Is this the BIGGEST and BADDEST show?

[bbcoach]

I feel most experienced turkey hunters know that one doesn't NEED the biggest, most tricked out, newest, or expensive equipment to get the job done. They invest in gear for a variety of other reasons; some legitimate, some silly.

I think it's a problem when new turkey hunters get the impression that they DO NEED a heavy/expensive investment in gear just to hunt, that they're handicapped without it. Or that they see gear as a needed crutch that makes up for lack of experience.

Well put.  It seems we TEND to think we HAVE TO HAVE the GREATEST ammo, gun or gadget to experience this sport.  Get your Grandfathers Winchester shotgun, pattern some #4 lead to see what your effective range is and enjoy a few weeks of (Heart Pounding Frustration, Just kidding!)

[eggshell]

I don't think it's the increased odds of success that drives us to the best and baddest gear. It's the little kid in us that likes having the newest brightest toy to show all your friends. On the back end it will kill you an extra gobbler now and then, but I would rather just keep my money and be a little more disciplined in my hunting. Heck I've killed birds with my field gun I hunt pheasants with in factory full/IC chokes with high brass magnum 2/34" #5 pheasant loads. It's all in where you choose to shoot old tom. My main gun is a Browning Gold Hunter with extra full choke I bought somewhere around 25-30 years ago with trapping money. My shells are winchester longbeards off the shelf in #5 shot. I rarely buy any camo. Most of mine has many seasons on it. If I need a new piece of camo, I just put it on my Christmas list and the kids buy it for me, LOL. They usually bug me about what I want for a birthday or father's day too, so FREE CAMO, yipee. Yeah, I am just another old tightwad with a growing waistline. It's all just a matter of personal taste and joy. The number of turkeys you bring home are not controlled by your gear as much as your skills, however; I think everyone should enjoy their hunt and if the big toys and bells and whistles make you happy then go get em. The bottom line is turkey hunting should bring you joy, happiness and fulfillment. Do what brings you those things and never worry about what someone else does. 

[Alabama556]

After you spend a bunch of time in the spring woods, you figure out what vest, gun, calls, etc work best for you. That is what drives my gear choice.

I hate going hunting with a new vest. I have to remember where everything is. That's why I will use the one I have until it falls apart.

I have found that if you buy nice stuff it last longer.

That's just my opinion. The gear changes I make usually revolve around making it easier to get around in the woods, stay warm/cool, stay concealed, and be able to adapt to the awkward conditions a turkey will put you in when he shows up in the exact spot that you hope he does not.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Turkeybutt]

I went to TSS and have bought my share of new guns, but the old ones work just as good.

Mixed and matched camo works for me. If I see something I like at a yard sale or thrift store, and it works for me in the woods I'll buy it. It's not a fashion show out there, turkeys don't judge me for what I'm wearing, just my friends!

Comfort drives me to a point, because I'll stay in the woods longer increasing my chances of harvesting a bird.  So, I'll spend the money on a good rain suit or look for a way to sit comfortable longer.  With that said I have yet to find a turkey lounger I can get out of without embarrassing and or hurting myself.  I don't need that video on U Tube!

The bottom line is simple. It comes down to what you are comfortable with, have confidence in using and I guess what you care to spend or can afford. New and improved isn't always better!

[bbcoach]

You guys GET IT!  Being the BIGGEST and BADDEST isn't necessary.  99.99% of the time the OLD WAYS work just fine and get the job done.  IMO Calling and Woodsmanship comprise 90 plus percent of getting a Gobbler to the end of your gun barrel.  Along with a little Luck.

[Zobo]

I happen to have a deep interest and love for turkey calls, the art, the craft, the history, books etc. It's one of the main reasons I'm on this forum. Shows are so much fun and are the best place for getting calls/gear for obvious reasons.
I now purchase far more calls than I need but calls and calling are a big part of what I love about turkey hunting.
However, for years I used very little gear and was as successful as I am now.

[Yoder409]

I happen to have a deep interest and love for turkey calls, the art, the craft, the history....

I now purchase far more calls than I need.....

I resemble that remark.   

