I'm completely new to this and I'm looking to get a list of must haves to take with me. I currently don't have a vest and at this time haven't decided if I will get one. I may get a fanny pack though. Thanks for the help.
:welcomeOG:
My must haves are pretty simple.
Shotgun, shells, phone, and a mouth call.
My list of stuff I carry more often then not is much longer.
I wear a vest and carry a gobbler lounger (It may get left on a road, but it makes it out the truck a lot), bottled water, 2 or 3 pot calls, 6 or so strikers, 1 box call, 12 diaphragm calls, crow call , a small supply of conditioning tools, when warm a thermocell with extra butane and inserts, face mask, gloves, pocket knife, pruning shears and the items listed in my must haves. This is what I carry most of the time. If the weather is bad I will throw a rain coat in the back of my vest. I will carry decoyes a few times a season as well.
Thanks bud!
When your first getting started it can be easy to focus on equipment. I highly recommend reading A Fork in the Road by Col. Tom Kelly. It will cover the basics and simplify things , I just finished reading it agian and enjoy it every time. That 20 dollar book will probably help more than 100's or 1000's in new gear. Good luck.
Welcome John! You have come to the right place. Also, around the first of the year is a good time to get out scouting and looking for new areas to hunt. Strutter...
At the beginning of turkey season, I look like the Michelin man with all my junk. Once I've crossed 2 sloughs or topped a ridge, I quickly shed the nonsense. I love just the simple cotton button up shirt and pants at the beginning of the year with my good ol vest. Like I say, at the start, it feels like I have 5 million things. After a couple hunts, I carry 5 or 6. A box call, pot call, 4-5 mouth calls, phone, shells, gun, and bottle of water. (If public land national forest, take GPS and compass to be safe), face mask and gloves and that's about it. You don't need a bunch of nonsense to chase those turkeys However, it is a fun hobby to spend money on junk. I do anyways lol. When it gets hot, I go to treklite style clothes, cool boots, gun, and a couple calls and that's it. Good luck and happy new obsession!
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X2 on Fork in the Road! It is geared to new hunters but has good reminders for veteran hunters!
Sent from the Strut Zone
All great advice, but Denny's point is spot on. If you have a call you are proficient with and a gun that shoots where you want it to you can kill turkeys. What you add after that will depend on many things. You are on the right site to get your questions answered. Good luck, welcome to the addiction!!
I bought a cheap walmart turkey thug vest and it was a great investment. I had calls, shells, gloves, mask, and all kinds of gear in pockets. Now, just grab the vest and go. I don't use my decoys anymore for the most part. Thermacell is good if there are a lot of mosquitos. I carry more calls than I probably need. Water, snacks, cell phone, etc.. Once you get out there you'll figure out what you want to carry around and what you don't. Another nice thing about the vest is it usually has and attached seat to make you more comfortable.
At the minimum you need a good sounding call and a gun.. Camo is debatable...
Quote from: gwa on December 08, 2014, 07:00:39 PM
A call you can use well
A gun you have patterned and know where it hits
And access to property that has turkey's.
I am a beginner as well. I love the recommendation to reading some good turkey hunting books. The gear selection will make more sense. Plus, you will probably bag more turkeys based on tactics than gear (veterans, correct me if I am wrong). I have personally enjoyed "Hunting Pressured Turkeys" by Brian Lovett. It is the fourth book I have read on turkey hunting. All were obtained at the local library.
I agree with a call you can use well and a gun that patterns well. The rest of it is personal preference. Don,t get caught up in you have to use a mouth call, or a box call or a pot call . Use what you are best calling with. Are you hunting spring or fall ? Getting set up and knowing when and how to call is sometimes more important than how you sound.
I plan on hunting spring and fall. We're lucky enough to have two separate seasons here. I want to run & gun as well as set up and call in, both seem fun in their own ways.
Stay away from run and gun. Hunt slow and never let birds know you are there. Patience will get you a long way but also knowing when it is time to make something happen is good as well. Good luck!
Sent from the Strut Zone
Quote from: davisd9 on December 15, 2014, 08:57:10 AM
Stay away from run and gun. Hunt slow and never let birds know you are there. Patience will get you a long way but also knowing when it is time to make something happen is good as well. Good luck!
