Lessons from my first turkey season

[Tidewater Tom]

As our seasons draw to a close I'd like to reflect on my lessons my first year of turkey hunting.

1. Pattern your shotgun. My son missed two birds by the time we realized it may be the gun. I've always shot doves, deer, and ducks with shotguns with good success. Never considered zeroing-in a shotgun. I'm very particular about my deer rifles, making sure they are zeroed before hunting with them each year. I'm embarrassed that I did not do that with our shotguns before turkey hunting.

2. Decoys don't mean much. I use decoys with good success duck hunting, and ducks drop in on us each week using decoys. Turkeys, not so much. I saw a range of behaviors with turkeys attacking my decoys and then some avoiding them like the plague.

3. Scouting the day before is essential to success. The veteran turkey hunter that helped us put us on turkeys that he roosted the evening before. Each time a shot was taken, and we did get a turkey. I'd go plop down where I'd seen turkeys a day or even a week before and it was a crap shoot.

4. Knowing how to call helps. I saw my buddy call turkeys and they'd come in looking, some times they'd come in hot. I sent more turkeys the other way than I did my way. Knowing the right sounds at the right time is critical.

5. Turkeys are smart. I've told several people this year that if turkeys had guns there'd be more dead hunters than turkeys. I've not hunted anything else that made me feel that way.

6. Comfortable seats are important. Can't sit still very long (especially my 13 year old son) if your butt hurts like you are sitting on nails. A good seat is a game changer.

I've got plans to make good on all my lessons from my first year of turkey hunting. Hopefully we'll have better luck next year.

[turkeyinstrut]

The thing is about turkey hunting............You never quit learning.

[WV Ridge Reaper]

Sounds like you got the basics stuff down !!!


Sent from somewhere deep in West By God

[appalachianassassin]

its really something how we evolve over the years. its good you've got someone to teach you, the only teacher I had was the wild turkey. was a school of hard knocks for a loooooooong time, but now I do ok.

[SwampDrummin]

You learned more than I did the first season! Nice read.

[Jaybird]

As our seasons draw to a close I'd like to reflect on my lessons my first year of turkey hunting.

1. Pattern your shotgun. My son missed two birds by the time we realized it may be the gun. I've always shot doves, deer, and ducks with shotguns with good success. Never considered zeroing-in a shotgun. I'm very particular about my deer rifles, making sure they are zeroed before hunting with them each year. I'm embarrassed that I did not do that with our shotguns before turkey hunting.

2. Decoys don't mean much. I use decoys with good success duck hunting, and ducks drop in on us each week using decoys. Turkeys, not so much. I saw a range of behaviors with turkeys attacking my decoys and then some avoiding them like the plague.

3. Scouting the day before is essential to success. The veteran turkey hunter that helped us put us on turkeys that he roosted the evening before. Each time a shot was taken, and we did get a turkey. I'd go plop down where I'd seen turkeys a day or even a week before and it was a crap shoot.

4. Knowing how to call helps. I saw my buddy call turkeys and they'd come in looking, some times they'd come in hot. I sent more turkeys the other way than I did my way. Knowing the right sounds at the right time is critical.

5. Turkeys are smart. I've told several people this year that if turkeys had guns there'd be more dead hunters than turkeys. I've not hunted anything else that made me feel that way.

6. Comfortable seats are important. Can't sit still very long (especially my 13 year old son) if your butt hurts like you are sitting on nails. A good seat is a game changer.

I've got plans to make good on all my lessons from my first year of turkey hunting. Hopefully we'll have better luck next year.

1. Make sure you have the right choke in your gun. That cost me 2 Toms in Kansas.
2. You never know on that one. Called in 3 large Toms in Texas that Gobbled the whole way to me, but came in on high ground, where they could see my area clearly. If I had used a Hen Deke, I would have tagged out that day. They wanted to come in badly, but I wasn't in an area with much cover. I have hunted many areas in the Midwest with limited woods/cover, where Dekes are almost a necessity.
6. Especially in area with minimal cover, where you have to wait them out. I have a bad back, and the Gobbler lounger is the chair to have.
There is a lot to learn, and if you hunt multi states you have to be flexible in your approach. Good luck.

[Gobbler]

Good stuff. Sounds like you are hooked on Turkey hunting.

[turkeyinstrut]

its really something how we evolve over the years. its good you've got someone to teach you, the only teacher I had was the wild turkey. was a school of hard knocks for a loooooooong time, but now I do ok.

Same here, when I first started turkey hunting I didn't even know anybody that turkey hunted, there was a couple videos out that I watched (Ray Eye and Dick Kirby) and I bought myself a box call (Lynch Fool Proof) and a couple diaphragms and started practicing. Well after hunting a few years and making lots and lots of mistakes I finally got a better idea of what I was suppose do do, oh I still make mistakes but I kill alot more turkeys than I did in the early going and seems like the learning never ends. Everybody makes mistakes turkey hunting but what is important is that you learn from your mistakes.