 25, 2010)

DEDGOOSE said:


> Can you explain over calling: number of yelps, yelps per minute etc.. And why not call while scouting? Trying to glean information myself and would love to have some concrete evidence of why the above is bad.. Thanks.


As far as over calling I've seen guys call all day long or they call back at gobbles non stop like has already been said sometimes that Tom shuts up and sneaks in and will pick you up and bust you calling non stop. 
As far as calling and scouting before the season starts the turkeys are going to learn more from it then you will, after a Tom comes to a call a couple times and finds you he normally is going to stop being so aggressive unless your just looking to kill a jake, patience patience patience


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

cast and tug said:


> after a Tom comes to a call a couple times and finds you he normally is going to stop being


So are you saying its the calling or the presence of a predator that makes him less aggressive..


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## cast and tug (Apr 25, 2010)

DEDGOOSE said:


> So are you saying its the calling or the presence of a predator that makes him less aggressive..


From my experience after going to calls and finding a hunter makes them more weary and go to more by vision and less by sound, turkeys are spooked so easy and will change there pattern quick


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

cast and tug said:


> From my experience after going to calls and finding a hunter makes them more weary and go to more by vision and less by sound, turkeys are spooked so easy and will change there pattern quick


The presence of predators on both 2 and 4 legs is what quiets turkeys down not calling.. The call is a means of improving the chances of him seeing a predator. (you)


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## cast and tug (Apr 25, 2010)

DEDGOOSE said:


> The presence of predators on both 2 and 4 legs is what quiets turkeys down not calling.. The call is a means of improving the chances of him seeing a predator. (you)


That's what I'm saying just in a different way, I wasn't saying the call itself but getting busted doing it.


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## bpskibum (Aug 13, 2012)

Thanks for all of the tips!! The book arrived on Saturday, time to start reading....


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

bpskibum said:


> Thanks for all of the tips!! The book arrived on Saturday, time to start reading....


You will enjoy it, I do not think there is a better book to get your feet wet and get a good understanding of what to expect and look for.. 

His 2nd book Turkey Hunters Bible is my favorite turkey hunting book that I have read.. It tackles more of the intangibles of turkey hunting.. Eye tackles alot of the myths and misconceptions about the wild turkey head on adding a good dose of humor to the topics..


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## bpskibum (Aug 13, 2012)

Anyone heard of Turkey hunters having success in either Proud Lake or Highland Rec?


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