Help a new hunter!

[GATA61]

Happy to be a part of this forum! I'm a college student in Southeast GA, and I am planning on Turkey hunting for the first time this year. I have hunted mostly anything these Georgia woods and swamps have to offer, except for turkeys. I am looking to buy the necessities( calls, maybe a decoy) but don't want to break the bank and I'd like to be able to figure out the calls to some degree by the season opener. I'll be hunting on my family's private land where we currently have around 50 birds. Any advice on what calls to buy or how to hunt would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again.


"Do Right."- Erk Russell

[mgm1955]

Most importantly know how your gun patterns. A box call would be the fastest to learn to use.

[Dtrkyman]

I would get one box call, one slate pot call and a couple different style mouth calls and learn to use at least one really well. Owl and crow call.  Being that it sounds like you have a good spot scouting will be more valuable than anything you buy!

Spend some mornings and evenings there the week or so leading to season, get to a spot where you can see a ways with binos if possible.

As stated check your gun, mostly be sure it will shoot straight, many shotguns do not, most modern turkey loads from a straight shooting gun will be sufficient to 40 yards, many guys chase the ultimate pattern and spend tons of money on chokes and ammo and then will not shoot past 40 anyway!

If you can afford it a high end decoy is deadly, particularly in a field set! You may even consider building a few natural blinds for the times birds are silent!

[GATA61]

Dtrkyman,
Thanks for the input. Planning on building a blind out of some wood shipping pallets this weekend. I'll be sure to take pics and post them. Thanks again!


"Do Right."- Erk Russell


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tail Feathers]

Get a pot call, glass or slate, and practice.  Get a mouth call or two (double reed and/or triple reed), practice.  Scout a lot.  Pattern your gun and know how far you can kill a bird with it.  Lots of "first birds" fell to a Lynch Foolproof box call.  You may want to try one of those.

Go have fun.   

[dirt road ninja]

My advise is quit before you start. Once infected by the sickness you'll never be the same. If you insist on trying it get a copy of Fork in the Road by Col. Tom Kelly.  That book will offer you a solid foundation of knowledge to start with. As far as calls go - get a good slate, they are the easiest to run. Cane Creek Calls makes a nice one that is reasonably priced. A few diaphragms to try wouldn't hurt either, and something to sit on is a big plus.
Some more advise- just when you think your are moving slow enough, slow down. If you think you might have over called, you did, ten minutes ago. When in doubt, do nothing, just sit there longer. Don't try and kill the turkey, you have to let the turkey kill itself.

[fsu33952]

Stay still(wear gloves and a mask). Be patient and never ever over call. Calling too much is worse than not enough.

[silvestris]

First, learn their language.  Get some wild turkey CDs (you can't go wrong with Lovett Williams' "Real Turkeys").  Buy Kenny Morgan's book, "One Man Game" especially for its instruction on situational calling.  The above are available at Midwest Turkey Supply online.  Read pages 188-212 of "The Wild Turkey And Its Hunting" by E.A. McIlhenny (available free online on Google Books) to learn the Charles L. Jordan method of hunting.

Ninety per-cent of commercial turkey callers are junk, but you can't know that until you know what the real thing sounds like and have developed some proficiency with a particular type of caller.

[Bigspurs68]

Try to find more land than you think you'll ever need. Get all the permission you can. If you are able to find someone that has killed a pile of turkeys, go with them if you can. You can learn more in a couple days than you ever could reading about it. Still read of course, just try to get some good instruction in person. Don't get stuck into one style of hunting either. Keep a open mind and DONT expect it to be like it is on tv very often.

[Model 1300]

Make sure your gun is pattern. Get a box call and a mouth call or two. Become very proficient with all your calls. If I can recommend one thing, A good seat coushin or vest. It will help you from moving around and it will keep your butt dry.