Turkey Time

It’s that time of year again to start thinking about dusting off the old shotgun and hit the turkey woods. Here is what I do each year to get myself ready for a successful turkey season.  Everything from finding the birds to getting the gun ready.

Find the birds.

                  I start with scouting. The way I like to scout for turkeys is I will drive down to whatever piece of land I am looking for birds out and get into the woods while it is still dark. Usually, I won’t go very deep into the woods. I want to just make sure I know where the birds are not put eyes on them because I don’t want to spook them off the plot of land I'm looking into. As the sun starts to rise, I will sit at the base of a tree right off a field and listen. As the tweedy birds start to wake up it won’t be much longer until you will start hearing gobbles. If the woods are particularly quiet that day, I may take out a shock call like a crow call to try and get the birds starting to get going. Once I hear them, I will mark the location where they are roosting and then quietly leave the property.

Pattern the gun.

                  This is probably the most important step that most people tend to skip. Patterning the gun may sound silly but all shotguns shoot each load differently and you would be surprised how off a shotgun can truly be. When patterning a gun, you want to put out a target at 20-60 yards to make sure your gun is shooting right. Nothing is worse than the game plan coming together, and you miss the bird because your gun is off, or the load isn’t right for your gun.

Practice makes perfect.

                  Your calling doesn’t need to be perfect but at least focus on getting the basics down. Practice calling at different volumes, that way you can work on birds close and far.

Roost them.

                  Just like scouting in the morning if you can get out the night before your hunt and as the sun goes down listen and find out where the birds are roosting. If you can pinpoint where the birds are roosted the night before your hunt it will increase your chances exponentially.

Goodluck everyone this season hopefully you all have success. Enjoy the outdoors and some spring gobblers.

Tyler Millichap, BWA