2021 Wild Turkey thread

The main turkey hunting market is in the US. There are any number of gimmicks and gadgets out there designed to catch hunters more securely than kill turkeys. Remember, selling hunting gear is like selling fishing lures. They are designed to catch wallets. And sometimes the products are intended to help solve very narrow problems unique to one area's circumstances.

Although I am not a turkey hunter, sitting quietly in a wood line all cammed up is a great way to pass the time. As long as you are comfortable, you don't need everything on the market.
 
New to turkey hunting as well, I was reading the 20 gauge thread, and now, second guessing my 12 gauge shell purchases, lol. Booked an Ontario guide to show the girlfriend and I the ropes. Camo choice has got me stumped, most of mine is waterfowl hunting oriented, any suggestions for an alternate pattern?
 
Dances with Drahts said:
New to turkey hunting as well, I was reading the 20 gauge thread, and now, second guessing my 12 gauge shell purchases, lol. Booked an Ontario guide to show the girlfriend and I the ropes. Camo choice has got me stumped, most of mine is waterfowl hunting oriented, any suggestions for an alternate pattern?
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I believe the ability to sit still is more important than your camo pattern. If in doubt ask the guide you hired. I wouldn't sweat it and use what you have. Use a tree behind you to break up your outline and maybe some bush or a fabric/ burlap blind in front of you to conceal movement. Best of luck.
 
Dances with Drahts said:
New to turkey hunting as well, I was reading the 20 gauge thread, and now, second guessing my 12 gauge shell purchases, lol. Booked an Ontario guide to show the girlfriend and I the ropes. Camo choice has got me stumped, most of mine is waterfowl hunting oriented, any suggestions for an alternate pattern?
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BAC4 is right. Don't worry too much about your camo pattern. Sitting still and quiet will do far more for your chances than your camo. You just want to break up your silhouette is all. And coverup every bit of your skintone that you can. Gloves, face covering etc.

Get out early before they start gobbling, sit still, stay quiet and good luck! Turkey hunting is a lot of fun!

Sorry last minute edit: But to answer your question, I use a greener camo pattern for Spring turkey to blend in with the new growth in the bush. Things get even greener late season. But as mentioned, your waterfowl camo will work just fine this season.
 
BAC4 said:
I believe the ability to sit still is more important than your camo pattern. If in doubt ask the guide you hired. I wouldn't sweat it and use what you have. Use a tree behind you to break up your outline and maybe some bush or a fabric/ burlap blind in front of you to conceal movement. Best of luck.
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Was thinking of setting up a blind close to a field where they always seem to go. Maybe 10-15' into the woods and having 2 decoys out (female and jake). Does that sound like a decent plan or should I put up the tent in the field? 30' out or so. I would think they'd spook over a new structure in the field.

Just got my Kent 20ga TK7 TSS ammo as well. Going to try to pattern that this week-end.

David
 
Im pumped. This will be my fourth year, or fifth. Will be interesting to see if the birds got the memo about physical distancing.

Will be interesting to see whether MNR give anyobe grief about hunting with their prohibited shotguns...
 
huntingfish said:
Was thinking of setting up a blind close to a field where they always seem to go. Maybe 10-15' into the woods and having 2 decoys out (female and jake). Does that sound like a decent plan or should I put up the tent in the field? 30' out or so. I would think they'd spook over a new structure in the field.

Just got my Kent 20ga TK7 TSS ammo as well. Going to try to pattern that this week-end.

David
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I’ve always found placing my blind on the field edge and brushing it in a bit works best. 10-15’ into the woods may look like a clear shot right now but once stuff starts to grow you may not be able to see into the field very well. And placing it 30’ out in the field might not spook birds if you put it out there and leave it, but if the land is going to be worked at all this spring then whoever is working it probably won’t appreciate having to go around your blind!
 
huntingfish said:
Was thinking of setting up a blind close to a field where they always seem to go. Maybe 10-15' into the woods and having 2 decoys out (female and jake). Does that sound like a decent plan or should I put up the tent in the field? 30' out or so. I would think they'd spook over a new structure in the field.

Just got my Kent 20ga TK7 TSS ammo as well. Going to try to pattern that this week-end.

David
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As runningfool states i would place the blind on the field edge. I have rarely used a pop up so my opinion on this may not be worth much. I generally sit just inside the bushline and use natural cover. As far as the decoys go, sounds good. I have had luck with a single hen. My son has used a Jake with a couple of hens with good results. Don't think there is a right or wrong here. Good luck with the Kent TK7s. I tried them in my 20 gauge m2 but couldn't get them to pattern,had better luck with the Kent diamond shot in my 20 gauge. Cheers

There are lots of more knowledgeable people on here. Just pay attention to what they are posting and pick out the bits of information you can use. Have fun.
 
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My normal turkey spot is 2.5 hours away in a very productive WMU. Since it’s so far away I dont have the luxury of setting out trail cams or doing any actual scouting. I just drive down and hunt the birds blindly. Sometimes it’s a bust, but the past two seasons I’ve been tagged out in 2 trips.

Looking to spend a little time this year running and gunning on public lands closer to home (simcoe county lands). Pretty excited for that. Been watching a bunch of The Hunting Public on YouTube. They just started their 2021 turkey tour and it’s getting me pretty fired up.

