$ vs cents

[PANYHunter]

Good discussion here and no doubt you can kill a turkey with just the essentials....

I hunted the first 3 years with a Remington 1300 un camoed shotgun and had a Lynch box and a Lohman Thunderdome and a very basic vest...killed limits exceopt for my first season

but I have to say......I like gear and stuff and I end up spending what I can on better gear than I started out with... I ididn't spend over $30 for a call the first 9-10 years and then paid $80 bucks for an Albert Paul box call

I guess I'd put it like this:

I used to catch bass out of a Jon boat with a 9 horse power motor with Zebcos and steak and seafood were not something I could afford alot of....It was a whole lot more fun when I got  a real bass boat and bait casters and I like to eat at a good restuaruant every now and then.

I like my Benelli, my better sounding calls, and all the crap that I have accumalated....and as long as I don't get caught sneaking more of it into the house...I don't feel bad at all

Well said.  

[Basser69]

I killed my first bird (that I called in) with a borrowed Browning 32" full choke 12 ga with a 3" # 4 lead shell. I have proceeded like most turkey hunters that I know, more and better stuff. Thanks to OG I have learned about custom calls and this year I spent more than I should have. 4 box calls, 4 trumpets, 3 pot calls and 5 mouth calls. Is all the stuff necessary to kill a bird? no but do I like have it? yes!

[Duke0002]

Turkey hunting is more than just killing a bird.  Its a hobby. 

Is it necessary to have all the latest bells and whistles to take a bird?  No.   But its neat to have some cool turkey hunting stuff and reading about what others are using. 

Again, I think of it as one of my hobbies.  Some people collect baseball cards, celebrity autographs, salt shakers, model cars, and what not.  Very cool.

I like to get some new hunting gear once and a while when its on sale, and pick up a couple new calls each year, try some new shells.

I enjoyed the early days of my turkey hunting as much as anyone  -$6 camo pants, cheap plastic camo rain jacket, $5 hot seat looped on my belt, black belly-bag to carry stuff, 28" duck barrel and a bunch of high brass pheasant loads.   Great times for sure.   But my hobby has expanded.

[hunts4ever]

I AGREE WITH YOU 100%. I DONT SPEND ALOT OF MONEY ON MY TURKEY HUNTING EQUIPMENT BUT I DO SPEND THE MONEY ON ITEMS THAT MAKE MY HUNT MORE COMFORTABLE, BOOTS, BLINDS, SEATS AND SO ON.  MY OPINION YOUR MONEY IS BETTER SPENT SCOUTING AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR UP AGAINST THAN ANY AMOUNT OF EQUIPMENT YOU CAN BUY.

[redleg06]

I do agree that alot of folks coming on this site for the first time and just getting into turkey hunting might get the wrong impression of what they actually NEED to get into turkey hunting.

When i first started turkey hunting I was 6 years old and went with my dad (who didnt know much about it looking back) and I used what we had and it worked fine. I didnt have a job to spend my own money and didnt know any better anyway...

Growing up-(from about 6 years old to 14 or 15 when I got a job)  i killed most of my turkey with a 870 with a fixed choke and lead shells (whatever they had on the shelf) cause I didnt know there was another way --- plus they didnt have much besides lead anyway.  I never had a turkey decoy or a fancy red dot site on my gun and the only call I used was an old push pin call and I got to where I actually got pretty decent with it. 

Heck, until two years ago- all I used was an old foam decoy that I got for 10$ on sale and I killed many a bird over it.

Im 27 now and have a good job and enjoy turkey hunting as much as I did when I started (maybe more) and  I can afford to by nice things if I decide to.  Some people by fancy cars...I by hunting stuff .   

Do I NEED a turkey rig that can kill them out to 50yds...NO   Do I need 10 different calls in my 80$ vest....NO   Do I NEED a DSD decoy to get them in close....NO.

