Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting Drawn for Spring Turkey ... now what?

Got drawn for Arizona Unit 9 Bearded turkey. I have to admit, we hunt the unit for deer and Elk but never Turkey. I've seen turkey in the unit, but I've never been turkey hunting let alone drawn. I know they see a fuller color spectrum and have great hearing, but there have been times when we've literally had to stop the Ranger to wait for them to cross the road.

Any tips for the rookie gobbler?

HaYen

First, if it's turkey and it's made, you can find it here;

http://www.midwestturkeycall.com/

It would take me years to empty my brain out to you get you 80% prepared but here are some quick tips:
> Complete camo, head, hands, face, etc. They can see a gnat think at 100 yards.
> Woodsmanship beats calling.
> Pattern your shotgun and don't overlook quality extended chokes and great patterning Hevi-shot
> If I could only learn one call I'd learn to yelp, followed by purr, followed by cutt...
> Expect the unexpected
> If you have a clear clean shot take the first presented. Turkeys have a way of getting out of dodge when least expected.
> Calls listed from easiest to learn to hardest: Box, push pin, slate pot, aluminum pot, glass pot, scratch box, diaphram, trumpet/wing bone.
> Locator calls (crow and owl) are best used SPARRINGLY.
> Shoot at the waddles, not at the tip of the head and not at the body. Waddles or mid neck.
> When you shoot, run to him and stand on his head. He'll flop but it's ok.
> A turkey can hear a mouse fart inside a cotton bale from a 100 yards.


I highly recommend; Real Turkeys III: Spring Calling CD by Lovett E. Williams Jr..

If you have specific questions, please ask, I love me some turkey smashing!

D2D has some great tips, I wear leafy wear whenever I turkey hunt...to me that gives me that little smidgeon of an edge I need.

Also some sort of hunting/vest you can set up fast and get comfortable and recline in....keep the shotgun across your lap (or on 1 knee with a knee pad shaped for the gun) when calling and try to keep the bird in your 12 oclock position....when I hear one coming in I try to face him, I also throw my calls left and right to "steer" him in the direction I want him to go.

Turkey hunting entail hours of sitting still. Get a COMFORTABLE butt pad so you can.

I threw away the symbolic pad that came with my vest and replaced it with 2" foam. Since then I've seen thinner high density foam that also looked like it would work.

Not to be a smart azz but it sounds like these birds are rarely hunted and not too afraid of people. Conventional turkey methods probably will be way overkill. If HaYen wants to try it the "proper" way then good on him but I would likely do it differently.

I don't endorse road hunting much, so I would suggest a short stalk or try to get someone to push them to you. When turkeys were first hunted in the Bitterroot Valley in MT (and the birds acted the way described in the OPs post) I was really sucessful by "stalking". The birds usually knew I was there and would stay 40-50 yards ahead of me until I finally got closer. Not too hard of a hunt but at least there was somewhat of a challange involved.

Thank you folks very much. I've started looking over the Midwest Turkey Supply. I'll be using my 870 12 gauge.

Recommendations for shot size? Game and Fish prefer hunts not use lead up around the Grand Canyon (Unit 9) because of the Condors so I'll be using some non toxic load. How can I tell if my barrel can shoot a non toxic load (i.e. steel)?

This Black Cloud is kind of what I was thinking.

I would shoot heavy-shot or something like heavy 13
I normally use 5's... Seems to be my favorite load.

I use the Federal 3" turkey loads with 2 ounces of copper 4-5's!

Have fun!

I use Nitro Company Ammo, Hevi shot, #7's. Yes, #7's. They slam birds and give more coverage than anything else. I've used from #4's up, also the mixture shells of 4x5x6 and everything inbetween. I really enjoyed the 5x6x7 Hevi shot Nitro Company mixed up too. But no doubt, Hevi Shot is awesome. Get a Indian Creek choke tube for your 870 and go forth killing!

I swear I'm gonna try those 7's one day in my ICBDS choke.

The patterning board told the story for me. Even with 2oz, 4s and 5s just don't have the pattern density to work consistently beyond 40 yards. I only get about 100 pellets in the 10" at 40yds with 5s. The 4s are obviously worse.

At that range, lead is running out of penetrating ability too. Hevi-13 in either of those will kill to probably to 70yds, but the patterns are simply too thin for my comfort.

About 95-105 pellets in the 10" is my cut-off for range. If you want to shoot beyond 40yds, Hevi-13 (or something equivalent or denser like TSS) is the only way to go. With Hevi-13 6s, I'm getting 100-110 in the 10" at 50yds. Hevi-13 7s give me that at 65yds, but my penetration tests indicate that 55yds is max (and that may be pushing it).

It fun to see those Hevi-13 7 targets with 285-300 pellets in the 10" and another 220 or so in the 20" at 40yds. The 7s actually give some room to open the choke some and create a bigger pattern at closer ranges yet still retain adequate center density to 50 yards.

I went from Rhino .660" to a .670 in my Benelli. I lost about 40-50 pellets out of the 10" at 40yds, but the pattern is considerably bigger at the 20- to 35-yd gap where I kill most of my birds.

All the advice is great, but I believe the most important factor is movement. I have sat without camo and had turkeys walk within 10 feet. You must remain motionless. Even the blinking of an eye will alert the turkey. Sometimes they appear curious, and other times they flee instantly when they detect motion. Camo helps mask movement and is essential in open field situations. Enjoy your hunt!

Move a bunch, set up right and use a coyote howler at dawn to find them. Those Merriams seem to roost in groups and have a plan for the morning, figure it out.

i personaly dont care for the hevi shot brand. i bought one box and what pushed me away was the quality control, "poor pellet shapes and size consistancys" and they cost more than the winchesters i now use. i also shoot a rem, mines a 887 and love it.

dont overcall
lots of new turkey hunters call way to much
and they hear toms gobbling their fool head off and wonder why he aint coming in


cause he is locked up and waiting for the hen(your calling) to come to him


call enough to get attention
call enough to hear louder gobbles coming your way
and then shut down

you might try a deke for some visual appeal also
espically in wide open areas



good luck!!!!!

I have had better luck once I hear one is to cluck and purr and nothing else. They can hear you

Calling turkeys is like talking smack to women. Seriously... Each one is different but the initial game plan is pretty much the same. Once you get into the conversation you'll quickly realize if you simply need to show out, shut up, go at it full force or play hard to get.