Seems I find myself more and more just wearing khaki/brown carhartt pants and a bottomland or trebark shirt when i'm hunting(plus gloves and mask). Anybody else out there that turkey hunts without being dressed head to toe in the latest and greatest? Got any pics post em up!
I've done it in blue jeans and a camp jacket, but only because I spotted some birds on my way home from work and that's all I had with me. I know it can be done, I've just been picked out by birds so many time that I felt like I was camouflaged in really well that I want every advantage I can get. :) But more power to you. If you can limit you movement, that's the biggest thing anyways.
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Call me crazy, but this up coming season I'm Gona hunt dressed up like my granddad,at least one day! Just to say I did it, he wore faded bib overalls and a well worn flannel shirt, and a grey fadora hat. And I'll be packing my Rem 11. I may get laughed out of the woods, but if I'm lucky I may kill one!
I can remember granddad turkey hunting in blue bibs and a red/black plaid shirt. Nothing escaped his dbl. bbl 10 ga.
A dark gray that blends in with a tree trunk is all you need. Hands and face need some kind of cover. You must remain motionless. I wish someone made hunting clothes like that so I wouldn't look like I just came out of a danged video.
Back in granddad's day there weren't millions of turkey hunters taking to the woods yelping and squawking at them incessantly.
Turkeys are a lot more keen to their surroundings and notice incongruent shapes now more than ever. Not a chance you'll ever find me working a bird in anything else other than full camo.
Camo doesn't really matter ..it's movement that gives you away...i was hunting in Mo. one time and i walk up on a guy who had blue jean overalls on and a green tee shirt and was carrying a huge gobbler and his gun was a single barrel 16 ga... i was deck out from head to toe in tree bark camo and he as me were i got all that camo and that nice remington shotgun...lol
I still use the same head net and gloves I bought in 1987. I wear an old pair of camo coveralls that are ripped and torn and have been repaired many times. I hunting magazine came and did an article on me and my call making several years ago. The author took several pictures of some of my calls and then wanted a staged picture of me in my camo like I was hunting. When I came out in my old camo the the guy asked me if that was all I had. He took a few pictures of me in my "costume" but none of the pictures made it into the magazine. I still wear the same camo to this day because it suits me just fine and pretty in the woods just ain't necessary. I certainly don't look like I just stepped out of the L.L.Bean catalog. I think my head net is original treebark pattern if that tells you how old it is.
That bottomland or trebark is pretty good camo so I wouldn't say you aren't wearing camo lol. I am more lax on the camo when deer hunting but usually more thoroughly covered with turkey hunting.
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Never confuse "need" with "want"....
I need little...want much...
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Yup,
all good points.
Wear that mask & gloves and don't move.
for the serious turkey hunter to be successful , one must dress in his LUCKY hat ,mask,jacket,shirt,pants,boots,and socks...even underwear.... very few times they all match.. sometimes parts are not even camo...:anim_65:
camo is not needed. sometimes I wear brown or green carhartts and and camo shirt.
I killed my best bird ever last year wearing old bdu pants and a grey sweatshirt. I was checking my cameras last year he gobbled one his own midday so I found a tree and worked him with a mouth call with no mask or gloves eaither just sat real still
I've killed some birds without the use of camo, but I tend to hide a little better when I'm not wearing it. Whether I need to or not, it makes me feel better.
None of my hunting equipment is the latest and greatest. Same old woodland pattern camo I've worn for years, same old gun and shells, same old reliable calls. Maybe I just need to get off the mountain more often. ;D
Bob
54 years ago I remember my turkey hunting mentor telling me "just sit still boy, I mean still". Even with that he pushed using a face mask and gloves. My first camo outfit was a set of green Army fatigues with tan splotches added from a spray can of tan paint. LOLs I do wear full outfit of modern camo now.
For the most spectacular turkey hunting moment of my life, I was wearing brown Carhart bibs and barn coat, and sipping coffee out of a stainless thermos. I was out in the open with the sun shining on me.
That year, I think it was 2010, a group of 10 2-yr olds roaming the foot of Gobbler's Knob. I was over on the next hill drinking my morning coffee and hoping to catch sight of them when they came out. We called them the Gay Turkey Herd, because they shunned females and would only display for each other. I was pro-staffing for Turkey & Turkey Hunting and kept a running account of their goings-on that season on the forum.
So there I was, sitting on a boat cushion, drinking my morning coffee, and all of a sudden the entire Gay Turkey Herd came out of the woods just below me, and walked right up. They spent about 20 minutes displaying for me, some were as close as 5 feet away and one gob came over and eye my red boot laces. There was nothing I could do, but sit there with that thermos in one hand and the cup in the other and let my coffee get cold.
There's 3 things I've learned hunting turkeys over the last 52 years.
They are don't move,Patience and don't move. Camo or not!
Regards
Turk
Trebark is awesome. Not for that, we'd be in the dark ages with camo patterns still. LOVE MY TREBARK! First Gortex stuff I ever bought...
I've had quite a few successful hunts in all black clothing or sometimes I'll wear green. Expensive camo helps but doesn't really make or break the hunt in my experience.
Scroll down to the "Retro" hunt at Turkey Trot in NY:
http://www.turkeytrotacres.com/huntinglodge/hunting.html
I have a theory about all this.
As I age, I find myself able to sit for longer and longer with less and less movement. Turkey hunting has become a lot easier over the years. It isn't a function of discipline either. I just don't move as much. I can remember back before I was 18. My body was in constant motion. I had a hard time stopping it-- lots of nervous energy. Just after I turned 45, I started having an underactive Thyroid, and now I find that I have to force myself to move, otherwise my limbs go to sleep.
On the other hand, I have been bringing my sons and now my grand daughter into the sport, and I can't help but notice how much they move around. They can't help it. I'm sure they're not even aware of it.
Me? I'm the sort of fellow that can with his back to a tree all morning and let the hens peck at my boot laces.
Everyone else? Constant motion, and constant noise-- skin grating on clothing, clothing on clothing, clothing on dirt and leaves. If you yourself are being quiet enough, you can hear it and see it, and it certainly works against a hunter in dealing with turkeys.
I suppose this is all a natural progression. Another 50 years or so, I'll slow down enough that I assume ambient temperature and the Good Lord will take me and leave the rest to become mulch. In the meanwhile, I'll enjoy being still.
HECK BACK IN THE DAY THERE WASNT ANY CAMO JUST JEANS AND A FLANNEL SHIRT ...........
THATS WHAT IM STARTING TO WHERE CANT AFORD THE CAMO ANYMORE ...........
I hunt everything in a pair of carharts. I have spilled enough tung oil on them over the years to make them pretty water resistant. I normally wear a camo shirt of jacket on top.
Haven't personally hunted without camo but I did go out with my grandad years ago. It's a rather humorous and long story but the end result is I killed the tom that I was calling in for him. He was wearing a black and green plaid jacket and blue jeans. He is has never been an avid turkey hunter but he has spent his entire life hunting deer. He has always swore you don't need camo for even turkeys. I tend to agree you don't have to have camo but it does help. Specially when a turkey is coming in looking for the source of the calling.