Preparations For Spring Turkey Season

By Scott Ellis

As the days start to grow longer and the fall hunting seasons have passed, our thoughts start wandering to the upcoming spring turkey season. If anyone out there is a quarter like I am, you are starting to prepare your “tools of the trade” for that glorious opening day.

Shotgun Patterning

Just a short time before writing this article, fellow Quaker Boy Pro Staffer Chad Hodge, his wife Jessica and myself; conducted an extensive patterning session. It was a blast and between us both we had numerous chokes and loads to test. Patterning your shotgun is something very important and is neglected by a large portion of the turkey hunting population.

Often, turkey hunters will take to the field with their shotgun and absolutely no clue the point of impact for their gun and the range limitations. Its really simple to accomplish this task and you won’t be scratching your head when your gobbler flies off after the shot at thirty yards.

Start you session with basic dove loads at around twenty yards to determine your point of impact. Your gun may not shoot center and require adjustable fiber optic sights such as those offered by Tru-Glo. I use old wrapping paper, using the backside(unprinted) of the sheet with a about a three inch diameter black dot for an aiming point. Once you’ve established your guns center of impact its time to take the next step.

Pick any one of the great turkey head and neck turkey targets on the market and begin experimenting with the different loads and chokes available. There are several lead pellet loads ranging from five to fifteen dollars a box, all the way up to thirty dollars a box for the more expensive alloys. There are choke tubes ranging from around twenty dollars all the way to nearly one hundred dollars.

Start your patterning again at twenty yards and step it all the way out until you do not have a killable pattern. When I say killable I mean 7-9 pellets in the skeletal regions of the turkeys head and neck. At that point you will know the range of your shotgun. Bear in mind that anything inside twenty yards is going to be about the size of a grapefruit so make sure your aim is true if you get a gobbler in on top of you. Also it can be very beneficial to your pocket book if you and several buddies team up and have these sessions. Have everyone bring their choke tubes and shells and hopefully you’ll find a combination that works for you.

Practice Your Calling

It is no secret that most hunters only break out their calls about a week before the season. Instead start practicing a few months out. Take the time to obtain recordings of actual wild turkeys and mimic those sounds. You can locate them all over the Internet. It will benefit you in the woods. I’ve always said a mediocre caller with great woodsmanship will kill his share of turkeys. But, a great caller with great woodsmanship is a “predator”.

Unfortunately this aspect of turkey hunting is neglected by turkey hunters across the nation. Learn to call better than the average “joe” in the turkey woods and it will pay dividends. The more you sound like a real wild turkey and not a turkey hunter, the more turkeys will ride in your truck with you.

Also recording your calling and your sequences can aid in the improvement of your calling. Do not use your basic tape recorder, the microphone in those radios do not give an accurate recording of the sound. Use your camcorder. It will give you better quality and a more three dimensional sound.

Lastly, practice the call that you are the least proficient on. Whether it be a mouth call, tube call or even a pot and peg style call. Become confident on multiple type calls. You never know which particular sound will strike a nerve with the bird your working. The more “tricks” you have in your vest, the more “treats” your liable to end up with.

Turkey Vest and contents

Today’s turkey vests have become a key tool in organizing your gear and making your hunt as comfortable as possible. Most vests available on the market have a pocket for everything from your box call, to your water bottle and also have a padded seat and back rest. Everything you need is right at your finger tips. One key point is to memorize where you store each item in your vest. It is important not to be fumbling around with all those pockets looking for your headnet or mouth calls when your at that critical moment and a gobbler is approaching.

There are a couple of items to think about putting in your vest to aid you in your quest of that longbeard this spring. One is a pair of compact binoculars. They can prove to be worth their weight in gold when in the spring woods and trying to identify gobblers at long ranges especially in fields. Another is a pair of good hand shears. They work great when your needing to cut some palmettos for a blind or remove any brush obstructing your view.

Lastly, I know you’re all about to say it, thats right, a Therma-cell! If by some chance you’re reading this and have never heard of one, well today my friend is your lucky day. Its the most effective form of mosquito repellent on the market. Run to the nearest sporting goods store and pick one up. Spring turkey hunting will never be the same for you. This little appliance is worth its weight in platinum and I don’t have any idea how I turkey hunted all those years before its inception.

In closing, try these simple ideas to prepare for your upcoming season. Sometimes we only get one or two opportunities to pull the trigger on a bird each season. Make the best of that by preparing properly and having your gun and gear fine-tuned so that you can make it happen when it’s crunch time.

Scott Ellis