Complete novice to hunting in general

[markelljones]

As the topic reads, I will be a first time turkey hunter come this April. I own a 12 gauge shotgun and am an alright shot (police, military). I'm familiar with the laws in the in Maryland and plan on hunting on public land (me and a friend of mine who is also a complete novice). I understand hunting with someone who has some experience under their belt would be better, but it isn't possible. I also understand that we're doomed to fail, haha. Could you guys offer any tips on gear selection and newcomer strategies? Anything, and I mean anything, is greatly appreciated. (We have a little over a month to prepare, if need be).

I posted this under a different topic as well. Apologies in advance.

[g8rvet]

Hopefully lots of folks will chime in.   Just a few random thoughts.

Know your gun, the load and your range.  You can read all the options and chokes and loads. Start simple.  Test fire your gun at 20, 30 and 40 yards.  Determine your range and then stick to it.  Some folks say you should 100 pellets in the 10" ring, but I think that is a little light.  I think minimum of a well patterned 120 would be my preference and I want better. 

Pick two simple calls.  Learn to cluck quietly, learn a tree yelp.  Scratching leaves will kill as many birds as calls will. 

Scout. A lot. The more you scout, the better you will know the terrain you are hunting. 

Have fun.  A bird in the hand is the ultimate goal, but if you do not enjoy a hunt like I had today (3 miles of up and down walking, chasing, moving, calling, repositioning and just learning the new woods I am hunting).  Enjoy the process, the harvest will happen. 

[markelljones]

Thank you. God bless.

[howl]

Buy Lovett Williams' CDs to listen to while driving. Buy some mouth calls to practice while you listen. Scott Ellis has some YouTube videos on mouth call technique.

The rest is woodsmanship and time spent in the woods.

[GobbleNut]

You will find there has been plenty of past discussion in these forum pages that will answer most all of your questions.  Rather than repeat a bunch of that stuff here, I will emphasize a couple of points.

Most folks begin with the idea that hunting of about any game is based on SEEING them.  Spring gobbler hunting, in particular, is actually more about HEARING them.  Many successful turkey hunters never actually SEE the turkeys they are hunting until shortly before they pull the trigger. That process of hearing turkeys involves being "out there" where your turkeys live when they are most likely to tell you where they are,...and that is right at the break of dawn in the morning (and, in some places, right at last light in the evening), when gobblers are "on the roost". 

With a month to go before your season, your best starting point is to be in your turkey woods at those times as often as possible covering country and LISTENING for gobbling.  You can also look for them, as well as listen for them during the daytime hours, but finding those gobblers by hearing them and knowing where they sleep at night is a key ingredient. 

Finding those places your turkeys are living is THE primary step. All the rest of the stuff like equipment and calling tools are also important, but those you can learn here by reading these pages, and watching the abundant videos that are at your disposal.   Walking into the turkey woods knowing where the turkeys you are planning on hunting are at puts you way ahead of the game at whatever stage you are as a turkey hunter.   

[SureShotScott]

Very Well said above.  The most important thing - which really applies to any hunting is just being where the target species wants to be.  If you position yourself effectively on a turkey that wants to commit, even a novice caller can call one in.  From there, fine tuning your calling will make you that much more effective.  Spend as much time as you can scouting, looking for sign, recognizing suitable habitat, and just time in the woods in general. This will give you a better understanding of the habitats of the birds you are trying to hunt. There is no other substitute for just being out there and learning from trial and error.  Even some of the very best turkey hunters will tell you that they are still learning something each and every time they go out and hunt.  Once you think you have it all figured out, you still don't. 

When hunting public land just be mindful and courteous to others.  When someone beats you to "your spot" do not go in there and march on top of them.  Give them plenty of space.  That is why it is important to do plenty of scouting and have multiple back-up plans!  It would be extremely helpful to you and your buddy to find someone experienced to go with yall when yall are first starting out, so I wouldn't give up on trying to find someone just yet!

