Hunting Turkeys this Weekend

[yktind]

Hey Everyone,

Not sure if this is the right section but hunting is a sport.

I am a complete noob to hunting. I have gone out twice in search of quail. And have yet to harvest anything.

Don't get me wrong I love being out in the wild and hiking with a shotgun camping and what not (really gives you a whole new appreciation of wildlife and how they are able to survive) Anyway, Turkey season opened up at the end of March and we will be going out Friday til Sunday.

I am looking for any advice or hints, etc. on hunting Turkeys.

(I realize this is probably a dumb question) Also, will I be able to wake and bake before the hunt/ hike?

 

[ChingOwn]

Hey Everyone,

Not sure if this is the right section but hunting is a sport.

I am a complete noob to hunting. I have gone out twice in search of quail. And have yet to harvest anything.

Don't get me wrong I love being out in the wild and hiking with a shotgun camping and what not (really gives you a whole new appreciation of wildlife and how they are able to survive) Anyway, Turkey season opened up at the end of March and we will be going out Friday til Sunday.

I am looking for any advice or hints, etc. on hunting Turkeys.

(I realize this is probably a dumb question) Also, will I be able to wake and bake before the hunt/ hike?

umm get a turkey call and lots of camo you also need a bored choked shotgun shoot for the head no idea what are of the country your in so thats about all i got for now

 

[yktind]

I got a turkey call, Owl, Crow, and Hawk Call, Have camo from head to toe. Will be in Los Padres National Forest. "SLO County". Have an over/under with full chokes that can shoot steel since all of SLO county is a Condor Preserve. #4 Shot

Also will be with 2 other people. Not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[ChingOwn]

Hide, and call an area for a good hour or so before you give up set out some decoys if thats legal in Cali and dig in, its pretty much all in the call and location set up in the trees bordering a clearing set the decoys in the clearing if you can..is it a chalk call or a mouth piece? In either case concentrate on the gobbels and soft calls based on what you are hearing..chalk calls are easier IMO .........http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/wild_turkey/sounds.............type it in the URL bar if you dont trust the link...Oh well just tell those two other people to STFU lol be careful not to shoot anyone and dont wear the orange this is the most dangerous hunt in that regard cause turkeys can see color

 

[jrainman]

Good advise from Ching ,but would like to add that remember , Turkey Have very very good Eye sight they can see the smallest movement , you need to be totally in camo garb face also.

try to get to your area while its still dark at least 30 min before sun up , first thing give a couple of Owl calls , Owls should call back but listen for your gobbler . If there is a Gobbler out there you will be able to locate about where he is at this point .

Now you know he is out there roosting up in a tree , So now just as Sunrise breaks Give just One or 2 Hen calls with your turkey caller, Wait till he responds . give this a few Min .

If he responds quickly you now know he is interested , Now give your second call again just a couple of calls , this is all he needs don't go crazy calling and calling ,just a couple of responses with him and trust me he has you located and he is on his way.

relax take your time shoot within 25 yrd at the neck area of the gobbler, they come in very fast sometimes so don't miss your shot. Good luck and enjoy your hunt.

 

[jrainman]

You are lucky to have quail in your area , I am a avid Bird hunter , but a good Bird dog would really be the way to go when hunting Quail. To kick one up doing it without a dog makes for a long day .

 

[yktind]

You are lucky to have quail in your area , I am a avid Bird hunter , but a good Bird dog would really be the way to go when hunting Quail. To kick one up doing it without a dog makes for a long day .

Its funny you say that because we have gone twice now without a bird dog... And man, I truly believe that the quail just mess with you. I have a quail call and can get them to answer. The problem is they don't flush when you just walk up to them. They stand still and then you'll hear one call from 20 yards back the other way. We just went in circles the first time out, lol.

It is pretty fun though. On our second trip we got a single one to flush but it happened so fast I couldn't get the shot off. Then we took off on foot trying to track it. We did until we ran until a shit load brush. Quick smart they are.

Do you have pheasant? Cause I don't anyway near me.

