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Post by smokeeater on Dec 7, 2009 23:00:09 GMT -5
While deer hunting, I spotted several turkeys in our hunting area. Never hunted turkey before, and would like to hunt spring turkey this year. Thought about hunting from a pop-up blind. Using my 870 with a full choke. Good idea or bad?
Where do I start? What size shot do I use? Decoys or no decoys? Calls?
Just need help with the basics.
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Post by Ahawkeye on Dec 8, 2009 4:36:37 GMT -5
The set up sounds good if youv'e got the birds in the area come spring (I think they migrate a little from winter to spring) I'd use any turkey load that you get a good pattern out of your gun at about 40 yds. as for decoys if your going to stay put in a blind then yes get decoys at least 2 maybe a hen and a jake and calling I'd get a slate, glass, or box call any of these will get you the right sound if you practice. I like glass but it can be tricky to get it to sound right if its wet out, box calls are the easiest to learn and if you're in a blind the birds won't see you moving so that's probably a good choice. I like to "run and gun" so I've not spent too much time in a blind for turkey just make sure you've got space to move arround. Read all you can and watch all the videos you can and get in the woods and try to watch as much as you can, it takes a couple of years to really get the hang of it but it's a whole bunch of fun! Good luck.
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Post by freedomhunter on Dec 8, 2009 5:02:52 GMT -5
Find someone to show you the ropes, you'll accelerate your learning curve by a couple years.
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Post by smokeeater on Dec 8, 2009 5:13:19 GMT -5
Thank you for the replies. I will spend this spring in the wood and learning as much as I can. Agan, thank you.
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Post by gobblerstopper on Dec 22, 2009 8:09:16 GMT -5
I agree that the best thing to do is find someone with experience and pick thier brain as much as you can. You will probably save more than just a couple of years of learning on your own.
The gun will work. There are a lot of turkey specific guns out there but they are not a necessity. You can buy aftermarket turkey chokes and some of those are reasonably priced. There are also turkey specific shells and there are a ton of those. A lot of guys use the Winchesters, but each gun is different. I would start with a box of 5's and a "turkey" target. You will want to find a load that shoots a nice even pattern without a lot of holes in it. When I started turkey hunting, my 3" 870 would put 15-20 (at 30 yards) or so pellets in the head and neck of a target and I limited myself to 25 yards.
Decoys are good and better when you are in a blind. Just use them safely. Gobbler/jake decoys get shot at or at the least stalked upon by hunters more often than they should. Make sure you can see a good distance beyond them. A hen alone will sometimes work and sometimes it might take a jake with her. Sometimes neither will work.
I'm a friction call guy myself. They are pretty simple to use. Slate generally will not work wet. Glass is good and the most popular friction call used. Master the "cluck" and "purr" and you will have everything you need to kill gobblers consistantly. All the other calls sound good on TV, but are usually not needed.
The pop-up blinds are excellent for hunting turkeys, since if you have the time to do it, they are pretty easy to pattern. In the spring the gobblers will be where the hens are and the hens will be where they have food and good nesting habitat. They will sometimes move around from winter to spring and I hope yours are still in the area. They will be easy to find once they start gobbling regularly.
Turkey hunting is just a tad bit addicting and if you get really serious about it you will probably spend more money on it than you realize.
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