[ScottTaulbee]

I've been on both sides of the coin here and going in to my 25th year of chasing these magnificent birds this spring I've fallen somewhere in the middle. When I started out I thought I needed every thing known to man because of the mossy oak and real tree and knight and hale VHS tapes I could talk my dad out of. Problem was, my dad was a farmer and a factory worker and my mom was a house wife. Dad didn't and still doesn't turkey hunt and didn't see the need in the fancy, new things. So I hunted with his maverick 88 that was replaced with a  Mossberg 500 in 2003. The factory full choke, and Winchester XX #4 that me and dad split because he wanted to try turkeys too. He'd buy me the H.S. Strut pack of calls that had everything in it and maybe a mad call and off I went. I used decoys and figured out how to kill em with what I had. When I turned 18 and could get a factory job I went hog wild and bought every vest, every decoy, every brand and type of call that I could possibly afford just because I always went without. Then I thought I had to carry all of them. I "upgraded" the 500 to a 835 with a scope and sumtoy choke in 2016 and after trying every shell on the market settled on long beard XR #5's. Then ditched the decoys and started hunting mountain birds on National Forest land and figured out pretty quick that I didn't want or need to carry 10 different callers with me because every turkey I had called in to that point came from a mouth call with the exception of one with a long box on a windy day. Fast forward to now and I still buy some calls, but have sold or given most of them away. I carry a couple mouth calls, the same 835 with long beard XR, 1 pot call(typically glass or ceramic) a couple strikers, and a trumpet. This year I'll be adding a OG push button to experiment with. It's fun to buy new gear and experiment but at the end of the day, I've learned that by using my brain, knowing what to say and when to say it, in a spot the gobbler wants to go, trumps anything else I have.


But I will add, that I have a 4 year old that is absolutely enamored with turkey hunting as much as me and I do buy him calls and whatnot fairly regularly. He's getting a handful of calls and a new camo mossberg mini bantam pump for his birthday next month. And that's stuff he asked for!.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[KickinRocks]

Nothing wrong with wanting and using the biggest and baddest. I'm too cheap to do that but to each his own. A couple of years ago, I did treat myself to some new camo after dropping about 75 pounds and I didn't go cheap.

[Happy]

I think looking the part has become as important to many as playing the part. I have noticed (this is just in general and not pointed at the folks here) that there is an awful lot of preening and posturing going on in the hunting world. It's part fashion show and part social status. That's why I have always made cracks about my good looks and general amazingness. It's me poking fun at the stupidity of it all and basically mirroring the chest puffing and bragging that many seem to consider important. Bottom line is, buy whatever you want as long as it ain't with my money. If it makes you happy, go for it. Personally, I am gonna be more worried about what a quiet guy with a well-used pump shotgun, faded camo, and a few well-used calls is gonna do to the gobbler population, then the loud guy that shows up in a jacked up truck, e-bike in the bed, sitka camo, benelli shotgun, and 4 decoys.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[mcw3734]

Nothing wrong with wanting and using the biggest and baddest. I'm too cheap to do that but to each his own. A couple of years ago, I did treat myself to some new camo after dropping about 75 pounds and I didn't go cheap.

After dropping 75 pounds you deserve some new threads for the woods. Good for you!

[Notsoyoungturk]

Crack, Hookers, Booze or Turkey Gear.  Every man has to have a vice.  For me, it's turkey equipment.  I enjoy hunting with different guns, calls, calls, decoys, vests/satchels, etc...  Do I NEED all of this gear; ABSOLUTELY NOT. It is simply part of my enjoyment of the sport and where I like to spend my time and money.  It also keeps me out of the doghouse with mama bear (mostly). 

[Paulmyr]

If I have the cash there's one thing I won't skimp on, waterproof footwear. It has to be Gortex!

[YoungGobbler]

I think you either love to go simple, love to go high-tech or you consider yourself in between, picking here and there what you like most and what suits you... Personaly I like to keep it simple. I shoot lead and factory beads with my pump shotgun for everything.

[YoungGobbler]

Personally, I am gonna be more worried about what a quiet guy with a well-used pump shotgun, faded camo, and a few well-used calls is gonna do to the gobbler population, then the loud guy that shows up in a jacked up truck, e-bike in the bed, sitka camo, benelli shotgun, and 4 decoys.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

Hehe... That's true... Especially if that guy hunts fall and spring season...