I buy cheap older model gopro cameras and place them all over, including in my decoys. Capturing the hunt on film is another part of hunt I enjoy. My 2020 season:


 
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Don't get hung up on any one spot ,call , decoy or set up . My experience has been everything works ..sometimes. The ability to adapt to the situation at hand is far more valuable than any preconceived plan.
I have had the perfect hunt where the gobbler flies off the roost and is down in the next five minutes, but most of my hunts seem to involve a certain amount of improvising strategy on the fly. Strangely enough I get the most satisfaction from those hunts.
 
lazyfarmer said:
Don't get hung up on any one spot ,call , decoy or set up . My experience has been everything works ..sometimes. The ability to adapt to the situation at hand is far more valuable than any preconceived plan.
I have had the perfect hunt where the gobbler flies off the roost and is down in the next five minutes, but most of my hunts seem to involve a certain amount of improvising strategy on the fly. Strangely enough I get the most satisfaction from those hunts.
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This is me too :)
Best of luck to all
 
squidxm said:
My normal turkey spot is 2.5 hours away in a very productive WMU. Since it’s so far away I dont have the luxury of setting out trail cams or doing any actual scouting. I just drive down and hunt the birds blindly. Sometimes it’s a bust, but the past two seasons I’ve been tagged out in 2 trips.

Looking to spend a little time this year running and gunning on public lands closer to home (simcoe county lands). Pretty excited for that. Been watching a bunch of The Hunting Public on YouTube. They just started their 2021 turkey tour and it’s getting me pretty fired up.

I buy cheap older model gopro cameras and place them all over, including in my decoys. Capturing the hunt on film is another part of hunt I enjoy. My 2020 season:
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Great videos and it illustrates well where to put the blind. Watched both of them. Great job!
 
Awesome videos squidxm! Now you’ve got me really excited for turkey season! The sounds! All of them! Hens, toms, geese, spring! Oh man I can’t wait!
 
squidxm said:
My normal turkey spot is 2.5 hours away in a very productive WMU. Since it’s so far away I dont have the luxury of setting out trail cams or doing any actual scouting. I just drive down and hunt the birds blindly. Sometimes it’s a bust, but the past two seasons I’ve been tagged out in 2 trips.

Looking to spend a little time this year running and gunning on public lands closer to home (simcoe county lands). Pretty excited for that. Been watching a bunch of The Hunting Public on YouTube. They just started their 2021 turkey tour and it’s getting me pretty fired up.

I buy cheap older model gopro cameras and place them all over, including in my decoys. Capturing the hunt on film is another part of hunt I enjoy. My 2020 season:


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You got me wanting to get video now...

Few questions, whats the range on those kill shots? Its hard to tell from the video but that seems to be a bit longer than what I typically aim for. What ammo do you use and any idea how many pellets on target?

You certainly seem able to make the good shot atthat distance, Im wondering if I should be a bit more bold.
 
Cameron SS said:
You got me wanting to get video now...

Few questions, whats the range on those kill shots? Its hard to tell from the video but that seems to be a bit longer than what I typically aim for. What ammo do you use and any idea how many pellets on target?

You certainly seem able to make the good shot atthat distance, Im wondering if I should be a bit more bold.
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The only way for you to truly know if you should “be a bit more bold” is to pattern your gun at different distances.
GoPro cameras are notorious for making distances look waaaaaaay longer than they actually are. Even on the most narrow lens setting (linear) on my gopro, birds end up looking 3X further away than they really are. And if I had to guess, I’d say squidxm has his set to a wider angle than linear (it’s what I would do to maximize the chance of capturing the scene with a fixed camera) and that would make the distance between the bird and his blind look even further away.
 
Cameron SS said:
You got me wanting to get video now...

Few questions, whats the range on those kill shots? Its hard to tell from the video but that seems to be a bit longer than what I typically aim for. What ammo do you use and any idea how many pellets on target?

You certainly seem able to make the good shot atthat distance, Im wondering if I should be a bit more bold.
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I'm guessing around 30 yards on the first video, I think I seen the wad hit the turkey.
 
Cameron SS said:
You got me wanting to get video now...

Few questions, whats the range on those kill shots? Its hard to tell from the video but that seems to be a bit longer than what I typically aim for. What ammo do you use and any idea how many pellets on target?

You certainly seem able to make the good shot atthat distance, Im wondering if I should be a bit more bold.
Click to expand...

In both videos my blind is set up about 20 yards from the decoys. As mentioned, gopro’s can play mind tricks. I’m using mag blends in these videos, though I picked up a couple boxes of tk7’s to try patterning this year when I get around to it. I patterned my mag blends at 30 yards and the average was about 250 in the 10” circle. That’s out of an 870 sps with 20” barrel and Indian creek choke.

Im very confident with my shot placement because I’m using a vx-1 1-4x20mm scope. It has the turkey plex reticle, I love this scope. I really enjoy tinkering and customizing so when I built my turkey gun I upgraded several parts, including the timney trigger spring which I have down to 1lb 10oz pull.

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Another member PM’d me to ask about filming with the gopro’s. For anyone else curious, use the frame mount so that the usb port is exposed. Then you can plug the camera into a portable usb battery bank and leave it there recording for hours. No worries about battery limitations, no messing around with wifi connection, just edit out all the unused footage. I actually prefer it this way because I press record just before first light and let it run. Going back through the footage you can hear the exact moment the birds start gobbling on the roost. The woods come alive and you get to relive that again and again.
 
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