What gear

[timberjack86]

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, 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!

[jakesdad]

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.

[bamagtrdude]

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

[J Hook Max]

 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

[BigBen81]

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.

[Gooserbat]

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. 

[McKay]

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.

[G-12]

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

[tomstopper]

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.....

[ridgerunner]

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