Turkey Hunting Basics

Fowl Play said:
ilovesprig said:
Saw these looking for a friends buck yesterday...... 8)

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That makes me happy to see! Was getting worried as I hadn't seen a bird over there the whole deer season.
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Tom,

Saw 12, then 22, and was told there were another 30 at a nearby ranch......Larry's got 3 jakes along with some hens at his place..... ;)

I'm already making plans of hunting other states and NoCal......It will be tough this year for sure, but hoping there are some in places I can't access...... ???
 
Well there you have it was about to write a post asking for tips on turkey hunting since this is my first year this really does help us newer hunters out thank you for taking the time to write this up looks like I've been calling way to much lol thanks again
 
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Looking to get into Turkey hunting. Anyone have any places to recommend. I've seen some up in the Lagunas when I'm out deer hunting.
 
The San Diego Chapter of NWTF has a drawing for hunts on the Lake Sutherland property.......It's called the Spring Turkey Tune-Up......This would be a great event for you to attend......I'll be putting up the flyer when I receive it......Also of note.....The tune-up this year will be held at Lake Sutherland like it had for many years......I really like that.

The word is we had a pretty good recruitment year up there.
 
ilovesprig said:
Since there's no turkey hunting forum.......I thought I'd pin some of the do's and don'ts of turkey hunting.

A).....Safety & set-up.

1......Don't wear clothing that has red, white, or blue in it (same colors as a gobblers head).

2......Do wear full camo, including camo gloves, face mask (or paint), and socks (dark color).....Turkeys have great eyesight and can see any kind of movement. Being in full camo will help with this......I like leafy jacket & pants.

3......Don't hunt with shiny guns. The do is to have dipped camo with a dull finish.....Camo tape is a cheap way to remedy a blued or shiny gun.

4......Get a good turkey seat, pad, or chair......Don't cheap out here. Sitting for long periods of time can be uncomfortable. Many of the better vests have good cushions. The less you move around, the better the chances are a gobbler will come in.

5......Don't put jake decoys on public land in your line a fire......In fact, unless you've walked to remote areas. I don't like jake decoys on public land at all.....On private land, I almost never hunt without a jake decoy. Old toms don't like the young bucks getting any.....lol

6......Do carry a hen decoy with you. Many times this will take the attention off of you. I like them out at about 25-30 yds.......Much closer if your shooting a pellet gun or bow.

7......Do use a pop-up blind if your shooting a bow and use decoys. Decoys are set normally at about 10 yds......Pop-up blinds are good for kids and inclement weather too.

8......Always try to hunt next to a tree that's wider than your shoulders (boulders & rocks are good too). Losing the human outline is important.

9.....If someone walks in on you while your set-up.....DON'T way your arms......Whistle or yell at him 1st......Surprised people that see movement can do stupid things.

10.....Always try to set-up where you have good visuals in front and to the sides. Always set-up if possible in the shade.

B)....Your turkey vest and stuff to carry in it.

1.....Buy a vest that has a quality cushion. Or invest in a turkey seat (think low beach chair). The chair can be carried over the shoulder or in the back of the vest...... Lots of pockets on the vest are a plus too.

2.....Do carry bug and insect spray.....Mosquitos are very prevalent in spring. With another warm and dry spring, ants will be out early.....Spray the tree 1st.....Then spray your seat seat or cushion. Nothing worse than trying to hold still when ants are crawling all over you.

3.....Carry shears and a small saw. Cutting shooting lanes and putting natural vegetation around can help for less detection......Always carry a knife as well.

4.....Carry extra strikers for your slate calls. Always losing those things.

5......Carry extra mouth calls.

6......Carry box call chalk, sand paper, and stone for glass calls.

7......Carry a few extra shells.....I normally carry about 5.

8......Carry an extra flash light with extra batteries. I'll add lighter or matches as well.

9.....Water.....Goes without saying.

10.....Toilet paper.....Again, goes without saying.

C)......Types of calls.

1.......Box calls are the easiest and one of the most effective. I like Primos single-sided box call.....Makes all the calls you need......Cluck, yelp, purrs, and cutting......There's also box calls nowadays that don't need chalk......The Primos Wet Box is a nice little call.

2.......Pot & stick/striker calls......The pot calls come in a number of surfaces. Slate is the easiest to use and is most common. There's also glass that is louder and sharp. Aluminum, copper is ok, but rare to find. And I see no need to have one other than to have another sound.

