Turkey Hunting Tips | Wild Turkey Hunting Strategies, Techniques & Guides

Turkey hunting is an old tradition in the United States. Many of the Americans love turkey in their Thanksgiving feast. The Thanksgiving feast is even better if a turkey is dished up that is actually hunted by the head of the household. To make such a wonderful sport safe and fun for everybody, there are many things that have to be considered before going out hunting for turkeys.

One of the decisions that have to be made is whether or not a decoy is used for hunting these wonderful birds. Not every hunter likes to use decoys, but decoys do have their advantages when it comes to turkey hunting. A decoy arouses the suspicion of other turkeys and therefore if set in an open area, such as the edge of a field or beneath a mature oak forest, these decoys essentially are a visual call for other birds. Decoys are especially effective when calling the birds with turkey calls every once in a while.

Even though some of the more experienced hunters prefer not to use decoys, they are great assets when dealing with young inexperienced hunters such as children or a person with a disability. The decoy draws the attention on itself and therefore less attention to the hunter and the set up of the hunting gear.

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As any turkey hunter can tell you, turkeys can move a lot quicker (and a lot smarter) than many people give them credit for. Any a “perfect shot” has been lost when a hunter tries to move in on a turkey at the wrong moment or when the hunter tries to make a fast adjustment to a new move made by the bird. If you want your turkey hunting trip to end in success, then the most important thing you can do is learn the right time to move in on a turkey.

First things first: you have to attract the turkey in to you. Most of the time, at least one turkey will answer your calls, and the first part of moving in on a turkey involves listening to this turkey answering your calls and judging where the bird is by where the calls are coming from. At this point, it is important to know you shooting ability and from what distance you are capable of taking shots. Knowing your shooting habits will help you determine when you are ready to take a shot and when you need to move in a little bit closer. Of course, the distance at which you are capable of taking a shot will also determine the distance you will need to cover when you move in on the turkey you have in your sights.

Knowing how close you need to be to the turkey to take a shot is one part of calculating your perfect approach to the turkey is one part of making the perfect move. The other part is all about learning to judge the behavior of the turkey and being ready to react to it. Every hunter has experienced the scenario in which they have been calling to a turkey, and getting tons of returned calls from the bird, when all of the sudden everything goes quiet, and then the turkey suddenly pops up next to you. To try and avoid letting the turkey sneak up on you, make sure you key in to all of the sounds the bird is making – not just the calls. Calls can give you an idea of the turkey is at, but it is also important to listen for the sound of the turkey’s feet crunching on branches or the shaking of leaves as the turkey moves by. Putting all of these sounds together will help you keep track of the turkey’s location more precisely.

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Strategies for Defensive Hunting of Turkeys

Turkey hunting is a favorite activity for many hunters, but it is also just about the most dangerous kind if hunting around. Think of the strategies you have to use to successfully hunt a turkey – you have to hide yourself from view and try your best to sound like a turkey – while you are surrounded by turkeys returning your calls and other hunters who are also trying to sound like turkeys. On a busy day, it can be hard for hunters to tell the difference between the sound of the turkeys and the sounds of their fellow hunters, and if you are especially convincing, the hunter could soon find themselves becoming the hunted, as other hunters take aim in your direction. To stay safe out there while hunting turkeys, there are a few strategies you can follow.

First and foremost, don’t be lax about wearing the proper vests. Most states require hunters to wear bright orange vests over their camouflage, but many hunters dislike the rule – after all, what is the point of camo if you are going to top it off with something bright and orange? These vests have saved many lives, however, and are well worth the hassle. If your state doesn’t have any laws requiring that you wear an orange vest, and you want to find a balance between your camo and the safety provided by the vest, check out the camo vests that are part camo and part bright orange removable paneling. You should also pair this vest with a ballistic vest under your clothes that will protect your chest and stomach for stray shotgun bullets.

It is also important to never wear the colors red, white or blue when hunting a turkey. White is the same color as the ball of fur on top of a mature male turkey’s head, and a flash of white can draw a shot. Red and blue are the colors that hunters use to tell the difference between the male gobble and the hen – males have red head and female heads are blue.

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Turkey hunting can be one of the most addictive of all the hunting pursuits. But turkey hunting, like most wild game hunting, can also be quite dangerous if you do not take the right kinds of precautions. Safety is key to ensure a safe and enjoyable wild turkey hunting expedition. Here are some important safety tips that you do not want to ignore. Ignore them at your own peril.

Take Caution with Your Target Identification

One of the most important things you can do as a safe wild turkey hunter is to take care with your target identification. When you are preparing to shoot, you simply cannot be 99.9 percent certain that are aiming at a wild turkey. You need to be exactly 100 percent sure that you are taking aim at a wild turkey. Make sure that you are aiming at a turkey with a beard before you decide to pull the trigger. Many catastrophes and tragedies have been known to occur when the hunter misidentified their target before taking aim.

Calling at the Wrong Moment

One of the worst things you could do is to use a gobble call on a spring hunt. This increases your chances of getting shot by another wild turkey hunter who mistakes you for a wild turkey. Although this sounds unlikely, it has been known to happen. This is especially dangerous if you are hunting in an area that is crowded with hunters during the busy spring hunting season. Busy hunting areas are often filled with less experienced wild game hunters, who may be more likely to shoot indiscriminately in the direction of what they thought was a wild turkey.

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A large part of success in turkey hunting is determined by your ability to call your prey. Since sneaking up on turkeys is out of the question and stalking them as you would another kind of animal is too difficult, you need to call the turkeys in to you. Of course, not all turkey calls are created equal. There are certain kinds of calls that are right for certain kinds of situations and figuring out which call you need to make when will make all the difference in the world when it comes to getting your turkey. The six basic turkey calls listen here will work for a number of different scenarios.

One of the most basic turkey calls is one that is intended to sound like a female turkey, or a hen, yelping. To yelp like a hen, you need to make a series of high pitched – almost screech like – noises in short, frequent bursts. The hen uses this yelp in a number of different ways to mean a number of different things, but all you need to worry about is the fact that this yelp alerts the male turkeys that a hen is in the area, drawing them in – which of course means they are coming in closer to you.

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When a hunter plans a hunting trip, he cannot just grab a shotgun or whatever other arms he owns and walk into the fields and bushes with his jeans, t-shirt and sunglasses. The reason this is not a very good choice in clothing for a hunter is that turkeys actually have very good eyesight. Therefore, to fool a turkey’s eye, much disguise is needed to succeed in shooting a bird.

Besides the fact that turkeys can see color, some studies have shown that a turkey seems to be able to perceive everything within its range of vision in an instant. Therefore camouflage is just as necessary as the skill of holding and sitting still.

Hunting gear and apparel is a big business—and for good reason. The appropriate dress when hunting can mean the difference between failure and success. Take a look and you will see what is available and recommended to wear when going for a turkey hunt. Start by discussing different boots options. It is important to say that generally, it is best if camouflage-colored boots are used instead of regular black or brown boots. If the hunter is able to pull the pant legs down or have other precautionary covers that will hide the boots well, he might be able to use a pair of the brown and black variety.

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