Turkey

Turkey Hunting Guidelines & Tips
Hunting Safety
Turkey hunting requires an early start if you want a successful hunt. You don’t want to miss that big Tom by getting a late one. Here are some turkey hunting tips to get you started.

Turkey Appearance
The tom (male) or otherwise known as long beard has much brighter colors and is usually much larger in size. Although hens (females) can grow to about the same height, the males tend to weigh more. The tom colors consist of mostly copper, red, bronze, purple, and green, where as the hens may be more of a brown to gray. The age of the birds can be determined by the spurs or length of it's "beard". A 2-year old tom typically has thick spurs that measure about 7/8" to 1". A tom that lives to 3 years or more will grow curved sharp hooks that may be 1 7/8" to 2" at best. The so called "beard" is a telltale sign of age as they grow 3" to 5" a year. A few gobblers have 2 or 3 separate beards that grow close together. They are called multiple ropes. A 2 or 3 year old tom will have a 9" to 11" rope.

Finding the Right Bird
Scouting will make a big difference in your turkey hunt and should be done late in the day to after sunset. Just a little bit of preparation goes a long way. Decoys and turkey calls are both helpful in arousing the interest of an incoming turkey. In the spring it is best if you mimic a hen looking to mate. There are various calls to use to help bring the bird in close enough to get a good shot. But likely if you sound like a hen yelping, it will increase your chances of bringing the tom in closer. Listen closely and you’ll notice that many hens mix squeals, squeaks and whines into their clucking and yelping routines. Now when the tom is moving in it’s best not to call anymore and just let him strut on in, however if he does stop you might need to coax him a little more with a light discreet call.

Calling comes in many forms such as box calls, slate type friction calls, wing bone and trumpet calls, diaphragm calls, push pin, and tube calls, but the key is to know when to call and when to stop. Mastering them by learning to slow down the length and rhythm of your calls is certainly helpful. Deep-throated gobbler yelps are slower than hen yelps. Toss in low-pitched clucks for realism. If the tom rips off a gobble be quiet because he thinks you’re a hen and is likely aware of your whereabouts. If the tom doesn’t respond then cluck and yelp a little louder to focus his attention toward you.

Turkey Defense
Because turkeys have such keen vision you are going to want to make sure you are well camouflaged from head to toe. There are many different patterns of camouflage so you will want to try and match the foliage that you will be hunting in. The turkey's eyes are it’s main defense mechanism. Their eyes are set in the side of their head and they can turn their necks around 360 degrees, so they can see anywhere. By cocking it’s head left or right it can determine distance to other birds or dangers. Turkeys have great hearing as well and get spooked easily by noises. If you see the head and the swinging beard it is time to take the shot and claim your turkey.