Novice Turkey Hunter

Hello Group,

I have hunted squirrel and rabbit in my youth long ago, and started again this past fall, since my son is now 12 years old and had expressed an interest in hunting. We have been camping and fishing for years in Croatan National Forest in coastal North Carolina, and he wanted to begin hunting also. So we went through the N.C. Hunter Safety class, got him certified, and I took him to a range until he was very familiar with the two .22 rifles we have. He actually killed a squirrel his first outing, so now he's got the fever, and I see a great opportunity for some quality father-son time. Deer hunting is big in this area, and since we plan to get into that this fall I purchased for us two 20ga single barrel break-action shotguns (money is an object, and these shotguns seemed to be the most inexpensive and versitle guns I could get for what I could pay). Anyway, I have several deer-hunting friends advising me in that area, but next month we have the spring turkey season, and I'm not aquainted with anyone who knows much about it. From reading various publications I'm aware of the laws and rules involved, and in general how you're supposed to go about it, but it's apparent to me that there's a whole lot of art and science to it that comes with experience. If any experienced turkey hunter has any good advice for a novice, It would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

'Happy Hunter' <[snip] .. Calls will make them run if they are not natural. The closer

ooppss...meant Lynch's Full Proof.

Check out the Outdoor Life Network OLN. They have a great number of turkey hunting shows on each week and although I believe many of these hunts are staged you can take them for what they are worth.

Thanks, I do that!

Michael, Good luck. A few pointers you might want for you and your son. All of the turkey hunting videos make it look very easy. Some times it can be and some times its not. Make sure you setup in a safe manor. That is with a tree as wide as you are so that you will not get shot. Camo from head to toe. If you or your son has a hard time sitting still look in to some kind of ground blind. Turkeys have keen eye site and you can not get away with movement. You will need a call. Stick with a box call or a slate. They are easy to learn and are the bread and butter call for a lot of hunters. Mouth calls take time to master. Make sure you pattern your gun and know its effective range. If decoys are legal they can really help bring in a turkey those last 10 to 15 yards. If you can, go out the evening before your hunt and listen to where the turkey fly up to roost for the night (Put the bird to bed). I took my son last year. I roosted a bird and we got there the next morning and the gobbler did not let us down. He gobbled for 45 minutes up in the tree. My son actually got tired of hearing him gobble and asked if we could go home. Which brings me to my last point. When your son says he is ready to go. Go. The best way to ruin the experience is to keep him there when he doesn't want to be. However, if you can hold out a lot of turkeys are killed late in the morning after a lot of turkey hunters have called it quits.