3.......Mouth calls......Hardest to master, but every turkey hunter should learn to use. The main advantage is both your hands are free and there's no movement needed......Lots of brands and they all work. Try a H.S. Strut starter kit with instruct tape.

4......Push-pulls calls are good for the beginner and actually can sound very turkey like. The draw back is they don't have great volume and many sounds. Pretty good for less movement though. They can be attached to barrels and along side your leg with a single hand.

5......Wing bones......Guess they work, but really no need to learn to call them IMO. Too many good other calls for the same sound (yelps).

6......Gobble calls......I never use them. On public land your more apt to call in other hunters.

7......Locator calls.....I never hunt without a crow & peacock call around my neck. There's many times you don't want to get a gobble from a turkey sound. You just want to know where he's at.

D).....Calling

1)....DON'T over call......Turkeys can hear you from great distances. If you get a gobble. Then try him again. Many times you'll get just a shock gobble. If he gobbles a 2nd time or gobbles on his own, your in business.

2.....You'll need to determine how far he is.....The amount of calling will determine how much you want to call to him.....Move forward and try to close the distance if you can.

3.....If your running and gunning. Always call with a tree or hiding place near by.....Many times the bird is just over a rise and will come in quickly.

4......Older toms want the hens to come to him. If you call too much, he will gobble like crazy, but won't move. Make him look for you.....If he doesn't move after awhile, try a different call.....But be very careful, the old boys almost always come in silent.....In this situation, I almost always use my mouth calls after getting him fired up.....Call to hens too. They can get really pissed off that another hen is in their zone. Many times a gobbler will follow her right in.

5......After you put a visual on him, don't call unless he's out of any direct visual of you. He can and will hone in on you. Here's where decoys really help.

6......If the bird is in full strut, and he's at the decoy. Some people like to give a kee kee or or loud cluck to put their head up.....Michael Waddell once told me, "Shooting them gets them out of strut real quick"......lol

There's tons of other stuff and situations that only experience will cure (and I haven't mentioned)......Remember, no questions are dumb ones......Way better than getting a citation for shooting a hen or someone else.

Steve


ps.......Remember your hunting beards.....A tom without a beard is illegal......A hen with a beard is legal.
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Great, great, great reading for someone in my position. Any chance you have posted a thread on gear. Specifically what kinds of calls you prefer to have with you on you on your hunts. I've read that a lot of hunters carry 4 or 5 different calls not including locator calls. Is that the way to go or is it over kill, I heard someone liken it to a tackle box full of luers.. better to have an not need, then need an not have I'm guessing.. ?
 
Al,

I liken turkey calls to fishing lures too (of which I own 100's.....lol).....Basically there's only about 3 calls that most guys use with many brands of each.....Box, mouth (diaphragm), and pot (glass & slate).

I carry 2 of each kind of call. And they're normally different brands (because they'll have different sounds).

Box calls.....I carry 1 Primos Box Cutter & 1 H.S. Strut Field Champion.

Diaphragm calls.....I carry 5 mouths calls.....Different cuts, brands, & sounds (V-Cuts & Batwings being my fav).....Currently using Zinks & Primos brands.

Pot calls.....I carry 1 glass (Flydown Custom Calls) and 1 slate (Pure Strut Custom Call).....I carry 4 strikers that match up with both glass & slate.

H.S. Strut sells starter kits with DVD's.....For under 50 bucks, you could go turkey hunting.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/H-S-STRUT-T...hash=item4b157a8352:m:m1PFVHtMQEbaDkCHq-cAh9A

.http://www.ebay.com/itm/HS-Strut-05...840776?hash=item2cba1a3548:g:LTkAAOSwImRYcXx1

.http://www.ebay.com/itm/HS-Strut-Tu...650931?hash=item2813c94b33:g:rxgAAOSwv9hW4zX8

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Great tips Steve. But legal or not, Hens are a big NO NO!!!! So if your the moron that can't resist a bearded hen just remember, There is probably a nest full of eggs that will not get incubated this spring if you kill her. So please support the hatch and let her walk.
 
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ilovesprig said:
Al,

I liken turkey calls to fishing lures too (of which I own 100's.....lol).....Basically there's only about 3 calls that most guys use with many brands of each.....Box, mouth (diaphragm), and pot (glass & slate).

