How To Hunt Turkeys

Wondering how to hunt turkeys? Turkey hunting is a fun sport. Nothing is quite as exciting as when you are sitting calling and a big tom turkey is calling back and coming in to you. Part of the reason for this is the extreme keenness of the turkey's senses, especially sight which is very hard to defeat. But, with some planning the hunter can successfully take a tom turkey, here's how.

Items needed to hunt turkey.

• Shotgun
• Ammunition
• Camouflage
• Turkey calls
• Turkey license

1. Learn about your prey. Take the time before the hunt to learn what you can about turkeys. They are a wilily bird with keen senses, they are not easy to hunt. Make use of books, magazines, Internet, and even your local DNR will help you learn about the bird, especially where they are in your area.
2. Learn hunting strategy. There are various strategies which are successful with turkey. Calling is one, so is the use of decoys. Using predator calls is a good way to find out where a tom turkey is located. This is effective when deciding where to sit and call. Blinds used should be easily moved as turkeys tend to move a lot during the day and may not be in the same area all the time, you may wish to be flexible as to location.
3. Buy license and learn game laws.  You will want to start the process early as many states use a lottery system to allot turkey licenses. Many times these have to be entered months in advance. Check local laws about turkey hunting regulations. Often you can only hunt during specific hours, and may or may not be able to use decoys.
4. Pre-scout area.  Get out and find where the turkey are located. The DNR can help point to areas, but it takes pre-scouting to find the exact areas. Spending time in the woods before season can pay off with a turkey later.
5. Pick gear and practice with it.  Buy appropriate camouflage for your area for the season. Buy turkey calls and practice calling before season until you are proficient in it. Buy a good shotgun if you do not have one, and pattern it. Patterning your shogun is shooting and checking the shot pattern with different loads to choose the right load for hunting. Buy decoys if allowed. Pick a good comfortable seat to use in your blind. No movement and excellent camouflage is important to defeat the extremely keen sight of the turkey.
6. Find a way to carry it all.  There is a bit of gear needed for turkey hunting. You should plan ahead of time how to carry it all. You may need a new backpack, or some other way to carry it. Figure it out before getting it all out in the woods on opening morning.
7. Secure permission to hunt.  If you are planning on hunting private lands you need to secure permission before another hunter does. Never hunt on private land without written permission.
8. Secure vacation time. Find out when your hunt is and secure vacation time ahead if needed.
9.  Use total camouflage. You will want to build or buy a blind which provides total camouflage along with your clothing. Everything, including the movement of your eyes must be covered and hidden, that is how sharp the turkeys vision is.
10. Put it all together.  You have learned your prey, learned to call, prepared your camouflage, learned your shotgun, gotten licenses, and permission to hunt. Now is the time to put it all together. Get out there on opening morning, set up your blind where you know a tom is, call him in to the range you know your shotgun will shoot, and bag your trophy.

That is the basic process of turkey hunting. It is a great fun sport, much more exciting than some people would think. Enjoy the entire process, and good luck, hope you have a nice beard to hang on a wall.