Beginner turkey hunter.

[Okie1297]

So I’m 15 and I’ve only turkey hunted once for a couple of hours in November while I was bored one day before I went on my deer hunting trip. I was sitting in a creek bed on a 30 acre lot across from my uncles house I have permission to hunt. I was just sitting and waiting to see one I was using my 20 gauge 870 with a modified choke with Winchester super x 1 oz of #5 lead shot. No one in my family turkey hunts and I’m wanting to learn so I’m watching a bunch of YouTube vids and reading online articles and posting on Reddit. I’ve tried a mouth call from bass pro and I never could use it and I almost choked on it. So what other calls should I try as a beginner and what should I do.

[Scorpion8]

Hey there, not a turkey hunter because of lack of resources. My best bet would be to watch the outdoor tv shows on turkey hunters, but don't fall into the trap of thinking you need ALL that gear. I'd look into a local gun club or sportsman's assoc and see if anybody can mentor you for a while, or at least have a discussion. You might try those stick-on-chalkboard type calls or the scratch box calls.

[Okie1297]

I’ve been binge watching YouTube vids and posting on Reddit. So far I’ve bought a slate call and I’m waiting for it to get here.

[ChillyB]

Those wooden box calls seem to be popular. Every turkey hunter I know has one. And a slate call. Those are your workhorse calls. Mouth calls come into play once you've made contact and gotta have both hands on the gun.

It seems common for some hunters to go WAY overboard on frequency and volume. Less is more.

Decoys can really help. Good ones that cost a lot and look like a taxidermy bird. Brother spent about $200 each on decoys: a voluptuous busty sexpot ready to be mounted, and a scrawny jake who is way out of his league with such a sexy bird. When toms saw that loser ready to get nasty on the hen they rushed him and started kicking the heck out of the decoy. They couldn't stand the thought. Nephew hurried up and shot before they ruined it. They shot two birds off that setup at same time.

[Okie1297]

Thank you I ordered a slate call on amazon and I’m gonna be Ordering ether a full choke or an extra full choke and I’m also ordering some turkey targets for patterning my gun.

[Scorpion8]

My dogs get skittish around fireworks noise and the 'burb is full of rednecks with truckloads. So I put on Wired Outdoors channel on the Roku in the den, and selected the turkey hunting videos. They were nice and calm listening to turkeys gooble. Must be because they are labs....

[Cambhir]

When I first started turkey hunting, I had the same struggle with mouth calls. I switched to a box call and it was a game-changer for me—way easier to use and it makes great sound. You might also want to try a slate call; it’s pretty straightforward and can be very effective. Just practice with them a bit to get comfortable. And yeah, getting some local advice can make a big difference too.