Sent from the Strut Zone
:agreed:
Quote from: trkehunr93 on December 17, 2014, 09:42:56 AM
Quote from: davisd9 on December 15, 2014, 08:57:10 AM
Stay away from run and gun. Hunt slow and never let birds know you are there. Patience will get you a long way but also knowing when it is time to make something happen is good as well. Good luck!
Sent from the Strut Zone
:agreed:
Agreed, but It has its place but not as often as we may think. When I started turkey hunting the videos had me convinced that was the way to do it. But after a few turkeyless seasons I asked an old timer for some help. His advice was to set up on turkey sign and call softy about every 15 minutes. There is no magic formula but guess what on my first hunt following his advice I killed a turkey!
Quote from: davisd9 on December 15, 2014, 08:57:10 AM
Stay away from run and gun. Hunt slow and never let birds know you are there. Patience will get you a long way but also knowing when it is time to make something happen is good as well. Good luck!
Sent from the Strut Zone
Good advice. My suggestion is get to know your area VERY well.Know not only where turkeys like to be,but how they get there and where they are coming from. Also important is knowing how you can get to where they want to be without blowing the deal in the process.I like to call my approach to turkey hunting as slow motion run and gun.I dont plop down in one good spot and stay for the duration.If its slow where I am I move to what I know is another favored spot of the birds and slowly hunt(notice I didnt say walk) my way there.Most of the time if I get a bird to gobble somewhere I'm not,i've got a really good idea of where he's going and how I can get there before he does.Patience and putting in your time is crucial.Not trying to sound condescending,but its not deer hunting where you can plop your fanny down on a stump and wait for one to walk by and expect good results.Its going to take effort,which is why I believe most people deer hunt more so than turkey hunt.
As far as gear other than a good patterning shotgun and a call you can run decently,the rest is pretty much optional based on your taste/preference.There are days I think i'm packing everything I own,then there are days i've got everything I need in my pants pocket.
Your signature says Rem 870 Express, so I'm assuming you've got a gun w/a turkey choke tube & you've picked ammo out already & patterned your gun.
What gear?
0) Toilet Paper
1) Camo: head net/mask, gloves, hat, shirt & pants. (wal-mart!)
2) Fanny pack: yes! (wal-mart again, turkey thugs pack is good & cheap)
3) Calls: box call - Spring Creek Turkey Calls, very good, very affordable - Mike is on here & advertises in the Turkey Call Classifieds all the time; I really like his purpleheart over eastern cedar short box!
4) Snakeboots: If you're in a local that feature snakes, get some
5) An experienced turkey hunter: Put yourself "out there", and find somebody that knows how to hunt turkeys; this is perhaps the most important piece of "gear" you could possibly have!! :)
That's the BARE ESSENTIAL gear that won't set you back too far, and will get you in the game. Good luck to you this year!
BGD
A good cushion, a couple of good mouth calls, water, bug spray or thermocell. Add that to a good place to hunt , a lot of patience and woodsmanship and you should have success. Oh yeah, you have to be very, very still too. LOL
A vest that has a comfortable seat. My first year turkey hunting I bought a cheap vest that had a thin seat. Big mistake. I've found that turkey hunting is a lot more fun when I have feeling in my legs.
Good boots, butt cushion, a gun that shoots a good pattern and hits where you aim. Camo including gloves and face mask, a few different calls (mouth, slate, box are the 3 most common) and I recomend a locator or two. The one extra I would recommend is a Thrmacell, then a turkey vest.
Perfect thread, timing and great info as I too am just getting started. Picked up my Benelli SBE ii the other day and will pattern soon. Boots on the way, other than that Im watching here.
Gun
Shells
Camo
Calls
Most importantly....patience
That said I peobably carry more than I need
I always have a few locators. Usually a dozen or so Mouth calls, a good box call, a couple of Pot calls and strikers, and a condtitioning tool
I always have a headlamp, and hand held flashlight. A pen and jack knife go along as well.
I also always carry spare facemasks and gloves. And lots and lots of patience
Quote from: guesswho on December 09, 2014, 02:42:26 PM
Quote from: gwa on December 08, 2014, 07:00:39 PM
A call you can use well
A gun you have patterned and know where it hits
And access to property that has turkey's.
The three basics that have killed many turkeys over the years.....
Get some Sawyer's tick spray, or something similar. Ticks are carrying some bad diseases..i just learned of a new disease in Kansas that killed a man last year. See link below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/24/science/mysterious-virus-that-killed-a-farmer-in-kansas-is-identified.html?_r=0