I carry 2 of each kind of call. And they're normally different brands (because they'll have different sounds).

Box calls.....I carry 1 Primos Box Cutter & 1 H.S. Strut Field Champion.

Diaphragm calls.....I carry 5 mouths calls.....Different cuts, brands, & sounds (V-Cuts & Batwings being my fav).....Currently using Zinks & Primos brands.

Pot calls.....I carry 1 glass (Flydown Custom Calls) and 1 slate (Pure Strut Custom Call).....I carry 4 strikers that match up with both glass & slate.

H.S. Strut sells starter kits with DVD's.....For under 50 bucks, you could go turkey hunting.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/H-S-STRUT-T...hash=item4b157a8352:m:m1PFVHtMQEbaDkCHq-cAh9A

.http://www.ebay.com/itm/HS-Strut-05...840776?hash=item2cba1a3548:g:LTkAAOSwImRYcXx1

.http://www.ebay.com/itm/HS-Strut-Tu...650931?hash=item2813c94b33:g:rxgAAOSwv9hW4zX8

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Great I bought the right thing then, ordered that starter kit a couple days ago. Really want to put some serious time into learning a diaphragm call. I listen to the Jay Scott Outdoors podcast in which he has great callers like Joe Slaton and listening to the changes in pitch and sound he's able to do really has me hooked on getting that call down. What do you use to break in your slate? I've read it's best to use scotch brite, but also have read a light sand paper works great. Thoughts?
 
And make sure to use the stone in one direction and run your striker against the sanded grain (if that makes sense). Don't sand in a circle or you'll end up with a lot of squeaks or potentially no sound at all. I like to sand a small silver dollar sized section and run the stone left to right (horizontally in the same direction as the brand name that's usually printed on back). Run the striker in a backwards J to get the two tone yelp. I'll try to make a video of it and post it.
 
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Matagi said:
And make sure to use the stone in one direction and run your striker against the sanded grain (if that makes sense). Don't sand in a circle or you'll end up with a lot of squeaks or potentially no sound at all. I like to sand a small silver dollar sized section and run the stone left to right (horizontally in the same direction as the brand name that's usually printed on back). Run the striker in a backwards J to get the two tone yelp. I'll try to make a video of it and post it.
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Man you just saved me , I had read a couple things that said to rub it in a circle pattern ‍♂️.. also didn't know about the J pattern , please do post a video on how to do it properly. I will DEFINITELY be waiting on it.

-AL
 
Matagi said:
And make sure to use the stone in one direction and run your striker against the sanded grain (if that makes sense). Don't sand in a circle or you'll end up with a lot of squeaks or potentially no sound at all. I like to sand a small silver dollar sized section and run the stone left to right (horizontally in the same direction as the brand name that's usually printed on back). Run the striker in a backwards J to get the two tone yelp. I'll try to make a video of it and post it.
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Al,

Listen to this guy.....Best caller in SoCal......;)

And Gen......Do a diaphragm call video, where you really excel......:blush:

.IMG_1363.JPG
 
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Haha sounds good, I'll work on a vid for mouth call and slate call this week. Oh and my comment above is strictly for glass calls. I do the same for my aluminum calls with sandpaper.
 
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Newbie here to hunting, I would like to try turkey hunting this season of 2018, I have been doing research on the internet and found that lake Sutherland is a great place to hunt turkey, if you put the time in to scout. My question is, to hunt Sutherland do you have to a part of the NWTF. or can you buy a tag a hunt any where in San Diego county, where hunting is allowed?
 
Juan said:
Newbie here to hunting, I would like to try turkey hunting this season of 2018, I have been doing research on the internet and found that lake Sutherland is a great place to hunt turkey, if you put the time in to scout. My question is, to hunt Sutherland do you have to a part of the NWTF. or can you buy a tag a hunt any where in San Diego county, where hunting is allowed?
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You must attend the Spring Turkey Tune Up Event. There is a fee to attend this event, and it is typically hosted at Lake Sutherland. It is a good chance for a new turkey hunter to network, listen to some seminars, talk to the USFS, etc. In order to hunt Sutherland, you must enter into a raffle. If selected, you have the opportunity to pay the hunt fee, and then select an available date. The turkey hunting there can be good, it can also suck.
 
So, the Spring turkey tune up event is to hunt turkey in Sutherland or all over San Diego county?
 
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