# New to Turkey Hunting



## bjsod (Apr 3, 2007)

Hi everyone! I am an avid hunter of ducks, pheasants, deer and go fishing. Recently I have been seeing alot of hunting shows with turkey hunting and it is getting me interested in trying it out. But I would like some tips on how to get started. Where is a good place to go hunt for them? (I live in south western Minnesota and realize that I will have to travel) Would it be a wise choice to find a guide to hunt with my first time? What gear do you need other than the obvious stuff? (such as gun, camo, calls, decoys, ect)

Any input would be greatly apreciated.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

You don't need a guide.

In MN there are many places to hunt turkeys. But you need to apply for a permit. If you deer hunt check out the woods or area you hunt. Could be turkeys in that area. IF that does not suit your needs. Go onto the DNR website and check where they give the most turkey permits away. THen that would be an indication that that area has loads of turkeys. Now before applying for that area make sure you can get onto private land or make sure there is a bunch of state land in that area.

Now for other states......WI, MO have excellent turkey hunting as well. MO you buy your permits over the counter and they are good for the whole state. Finding private land can be tricky in MO but state land is all over. You just need to do some research.

Now for gear....
1. Camo. Your fall stuff if you bow hunt will work just fine. Make sure you got gloves and a good face mask. I always carry two sets of each. In case you lose one glove or your face mask.

2. Calls: Get a good friction call. The easiest one to learn is the box call or push button yelper. Then get a slate call and practice. Then get a couple mouth calls. These take the most work but once you get the basics down you are good to go.

3. Decoys: You can use them or not really does not matter. But I use them and have had great success. But I have also used no decoys and do good as well.

4. Vest....I would recommend getting a good vest with a good seat on it. Because you could spend hours sitting on the ground while having a tom hung up at 100 yards. It also needs enough pockets to carry all your gear.

5. Blind.....you really don't need a blind but they are nice. I am still not a fan but if you are hunting with another person they are nice. They hide your movement. But also make it hard to run and gun.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me.
Chuck


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## bigpipesT (Apr 12, 2009)

for gun mossberg 835 with red dot. i have a bushnell but im investing in a truglo


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

I forgot gun.....

What ever shot gun you use now is fine. Just have a full choke or buy the turkey chokes or extra full. The mossberg 835 is what I have. Shoots good.

But what ever gun you get make sure you pattern it and buy good turkey loads. 3" for sure. But pattern your gun at 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 yards. shot it 1-3 times. I go three and average the pellet count. at 25 yards you can shoot once and even 30 and 35. But after that shoot a couple of times.

Yes you will spend up a box of shells but to know what your gun can do at these ranges is a must if you want to take turkey hunting seriously. You need to know your pellet count in the head of the bird. I want 10 pellets in the head. That is my goal. That will equal dead bird everytime and not much flopping.


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## bjsod (Apr 3, 2007)

Thanks for all the information guys (especially you Chuck Smith), it will be very helpful. I will be using my Remington 11-87 Special Purpose to hunt with if I give it a shot. For duck and goose hunting this past year I used my full choke and it did not give me any problems, I mean I took down my fair share of birds :sniper: . (But then again I have never patterend it before so I dont know what kind of pattern it is shooting) Whats a good turkey choke to get? I was checking them out on the cabelas site and they all seemed the same, or so I thought....am I wrong?


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

My mossberg came with an extra full choke. Before I had the mossberg I used a remington 870 special purpose with just the factory full. It did fine.

Just pattern your gun with the full choke and go from there. If it is not throwing a tight pattern at 40 yards then you might want to get an after market choke.

I know of a guy who uses the undertaker and likes it.

Good Luck

Chuck


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## The Canuck Kid (Mar 18, 2009)

12 gauge, full choke, 3 1/2 inch shell
Very good camo, head to toe, face mask camo hat (no logo)
Hen Decoys for early season, Jake Decoy for late season
Box call/ Slate call (I like "The Freak" by Primos)
and a comfy seat

that's about it
I am new to turkey hunting so you might want to pay more attention to some of the older more experienced guys above me.

I just got my first turkey 2 days ago, was it ever a good time!

good luck man, and post some pictures of your first one :wink:


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## t.crawford714 (Nov 7, 2008)

3 1/2" shell??  what are you trying to do put? Put him through a tree??


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## bjsod (Apr 3, 2007)

Thanks for the info!!

Another question I have for the people that hunt turkeys in Minnesota is when you get the license and pick your zone, can you only hunt in that zone alone or can you go from zone to zone? I ask this because the area I am looking at hunting has a huge public area that spills over into another zone.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Nope you can only hunt that zone for that 5 day time period you choose.

Also PM me if you have any questions. I live in the SE part of the state and know loads of state land.

Also the comment about the 3 1/2. All you need is 3 in. But if you want to shoot the 3 1/2 all it does is give you more pellets. People will say it will extend your range.......not really. It just gives you more pellets and a little more velocity in that range. But to think you add another 10-15 yards because of a 3 1/2 load is false......not unless it is hand reload.


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## bjsod (Apr 3, 2007)

Thanks Chuck Smith you have been more than helpful to me and I will most defintly PM you if I have anymore questions. I think im gonna have to give this turkey hunting a shot in the 2010 season


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## 9manfan (Oct 22, 2008)

It truely is addicting,I was lucky enough to shoot one last saturday, it's my third turkey in six years of hunting and the rush of the tom gobbling will never go away, I'm by no means an experienced turkey hunter but from what I've found is do alot of scouting and pattern the birds, good camo and a couple decoys, slate call, you don't have to spend a fortune to get started, but you will truely enjoy it,Good Luck to you,,,,


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## bjsod (Apr 3, 2007)

Hey 9manfan I see you are from Southwest Minnesota also...do you hunt in the area or do you go somewhere else? You dont have to give away an area that you hunt im just curious to see if there are birds in the area, because where I live there is very few birds that I know of.


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