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Hunting spring turkey has become one of the fastest growing segments of the hunting industry and the reason for this is simple!

It’s exciting, challenging and an excellent way to start out the outdoor season after a long drawn out winter.

When I first started hunting turkeys in the 70’s it was difficult to locate information on turkey hunting, especially in our neck of the woods.

Back then, the calls in our area were hard to find and information on calling the birds in was even scarcer.

My first hunt was in north central Nebraska where we were required to carry a call. I had a diaphragm call, didn’t know how to use it, but I had one.

I saw a lot of birds, most of the time shortly after they spotted me and were beating feet

in the opposite direction. Still, I learned something from the trip that has helped me to become a successful hunter on future trips.

Turkeys are well equipped to survive, with hearing and vision that will pick up any sound or the slightest amount of movement. They have the ability to out run danger, having been clocked at speeds up to 12 miles per hour and can reach speeds up to 35 miles per hour in the air.

Over the years, I’ve tagged over 80 turkeys and since my first trip into the woods, turkey hunting has changed, now there’s a lot of information available on the sport and the equipment has really advanced, giving the hunters a wide variety of gear to choose from.

Since the birds have such great eyesight, camouflaging yourself and your equipment is a must. You’ll want to wear camo clothing, camo gloves, facemask and use a bow or shotgun that’s camo or has a dull finish.

Other equipment that will come in handy is a good back pack or vest as turkey hunters generally carry a lot of equipment with them into the woods.

You’re also going to need something soft to set on and to insulate you from the cold ground as you may be setting there for quite awhile before the bird comes into range.

When you’re hunting spring turkeys, you’re attempting to call a tom into gun range by sounding like a lonesome hen. This reverses what actually happens in the wild because out there, when the tom gobbles, the hen is supposed to come looking for him.

You don’t have to be a world class caller to bring a bird into range. I believe it’s more  the rhythm of the call than the exact sound of the call as all turkeys’ sound a little different.

An excellent starter call is a box or a push button call, both are easy to operate and in a short period of time, you can become a pretty decent caller.

Locating the bird is the first thing you’re going to need to do. It’s easier if you go out the night before and try to locate the area/trees that the birds will be roosting in.

Don’t make the mistake that many first time hunters do and try to locate a tom with the same call you plan on using on opening morning. If you use a turkey call and aren’t set up ready to hunt, you could end up spooking and educating the birds, making them tougher to call the next time.

Toms don’t always gobble before they come in as most hunters have been caught by birds that just simply walk in unannounced, generally spotting the hunter before he sees them.

Turkeys will sound off or shock gobble at a crow, owl call or coyote howl when they’re in the roost and just before they come out of it in the morning these are the times when locator calls work the best, giving the hunter the opportunity to locate the birds.

I’ll use an owl call just before dawn to make sure what trees the birds are roosting in and use the crow and coyote howler more during daylight hours.

When setting up, I like to move as close as I can without spooking the birds, generally if I’m 75 to 100 from their roosting tree and not in the open, I feel I have an excellent chance to call them in.

Before it gets light you’ll need to quietly set out your decoys, because I’m right handed I like to put a Jake (young tom) decoy out twenty- five yards to my left and a couple of hen decoys to my right at thirty yards.

Once the Tom gets near the decoys, I know he’s in range and don’t have to worry about under or ever estimating the distance to the bird.

Under most conditions, the tom will head for the Jake and try to intimidate him or kick his behind.

Once he’s within range and goes into a strut (fans his tail), I’ll wait until he’s moved behind a tree/brush or turns away from me, allowing me to raise my shotgun or draw my bow and take the shot.

If I’m hunting with a shotgun, this is when I’ll do a warning putt, causing him come out of strut, extending his neck and head to see where the sound came from.

With the head extended, I’ll shoot, trying to put as many BB’s into the head and neck region as possible, which assures a quick kill.

I use as twelve gauge shotgun loaded with 3 1/2″ 5 or 6 shot. A full or extra full choke is your best bet as you want a tight pattern out to a minimum of 30 yards.

You’ll want to go our prior to the season to test fire your shotgun with different shot size this lets you know which shot patterns best. This gives me the confidence that the bird will go down hard when I pull the trigger on him, as I know how my gun will pattern.

You’ll want to put your target out to at least 30 yards, firing your gun with different shot size to see which one patterns the best.

Turkey hunting may sound complicated, but it isn’t! All you need to be successful spring turkey hunter is a little time to practice and a lot of patience.

Don’t worry, if patience isn’t one of your strong points, this sport that will quickly help you to develop it.

There are huge turkey populations that can be hunted throughout the U.S and if you haven’t tried turkey hunting in the spring, you’re missing one of the outdoors-greatest experiences.