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Plan on getting out for my first turkey hunt this spring, and ideally would like to take advantage of any holiday sales before the spring. Other than the gun, I have nothing.
What are your must-haves for spring turkey hunting in southern Ontario? (i.e., apparel/layers, vests, calls, and anything else!)
turkey vest helps alot.
u want to minimize movement, yet call, and be able to shoot. so a vest helps keeps things organized and some have a cushion to sit on which is a plus.
I have a box call, easy to use ... and a mouth call, to try to bring the hung up boys up close. the mouth call for some reason brings in cow moose everytime I try, so I think I gotta work on that..
but none of these help where there is no turkey, gotta find them first.
Do you use a locator call (crow/owl) to get the birds gobbling at all or to find the roost when scouting?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ata83
I should say, I am not a seasoned hunter .. I am new and only got one bird so far ... so just sharing my short experience.
I dont use a call, but just trying to sound like an owl, usually when I come out of the truck or walking ... but for me, I often find birds based on their tracks.
when walking in the bush, 90% of it is untouched, I try to locate "disturbance" ... tracks and feathers are hard to find, specially on dry ground. but they move the dead fall quite alot where they feed or pass often.
Once I get something like that, I find a tree and sit. and call slowly with the box call. I learned not to give up too soon. many times I got up to move, just to see a turkey was about to approach ...
the funnest turkey hunt for me, was the day I started calling and a hen started answering calls. we got into a nice back and forth, I just kept making the same call she made, which pissed her off. she eventually found my decoy, and a nice 5-10 min conversation was taking place, till a group of tom and jakes showed up ... for some reason I got wayyy to excited after seeing the tom, so decided I can crawl on my chest towards it to get a more Ethical shot ... I was already maybe 40 yards away ... of course they spotted me as soon as I lifted my head to see how close I got to them. the year after, same situation presented itself [without the hen] and I was able to keep calm and get a shot, which was my only turkey so far.
I found it depends on the area:
- when living near Midland for 8 years I found they would come to decoys and calls fairly well.
- now that I’m back in Niagara hunting the family farm I found that the gobblers will NOT leave the hens no matter what decoys or calls I use. Just have to intercept them moving to feed.
One must have is a low turkey chair with backrest, or you won’t be comfortable sitting for a long period. E.g., Cabelas Hunting Lounger Chair.
I find the same thing in shelburne. I shot my first turkey by accident. I was calling calling calling nothing for 5 hours. My decoys were out too nothing. Took a walk to go get my trail cam maybe 30 feet behind me and a group of them are in the pocket behind me. Dodnt make sense to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by genec
Another time I was sitting maybe 50 yard from their roost and got out super early. Had my decoys out again started calling l. They would gobble. Once they flew down they stayed in their group and went off slowly in the other direction.
I almost hate hunting them. But they're so much more challenging for the reason you know where they are but you just can't get them everytime even when they're infront of your face lol
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Box call is good for starters. Easy to use and relatively loud. You can also get a smaller version called an easy yelper that velcros to the barrel of your gun that only uses 1 finger to give a couple chirps when you have birds getting close. I got rid of my decoys when I wasn't having much luck hunting field edges. Now just walking in the bush 40 or 50 yds the Tom's feel more comfortable coming in. I wouldn't worry about a crow call, if you have turkeys you'll hear them. The best is if you can scout where they are in the evening before they roost to be in that area in the morning. You said you had the gun but I recommend getting a half dozen different turkey loads to pattern with the choke you are planning to use to see what works best.
vest with seat a must. that low chair a must. face mask and gloves a must along with everything you wear be camo, I personally like a gilli suit as can wear over heavy clothes or tee shirt in later season. thermocell a must. head lamp for walking in, my hat has them built into the brim. box call with the push rod, and mouth call but need to practice and only call few times every 30 minutes. Never assume just because you don't see a turkey they aren't there. if on private land a chair tent left out the whole season for those rainy days. I have gotten 3 turkeys in the pouring rain this way. for decoys I over did it, now I only put out a hen or nothing, make them come looking for you. Bring more then 3 shells, if wounded a bird want more shells in pocket, learned hard way. birds move around looking after that first 1 or so, so stay as long as you can. when you give up, go slow, look around don't just walk out around corners, creep up on them and look around them. If bird, step back and sit down make a couple calls and wait. and most important bring a thermoscell once bugs are out. also enjoy your time in the bush as it comes alive
Pop-up blinds work great. They hide movement and get you out of the weather.
Good luck next spring, keep us posted on how you do.
1-camo
2-box call or slate pot call, easy to use and versatile.
3- not needed but helps, a quick ground blind to put in front of you to cover your lower half when your calling. Or build one with brush
4- a must in my opinion a turkey lounge chair. This will keep you dry and comfortable for a long time.
5- not needed and will make you or break you a decoy. If I had to pick one it would be a single hen decoy.
6- lots of patience. Have fun hunting and get out there. The more time you put the more you will learn.
A proper low profile turkey chair is a must
Are you hunting private or public, public don’t use decoys. I bought a vest after a few years of hunting but hated it after one season, when it got hot I took it off so I ended up fishing for stuff anyhow so a decent backpack has served me well. I don’t take a pile of stuff anymore as I switch stuff out every trip if I don’t get a response or see anything. A comfortable seat will make or break you. I hide a camo lawn chair back at my spot and use it depending on where the birds are situated, of just use the thick foam pad that I use a carabiner to attach to my backpack. I prefer rubber boots all year as I cross a few damp spots and hate wet feet. Spend money on the boots. Good luck and welcome to the addiction.
IMO most people employ way too much gear. The best thing turkey hunter can be is mobile. I carry a blow up seat in my pocket. everything else in a small backpack, that's it. Sometimes one decoy more often not. Blinds are great where cover is lacking, but have a number of disadvantages as well. Most notably they are tough to hear out of in wind and rain and restrict mobility. As others have said my only turkey hunting boots are knee high rubbers.
with how bad the ticks were this fall, unless we get a good cold winter I'd pack some tape to tape up your cuffs
So many good tips already stated but to start at the top ; Getting the right choke on your gun and what type of ammo it likes is # 1 because when and if you get that shot at a big boy you want to know exactly what to expect. Cammo clothes, gloves, facemask, boots are #2 as the birds have extremely good eyesight so blending in with your surroundings is a must and of course works best when you are comfortable so something to sit on doesn't hurt either. Sitting still is no easy trick so that's where those little pop-up blinds are handy as it will cut down the amount of movement seen by an approaching bird. Types of calls are a personal preference so buying (borrow ?) and trying until you find your favourite toy is about your only choice. How you carry your gear ? A vest fits over whatever else you may be wearing but a carry bag or knapsack works too , again a personal choice and most will agree we all started off carrying way too much stuff in the beginning and whittled it down to the necessities. Thermocells are great in a blind but a small spray bottle of bug juice is easy to carry. I spray some around where I'm sitting to keep bugs away. Most of all I should think that practice calling or shooting is important but also patience and perseverance .
I must suggest finding Permithrin to pre spray your clothes to keep the ticks off. Works great and could save your life.