Editors Note: I
invite any hunter who has either never hunted Rio Grande Turkeys
in the Spring season or who is new to turkey hunting to read the
following article submitted by our resident turkey expert, Carl
Wilson. I have had the pleasure of hunting with Carl numerous
times and can tell you from personal experience that he is THE
MAN when it comes to luring The King of Spring into shotgun
range. Don't hesitate sending Carl an email if there is anything
you would like to know about these majestic birds.
With spring just around the corner, I find visions of strutting
Tom's, perfect fans, and long, thick beards dancing through my
mind. For me, there is no more exciting time than the spring
turkey season. The weather is warming up, the trees and
flowers are budding out, and the woods are coming alive with
frisky, gobbling Toms!
I
really enjoy helping/teaching people when they start out
learning to turkey hunt. For the last three years, I have taken
people hunting every time I went who had never killed a bird
and/or never turkey hunted before. I always end up positioning
myself so I have basically no shot on an approaching bird.
Either that, or I loan them a shotgun, shells, a friction or box
call, a blind, tell them where to look, and then I go set up
some place nearby. Twice, before I had hardly sat my big butt
on the ground, I heard shotgun blasts! When I got up and headed
back to their setup, they had already shot a bird - their first!
In the last six years, I have either called in or set up
people to kill their first bird, seven times. I do derive a lot
of pleasure from seeing how excited and happy these folks are
when they harvest their first turkey. But, I would have liked
to have harvested those birds too! It's very rewarding and
frustrating at the same time.
It would have been eight times on the second week of last
season, but I made a slight tactical error. I set up one of my
decoys about 25 yards from our position. The hunter that I was
calling for was using my 20 gauge It's a good over/under, but
it does not have screw-in type chokes. Just an improved
cylinder and full choke barrels. The gobbler came in and set up
shop about 20 - 25 yards in front of that decoy. About 45 - 50
yards from my guy. I was about 7 yards behind him. The bird
strutted in from about 150 yards initially. It stayed in full
strut the entire time. After at least twenty minutes of proud
displaying, the bird got bored or spooked and walked away. It
was too far for either of my shotguns. My friend was so pumped
up that he wanted to go running after the bird and tackle it!
He said his heart was pumping so hard that he thought he would
pass out!
That bird had a perfect fan and around a nine inch beard. I
will admit that when that bird started strutting in, I was
jealous that my friend was going to harvest him! I could just
imagine that perfect fan being on "MY" wall at home!
With those thoughts in mind, I would like to try and run down
some of the basics to turkey hunting. I will gear this towards
those of you who are new to turkey hunting or are beginners. I
will mention some name brands that are my preferred choices, but
they are not necessarily what you need to go and buy. They are
just my choices.
Safety
- To me, it's the single most important necessity. While
walking to and fro in the woods, do your best to not look or act
like a turkey! There are some "over anxious" hunters on both
public and private hunting lands. Avoid these folks at all
costs!
Camouflage
- Without it if you are seen - your busted! No
matter how good your aim or gun is, your not gonna get a shot. You need to be covered in camo from head to toe. Especially on
your head and hands which are always moving the most. My
personal preference in camo is either "Realtree Extra Brown" or
"Mossy Oak Breakup". These two patterns both work very well for
me in the spring Texas woods. Just make sure you try and match
up with your surroundings and background.
Guns/Accuracy/Sights - Ah, the sweet
thunder of the 12 gauge shotgun! I feel the 12 gauge shotgun is
the best choice for a turkey gun. Some folks like to use a
small caliber rifle and some others use smaller or larger gauge
shotguns. You have to use what fits your personal hunting style
and body size. Some women, children, and smaller framed men can
not handle today's "super-sized" 10 and 12 gauge shotguns. I'm
a rather large individual and the kick of a big gun does not
bother me all that much.
Practice, practice, and more practice! Buy turkey silhouette
targets and pattern your gun. Know your effective killing
range. Try different chokes and loads. Keep a minimum of
fourteen pellets in the head and neck area.
A
sighting system atop a shotgun or rifle can make all the
difference in the world. Fiber-optic sights in low light
conditions really improve confidence and accuracy. A low
powered 1x - 4x scope gives a great aiming point.
My favorite turkey gun is a "Mossberg Ulti-Mag" in 12 gauge with
fiber-optic sights chambered for 3 1/2 inch magnum shells loaded
with # 6 shot. That's about 512 pellets moving at 1175 ft/sec
muzzle velocity. This setup has always worked great for me. Always remember to honor the game you pursue by "harvesting it
and not crippling it". A little "too much gun is better than
not enough gun".
