Never carry harvested turkeys or decoys in the open. Conceal them completely, and wrap them in blaze orange. Use a flashlight in the dark. It alerts other hunters to your presence, and it prevents falls and accidents.
What should you not wear turkey hunting?
Never wear red, white, blue, or black, the colors of a male wild turkey. Dress defensively, and wear hunter orange when moving in the turkey woods. Never stalk turkey sounds or attempt to sneak up on wild turkeys. Always call the turkey to you.
Is Camo necessary for turkey hunting?
Camouflage is a critical ingredient for successful turkey hunting, and Mossy Oak Bottomland is always a great choice. I often like a pattern with a little bit more green in it like Mossy Oak Green Leaf or Obsession.
What do you use for turkey hunting?
Traditionally, spring turkey is hunted with a shotgun, but some experienced hunters may choose to use a bow or crossbow. The most common weapon used is a 12-gauge or 20-gauge shotgun with a choke tube for a tight shot pattern with turkey load ammunition.
What color should you avoid turkey hunting?
Never wear red, white, blue or black clothing while turkey hunting. Red is the color most hunters look for when distinguishing a gobbler’s head from a hen’s blue-colored head, but at times it may appear white or blue. Male turkey feathers covering most of the body are black in appearance.
Can turkeys see hunter orange?
A turkey doesn’t necessarily see a spot of orange and think, “Aha! There’s a bunch of turkey hunters!” especially if there are other natural orange objects in its respective environment.
How early should I be in the woods for turkey hunting?
Time of Day: Since Turkeys make their nest in trees and on the ground in wooded areas, one of the best times of day to hunt is first thing in the morning. Get out to your blind early and listen for the yelps, cackles, and gobbles of turkeys as they start in search for breakfast.
Where does turkey go in afternoon?
In most habitats, turkeys make a circuit out from a roost area, spend the late morning and afternoon hours in loafing cover or other seclusion, then work back toward roost sites as the day wanes.
Can I turkey hunt in blue jeans?
Last, but certainly not least, you should always avoid wearing anything with red, white or blue in it. This can resemble a turkey’s head and can put you in potential danger if other hunters mistake you for a tom.
How far can you shoot a turkey with a 12-gauge?
Lead Turkey Loads
A good compromise is #5 copper-plated lead pellets loaded in a 12-gauge 3-inch magnum shot shell. With this setup, you’ll be good out to 40 yards, and perhaps 50 if your gun is patterned tight. If you want better range and lethality, you’ll need to consider using tungsten shot.
Will turkey come back after being spooked?
The gobbler wanted to be where you were when you spooked him. So, after he thinks you’re gone, and he hears a hen softly calling, there’s a very good chance he may come back in that direction. Remember — the gobbler has a limited number of days to breed.
What shot is best for turkey hunting?
Pick suitable shot sizes
Shooters might use shot as small as #9 for very small birds like quail, or as large as #2 for large birds like geese and swans. For comparison, there are 585 #9 lead pellets in an ounce versus only 90 #2 pellets in an ounce. For turkey hunting, shot sizes 4, 5 and 6 will all work.
Can turkeys see camo?
All of this gear may seem very specialized and expensive, but turkeys really can see that well. And one more thing: The camo jacket you wear deer hunting from a tree stand is made to look like the tree. For turkey hunting, you want to look like the low underbrush.
What shoes do you wear for turkey hunting?
Basically, you’ll need a boot that’s ready for just about anything. Many turkey hunters choose waterproof rubber knee boots with snug-fitting ankle support. Soles are the next important consideration. They provide traction, shock absorption, lateral stability and under-the-foot comfort.
Can you wear black pants turkey hunting?
Turkey hunters should not wear clothing that contains black, like the color found on a turkey’s body, or red, white or blue, like those on a turkey’s head.
Can turkeys smell you?
Like most birds, they only have a couple hundred taste buds, which is about 9000 less than a human. This means turkeys have a pretty limited palette and are only able to sense flavors like sweet, sour, acid and bitter. Their sense of smell is equally weak.
How far can a wild turkey See?
He has an approximate visual field of 270 degrees around him, substantial compared to Bob’s measly 180 degrees. Put that together with Tom Turkey’s uncanny ability to rotate his neck completely around and he can spot the Bobs of the world coming a mile away, 360 degrees around him, with a simple twist of his head.
Does camo really work for hunting?
Conclusion. To sum up, camouflage is helpful, but not necessary in many hunting situations. For upland bird hunting it is less important, for rifle hunting deer it’s of moderate importance. Camo is of moderately high importance for bowhunting ungulates and for all predator hunting.
How long should you stay in one spot turkey hunting?
If I’m in a good spot, I discipline myself to sit for at least 30 minutes, more if I feel confident. That’s not to say that if you’d given it one more minute, you’d have killed the bird that sneaked in on you, but staying longer is better than leaving too soon.
How often should you call when turkey hunting?
every 15 minutes
Push button call
But don’t call too often – less is more. Calling every 15 minutes or so and starting off quieter and then getting more aggressive/louder as the day goes on are good rules of thumb. If you hear a hen, try to mimic her exact vocalizations.
Do turkeys prefer woods or fields?
Cover – Although turkeys use forests for cover and roosting in the tall hardwood trees at night, they also like open and brushy areas for feeding, mating, nesting and rearing their young. Turkeys actually depend on a mix of open fields, pasture and forested for their survival.