13 Turkey Hunting Tips: How To Turkey Hunt Like a Pro

Struggling to bag that prized wild turkey? Don't fall prey to their keen eyesight and quick wit. For many hunters, it's those two things that really make hunting them so challenging.

To successfully hunt these birds, you'll need the right know-how and a lot of patience. Our experts share their favorite turkey hunting tips so you can start hunting with confidence.

Whether you're completely new to the turkey hunting adventure or you've clocked in some time with your friends, knowing the basics always helps out in a pinch! That's why we recommend the following turkey hunting tips that every hunter should know:

1. Learn All You Can About Wild Turkeys: Study turkey behavior, feeding habits, mating rituals, and common roosting spots to predict their movements.
2. Know Your Area's Public Land Hunting Regulations: Check local wildlife agency guidelines for specific hunting seasons, permissible hours, bag limits, and area-specific rules.
3. Pattern the Wild Turkeys Before You Hunt: Observe turkeys in your hunting area to identify preferred feeding grounds, watering holes, and roosting spots.
4. Know that Turkey Hunting Is Hard, But Rewarding: Turkey hunting can be challenging, but patience and effort can result in a thrilling and fulfilling experience.
5. Pattern Your Gun Before You Head Out: Test your gun's accuracy with your turkey loads to ensure a clean, ethical shot when hunting.
6. Diversify Your Turkey Calls: Master various turkey calls, like yelps, cuts, and purrs, to attract turkeys effectively.
7. Practice Turkey Calling a Lot: Practice makes perfect; consistently practicing your calls will improve your calling skills and turkey interaction.
8. Stay Silent & Don't Move: Staying still and silent is critical; turkeys have acute hearing, and any movement can scare them off.
9. Know that Turkeys Have Impeccable Vision: Turkeys possess incredible vision; camouflaging yourself effectively can make the difference between success and failure.
10. Prepare To Shoot Before You Start Calling: Get ready to shoot before you call. Turkeys can quickly respond and appear sooner than expected.
11. Find Where They Roost: Identifying roosting spots will help determine where to set up your blind for the hunt.
12. Stay Patient While You Hunt & Wait: Patience is key. Hunting requires long waits; successful hunters know to wait for the right moment.
13. Get as Close as You Can: Approach turkeys carefully and get as close as possible before making your shot to ensure accuracy.

As a hunter, there's no such thing as knowing too much about your quarry — and that goes double for hunting turkey. Good news: you're in the right place to start your studying!

To maximize your chances of a successful turkey hunt, it's critical to equip yourself with knowledge before you embark on your first hunt:

• Turkey Behavior: Understand the habits and routines of turkeys, including their feeding times and mating rituals. This may vary by which state you hunt in and which species you plan to hunt.
• Turkey Sounds: Learn to identify different turkey calls and what they signify.
• Local Hunting Regulations: Familiarize yourself with local hunting laws and seasons.
• Wild Turkey Species: Know the different species of wild turkeys and their unique characteristics.
• Safe Hunting Practices: Brush up on hunter safety practices like proper gun handling and shooting protocols.
• Turkey Habitat: Learn about the preferred habitats of turkeys in your hunting area.
• Turkey Hunting Gear: Understand the appropriate gear for turkey hunting, including clothing, weapons, and calls.
• Turkey Hunting Tactics: Study various hunting strategies like setting up blinds and decoys, and calling techniques.
• Tracking and Scouting: Learn to interpret signs of turkey activity like tracks, droppings, and roosting sites.
• Field Dressing a Turkey: Understand the proper method for field dressing a turkey post-harvest to ensure meat preservation.

Check with your local game and fish department to see if they offer a course and if there are any rules specific to your local public land like:

When hunting season arrives, knowing where to look and what to listen for can increase your chances of success! Complete beginners should understand that turkeys have daily patterns:

Pay attention to the types of food sources in the area. Turkeys eat food like acorns, seeds, small insects, and even small reptiles. Areas rich in these food sources are likely turkey hotspots.

Observing turkeys from a distance, without disturbing them, can also reveal their preferred routes and travel patterns. Look for signs of turkey activity like tracks, droppings, and feathers.

Whether or not you've hunted, it takes a lot of patience and skill to bag a bird. Turkey hunting has a narrower margin of error:

• You must shoot a turkey in one place (the head) from close range.
• You must call them toward you, which takes practice to learn.

It can take all day, from tailing them in the mornings to waiting for them to roost in the evenings. But the result of that hard work is a satisfaction all its own, so don't let that scare you off!

If you choose to turkey hunt with a shotgun, you can pattern it before you hunt! Testing the effectiveness of your gun and ammo combination helps you find the perfect load that shoots accurately with your exact weapon.

• Make sure your gun is shooting where you're aiming and that the pattern of the pellets is consistently the same number of shells within a given space.
• Bring a rangefinder when you hunt to ensure you don't shoot beyond your effective range.

Wild turkeys produce various types of calls throughout the day, and these calls can vary more noticeably or subtly depending on the species. As a beginner, diversifying your call repertoire will help you adapt to different situations in the field.

There are four common turkey calls used for different scenarios. Start by familiarizing yourself with them:

• The yelp (a communication call)
• The cutt (a locator call)
• The purr (a call of contentment)
• The cluck (a call for contact)

Turkey calling is an art form. It's not just about making the right sounds. You'll have to adjust the volume, rhythm, and pitch based on the situations or hunting conditions. Practice your calls frequently to ensure you can perform them correctly under the pressure of a real hunt.