Boots
- Generally light weight, water-proof, 200 to 400 gram
insulated, 8 inch, "COMFORTABLE" hunting boots will do the trick
in Texas. There are endless selections of boots to choose
from. Normally, the temperatures stay warm enough in the spring
that you don't need heavy insulated boots. But, we usually get
spring thunderstorms so be sure you have water-proof linings or
socks. There is usually a lot of walking involved in turkey
hunting. So, be sure and wear comfortable boots that have been
"broken in" well before the season starts.
Calls
- Calls can mostly be broken down into four main categories:
Box, friction, diaphragm, and locating.
Locating calls are designed to force tom turkeys to shock
gobble. Some types include crow calls, owl hoots, hawk and
peacock screams, dog whistles, train whistles, truck doors
slamming shut, tractor engines revving up and down, thunder,
etc, ... As you can tell, toms will shock gobble at almost
anything. On the other hand, some days they are very
tight-lipped. Locators are best used in the pre-dawn and in the
mid-morning after flydown. They are used to locate the toms on
the roost or to keep track of them when they are on the move.
Locating calls are very simple to use and generally work quite
well during the right time periods.
Friction calls are also very easy to use. The "pot or
chamber" is held in one hand while a "striker" is held in the
other hand like a pencil. The striker is then "drawn" across
the face of the call. "Drawing" circular motions and dashed
lines with the striker against the call's surface will mimic the
turkey's yelps, purrs, cutts, and clucks. The surfaces can be
made of glass, slate, ceramic, aluminum, carbon, and layers of
the above. The strikers can also be constructed of all the
above materials plus several types of wood. Friction calls can
duplicate all of the turkey's sounds and can almost always be
used in wet weather. They are the easiest of the non-locating
calls to master.
Box calls are to me, the class of the turkey calls. They are
labor intensive to produce, can be the costliest to purchase,
and are the most beautiful to look upon. Check out the articles
and photographs in a "NWTF Turkey Call" or "Turkey & Turkey
Hunting" magazine sometime and you will see what I am talking
about. Box calls are the second hardest to master, but they can
reproduce the most pure turkey sounds. Box calls are mostly
constructed of wood, but plastic and other man-made materials
are used too. Sounds are produced by rubbing the "lid" against
the "sound chamber". Using different speeds and pressures, the
turkey sounds are created. Box calls can be very loud and work
well on windy days. One drawback to wooden box calls is that
they shouldn't be used in wet weather. Wood and rain just don't
mix. Although, you can work one inside of a one gallon zip lock
bag. They are loud enough to carry sound a good distance.
Finally, diaphragm calls. The toughest to master, but the
require the least movement to use while hunting. Friction and
box calls generally require two hands to operate. This is fine
when calling to turkeys. But, when a turkey pops into view,
trying to put down these calls and pick up your weapon can
sometimes be tough to do without being spotted. Diaphragm calls
fit into the roof of your mouth. They are constructed of tape,
latex, and a small metal frame. The frame is in a horseshoe
shape with the thin latex stretched across it. The tape holds
it all tightly together. With the open end of the frame facing
out, air is "huffed" across the call. Using pressure from your
tongue and forming your lips together, all turkey sounds can be
made with little or no noticeable movement. No movement is a
wonderful thing when sharp eyed turkeys are about. There are
literally hundreds of different types of diaphragm calls with
multiple layers of latex and special cuts in the latex to create
numerous sounds. Since everyone's mouth is different, the tape
can be slightly trimmed for a perfect fit.
Be forewarned, when I first started trying to learn to use a
diaphragm call, my gag reflex was working overtime! I could not
get the hang of it. I basically was making choking noises and
gagging a lot. I was so excited after a couple of weeks to
finally make a simple yelp. But, I was persistent and I am now
a fairly competent turkey caller. My best suggestion is to buy
one or two of each of the above calls and to also buy a turkey
calling video and either a cassette or CD of turkey sounds or
calls. There are many of these available and most are very
helpful
While hunting, I generally carry two or three friction calls,
one box call, several locator calls, and anywhere from six to
twenty diaphragm calls! I probably use diaphragm calls 80% of
the time. But, that is dependent on how the turkey's are
reacting and on the weather conditions.
That should be a pretty good start into the world of turkey
hunting. I covered a lot of basic stuff, but there is still a
lot to learn by just going out with or without a weapon and just
calling to turkeys. In the future, I will cover hunting and
calling techniques and hunting accessories that everybody should
have.