As for gear: make sure you pattern your shotgun before you carry it to the woods.  If you need a turkey Choke - Jebs, Kicks, Indian Creek, and Carlsons are some great options.  Plenty of patterning info on this site as well as youtube to help you with your shell selection.  Get a good facemask, camo, a vest, and some calls, and have at it.  David Halloran, Hanks, Legacy, and Woodhaven are all very good sounding and readily available calls. 

Good luck!

[ChesterCopperpot]

Don't get caught up in the gear craze. The turkey hunting industry will try to sell you $400 in calls and a $200 vest and $300 in decoys etc. etc. etc. Find a call you can run reasonably well—pot calls are great and you can get great ones cheap—keep it simple, and dedicate a lot of time to scouting and learning the land. No reason it has to be anything more complicated or expensive than one man, one call, and one shotgun. Lastly, listen to real hens. Learn how they communicate and insert yourself into that conversation. I've always loved what Frank Cox said about calling (albeit raw), "My grand nationals is out there in the g*dd*mn woods with the turkeys." As it should be. Clucks kill turkeys. You don't have to win a calling contest to consistently kill turkeys, and as a matter of fact nine times out of ten you're better off early on keeping it super simple.


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[Gmed]

Retired LE here and WHEW....that's a steep learning curve without a mentor....buuuut, it can be done because I did it and so did a bunch of others. You are going to learn way more by your mistakes (getting too close, not getting close enough, calling too much, not calling enough, and on and on), than your successes. Couple of things I learned early on is that stillness is more important than the brand of camo you wear, mastering one type of call is better than not mastering any, and get yourself a big dose of patience every morning before you go into the woods. Don't get discouraged, and HAVE FUN with it. If you get discouraged and count your success only in the number of birds you take, you are doomed to be disappointed. Enjoy the spring woods and listening to the big birds every morning you can. Be thankful you can get up, put both feet on the floor and hit the woods. Learn from your mistakes each time, and soon, you will be hanging spurs in your garage...l

[markelljones]

Thank you all for the words of wisdom. I'll heed all of your advice.

[EZ]

Don't get caught up in the gear craze.

True that! Don't get caught up in the info craze either. You can learn most of the basics....turkey language, calling, etc., but long hikes in the turkey woods and failures will be your best teacher. Enjoy.

[High plains drifter]

The biggest thing I learned, was to go out in pitch black. They can see really well! Don't ever underestimate their vision, and don't make any noice.

[Rickv]

Great info

[Sir-diealot]

First off thank you for your service. What branch did you serve in and for how long? What kind of calls have you gotten already? What brand of gun do you have?

[Uncle Tom]

All good advise here....I will agree on finding someone to take you under wing and learn you the ropes, even if just one hunt with them. I did exactly what you are about to under take over many decades ago and the one thing I would like to suggest is this.....and this is my opinion and I have nothing but respect for those that do not agree...never buy a decoy or a blind to hunt out of and like I just said, others hunt using these methods and I have no problem with others means of killing a turkey. I used blinds, decoys, and about every means to kill a turkey over the years, and for me, I now only call them in to my set up and have them trying to find that "hen" they have been hearing. For me, this is the most rewarding way and you will thank me years from now if you decide to go this route. There are many different ways to kill a turkey and I have taken others under my wing and showed them how I do it over the years.....some of these have taken my advise and some have not. Only you can decide how you want to hunt them, have fun alone the journey whatever you do.

[Greg Massey]

Spend as much time with turkeys as you can, have a few good custom calls, practice with these calls and have plenty of patience. Learn from your mistakes and continue to enjoy hunting these gobblers. Make sure you have a good butt cushion, snacks, water and toilet paper. A small pair of pruners, a small pen light of some kind alone with other basic needs...  Practice, Practice and remember the best hunters make mistakes in hunting these gobblers just like a novice, that's why they call it turkey hunting. Also some turkeys are meant to die that day, while others survive to gobble another day...