As a beginner, you might find it helpful to carry an assortment of turkey calls with you. Box calls, slate calls, and diaphragm calls are the most popular choices. Each produces a slightly different sound and can be effective under different conditions.

Don't forget to practice proper call etiquette. Overcalling can make turkeys suspicious, so use your calls sparingly and wisely. The key is to sound as natural as possible - after all, you're trying to mimic a real turkey.

The more you practice, the more authentic you'll sound and the more comfortable you'll get — eventually fooling even the wisest turkey. Listen to real turkey sounds (not people simply impersonating turkeys) to get an ear for their calls.

• Head into an area around the middle of the afternoon when you know the turkeys will be gone, and sit quietly.
• The birds will return, fly up and reposition themselves from branch to branch — this will be very noisy, so remain in position and stay quiet.
• When they're settled in, wait until it gets dark and then sneak out.
• The next morning, wake well before daybreak, slink back into your spot from the previous day, and get as close as you can, making sure not to spook the birds.

Turkeys can't see long distances, but they have keen eyesight up close. They have a wide field of view due to their side-mounted eyes. This means they can see almost 360 degrees just by moving their head slightly.

Wild turkeys can and will spot things as small as sunlight reflecting off your zipper or shotgun muzzle. Absolute concealment during the hunt is critical.

To outsmart a turkey's keen vision, remember these tips:

• Camouflage is Key: Wear full-body camouflage, including gloves, mask, and hat. This helps you blend in with your surroundings and reduces the chance of being spotted.
• Minimize Reflective Objects: Remove or cover all reflective surfaces, including glasses, watches, and equipment. Even a small glint can alert a turkey.
• Positioning: Choose a spot that offers a backdrop to hide your silhouette and some coverage on the sides. Sitting against a tree is a common technique.
• Slow Movements: If you must move, do it slowly. Quick, sudden movements are more likely to be detected.
• Hide your Gun: Consider a camouflaged shotgun or apply camouflage tape to prevent reflections and blend in better.

Don't underestimate their sight; instead, use this knowledge to your advantage!

Take a moment to set yourself up for success before luring a tom in:

• Set your firearm over your knee with the stock close to your shoulder so you don't have to move a lot to get the shot.
• Make a plan in case the tom goes a different direction than you're expecting, and know the range of your firearm in relation to your surroundings.

Like us, turkeys seek out food, water, and shelter. They roost in trees but can thrive in areas with minimal timber (as long as there is enough cover from predators).

• Lush, green food plots provide greens, insects, and open space for strutting.
• Hens like to nest on the ground near food sources, so hatching poults will receive ample bugs, plants, and seeds to consume as they grow.
• During the fall, turkeys will scratch through leaves to find acorns and berries, hunt for waste grain in fields, and search for insects in grassy areas.

Turkeys are cagey and cautious, so be prepared to wait after a call. In fact, playing a little 'hard to get' can be effective. Build a tom's interest by letting them gobble twice between calls.

Try to move in as close as possible (ideally within 40 yards for a shotgun and within 30 yards for a bow) without being detected before making your first call. With practice, you'll learn how far away a turkey is by looking at it. If you need to reposition yourself, wait until the turkey's view of you is obstructed by a tree or rock or the turkey's own tail fan.

You've prepped and packed with the right knowledge and gear. Once you're out in the wild, follow this guide for turkey-hunting success.

Turkeys are smart. Their intelligence combined with acute eyesight and cagey demeanor is what makes them so difficult to hunt. There are five types of wild turkeys in the United States:

Distinguishing between older and younger male and female turkeys is necessary to adhere to your state's regulations. There are limits on how many of each type of turkey you can bag during certain seasons.

The United States has plenty of turkey hunting opportunities! You'll find the 5 most popular types of wild turkeys in certain U.S. regions. The following are the best states for hunting specific wild turkey species within each of these regions:

• Eastern Wild Turkey: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, & Wisconsin
• Osceola Wild Turkey: Florida
• Merriam's Wild Turkey: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Wyoming
• Rio Grande Wild Turkey: California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, & Texas
• Gould's Wild Turkey: Arizona

Each state has its own turkey hunting season durations as well as its own bag limit. No matter if you're hunting deer or wild turkey, you should always brush up on your state's exact mandates, limits, and season dates.

• Turkey Calls: Box calls, slate calls, and mouth calls are essential to lure turkeys.
• Camo clothing: Wear camouflage clothing to blend in with your surroundings and avoid detection.
• Turkey decoys: Use decoys to attract turkeys toward you. A realistic-looking hen decoy can be helpful.
• Hunting boots: Wear comfortable, waterproof boots to keep your feet dry and warm.
• Hunting vest: A hunting vest will keep your gear organized and easily accessible.
• Binoculars: Binoculars will help you spot turkeys from a distance.
• Hunting knife: A good hunting knife is necessary for field dressing and cleaning your turkey.
• Rangefinder: A rangefinder will help you accurately measure the distance between you and the turkey, making it easier to take a shot.
• First aid kit: A basic first aid kit is a must-have in case of any accidents.

Because of their keen eyesight, wearing full camo clothing — a coat and pants at the least — is a must when hunting turkeys. Depending on state regulations, you may also be required to wear a certain amount of blaze orange clothing (such as a vest or hat) to help other hunters identify you on the range.

Regardless of whether you choose a shotgun or a bow and arrow, the ultimate goal for turkey hunting is an instant kill.