I killed them for a lot of years without all the fancy stuff ---wearing cheap camo, a dove gun with lead shells in my pocket (not a vest) and a push pin turkey call...BUT that doesnt mean I dont enjoy some of the new toys I can get. 

I actually think that the best way to start turkey hunting is to do it with less...   It teaches you how to be a better woodsman/hunter.

[swampy]

Where would oldgobbler.com be if everybody just went with the basic stuff. It's a lifestyle for most and a hobby for other's either way toy's make it more interesting and new toy's are just plain fun. I do think it's easy to get carried away. Ex. Most of us on here with a steady shot can kill every time at 50yds with our rigs but we'll keep tinkerering adding this and that because it's fun.

[hoyt]

I've been down the road with custom shotguns, custom calls, 257 pocketed turkey vests with easyboy recliner built in, etc. Then one day I was walking through the woods on a hard pressured public land WMA in SW Fl. and just out of the clear blue wondered how it would be to hunt and kill a gobbler like old Daniel and Davy did. Use the same type flintlock and have to call them in to 25yds at least.

So I decided to do it. Then found out a decent traditional flintlock would set me back at least $1200. So built one myself for about $1000. Then 3 more at least as much. Killed a gobbler with open cylinder..no choke..that I had to call in to at least 25yds to do. Then decided I had to have a special barrel with a choke built in for longer shots................and more money........some things never change. I figured if they knew how back in the day...Daniel and Davy would have done the same thing.

[paladin]

Hey where did you get that vest?

[hunttherut]

I am not a guy who has to have the latest and greatest gadgets, but I do like a nice shotgun and good sounding calls. 

[beards-n-bone]

I have come full circle with this...my first year was with ONE old HS Strut slate and a Franchi 2 3/4 with a poly choke that I cranked down to extra full.  Killed a bird the first time I set foot in the woods...I was HOOKED.  A BUNCH of gear, money, and time later I still hadnt killed number two.  Now with 16 years and 50 plus birds under my belt, I am back to the basics.  Each year that goes by I find myself packing less, and calling less.  I am trying to figure out how to do away with my vest.  Even though I havent used a decoy in the spring for 5 years, I cant stand the thought of not packing one....just in case.  My vest holds a decoy, crow call, slate call, 2 mouth calls, compact binos, 3 extra shells, and ratchet pruners....I still feel like I am packing too much.  I have upgraded my gun though....if I am gonna climb these man-killin hills of Ky and Tn,  I am not taking any chances.

[hoyt]

I went full circle also, but having a hard time leaving all them calls I paid good money for at home. I feel a little guilty hunting with a homemade flintlock shotgun and using a fancy turkey vest..so I don't take the cushion seat anymore. Always hated them anyway they look ridiculous to me when I see people on TV wearing them.

I was in the woods this morning on after daylight trying to get a shock gobble with crow and hawk calls and all I had was the crow and hawk calls around my neck and no vest. Sure felt good. Saw one flock of birds, but got no gobbles.

I'm going to go lighter this yr somehow...will wear my vest cause it's a leafy vest..but cut way back on everything else.

[ssettle]

I buy what I think is reasonable if I happen to see something I like. I don't buy high dollar calls but I am always looking for that call that will give me A sound that I believe sounds as close to a hen as possible. Do I concider myself a great caller...not really but I can get the job done.
  As I get older I realize it's not how many birds I've  killed but how good of a time I had while hunting them. New stuff is good if your happy with it but more times than not it's not as good as the maker make it out to be, at least for me. I'm slowly starting to  move more into hunting turkeys with blackpowder using my double 10 or my long barreled 20 gage flintlock.
  Turkey hunting like most things gets easier  if you learn the ins and outs on how to do it. I find it better the closer I can get a bird in.... I find myself enjoying it more if I can take a kid out. Sometimes it can be hard getting them out of bed in the morning but it's worth it when you see how excited they get when that gobbler is coming in.