New to Turkey Hunting

[Bmars06]

Greetings All,

I'm making the glorious transition to turkey hunting. I live in Eastern San Diego and would love some starter info. I would like to hunt them with 12g a, so that limits where I can hunt them. Any times or advice on how to go about making this an enjoyable transition would be much appreciated!

- Best time to hunt them?
- Best calls to use?
- Pop of blinds or something else?
- What kind of terrain do you look for when hunting turkeys?
- Decoys? And if so, how to best use them?

Thanks again for all your guys' support!

 

[Matagi]

You will want to start scouting for areas. Go to a spot before day light to see where they are roosted. Best time to hunt them is from legal shoot time all the way to 3:59pm. Go simple with calls, a box call would be the easiest and most practical call for beginners, box calls has killed more birds then any other calls. There are huntable birds from near lake Barrett all the way to temecula so find a place with water, roost trees, and open grasslands to scout. DFW has a booklet on turkey hunting so that would be a great source also.

Good luck!

 

[Bmars06]

What kind of trees do they usually like to roost in?

 

[Matagi]

Oaks, pines, sycamores near a small creek. Sometimes on people's roofs and power lines.

 

[Bmars06]

Anyone ever hunt out in the Campo or east of Pine Valley area?

 

[Matagi]

I have hunted pine valley and areas east with ok success. Back in 98 I killed a Jake in pine valley area, probably the only turkey there. There's also good number of birds south of the 8 all the way towards Otay Mountain.

 

[Bmars06]

When you say the Otay Mountain area, do you mean south of the 94 towards the border?

 

[Bmars06]

Also, is there an easy way to determine what land you can hunt on for turkeys?

 

[Matagi]

Pick up a US forest service map and the green colored locations are designated as public areas. The map is a must to have if you plan on hunting in SD.