 

[yktind]

Hide, and call an area for a good hour or so before you give up set out some decoys if thats legal in Cali and dig in, its pretty much all in the call and location set up in the trees bordering a clearing set the decoys in the clearing if you can..is it a chalk call or a mouth piece? In either case concentrate on the gobbels and soft calls based on what you are hearing..chalk calls are easier IMO .........http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/wild_turkey/sounds.............type it in the URL bar if you dont trust the link...Oh well just tell those two other people to STFU lol be careful not to shoot anyone and dont wear the orange this is the most dangerous hunt in that regard cause turkeys can see color

I have been practicing the Mouth Turkey call but I am not comfortable enough with it to take it out into the field. I have the Box Cutter and I can get the sounds pretty damn close.

I do not have a decoy though. Do you think this is essential?

 

[ChingOwn]

I have been practicing the Mouth Turkey call but I am not comfortable enough with it to take it out into the field. I have the Box Cutter and I can get the sounds pretty damn close.

I do not have a decoy though. Do you think this is essential?

Na probably not essential to have a decoy dont even know if it helps for sure it just gives them something to focus on other than you in their final moments

 

[jrainman]

agree not essential ,but does insure the turkey will come in to your range (25 yards ) . Yes hunt pheasant, use to raise my own Bob white Quail for hunt on my own property I have recall Pens set up in my fields .

But the problem was even on my own property I would have to get permission $$ to hunt them from my Game Warden ,because the are considered a Game Bird by my state . even though they are not here in the wild.

So after some research I found that Chucker / Partridge was the way to go for me . Not considered a Game Bird by my state ,So I can do as I please .even Hunt on a Sunday. About a week ago I just got my first order of a 150 Grey Partridge Chicks .

 

[dux]

No native chucker here either,good eating bird! Great for training the pups ..
As far as gobblers,I used to chase them every spring with archery,a decoy is NOT needed.sometimes when they see one they will hold up,strut and wait for the hen to move to him.I have pulled birds in closer with no decoy,they hear her but can't see her and seem eager to get a peek..
You don't need to be a champion caller,turkey's are kinda like people and have different voices too...
Good luck! I love this time of year...

 

[yktind]

That looks like one proud pup Jrain. I trying to get an English Pointer for next year Quail but don't really have the room for a hunting dog in an apartment.

 

[yktind]

Got back from the trip yesterday. Had a blast camping and taking the truck through mud but no luck in finding "huntable" turkeys. <---- If you live in CA and hunt you will know what this means.

Basically there are some beautiful spots to hunt... If you know somebody. All the turkeys we found were either in a town or on private property close to a main highway. Both national forests in SLO were made of of high mountains and valleys. Very little flat areas.

Rather or not turkeys are smart or dumb they do know that staying on private property gives them a really good chance at staying alive.

We spoke to the Forestry Services driving around camp and they gave us a couple of spots.

Went out there early morning (we tried every spot around the area) tried the crow call, the owl, the hawk and finally posted up went silent and tried the turkey call a couple of times.

I don't call it unsuccessful though. Now we know where the turkeys aren't. However come quail season I know where they will be. We saw tons of them and deer. At least once a day on the deer and probably every spot we scouted had quail. Didn't see any large coveys though. Could hear them but never saw.

Next trip we will check Questa Ridge and or Paso Robles. We heard about a military base that is open to the public with a gate check in and out.

Bow season starts for us on May 5. Taking another trip for the Turkeys May 10.

 

[jrainman]

Was wondering if you got back out and how it went for you

 

[yktind]

Was wondering if you got back out and how it went for you

We made it back... Couldn't find any Turkeys on "Legal Hunting" spots. If you take a look at a BLM map of SLO you will understand what I mean. We tried three different areas this year and didn't find any. Well I take that back We found a huge Flock of them on a Farm and a couple off the side of the Highway (Which is very illegal to fire a shotgun from)

For the Fall season I am thinking about taking a trip up north for 4 or 5 days. I have heard good things and great success coming from San Jose and North from there.

Almost went out to San Diego but cancelled the trip last minute. It felt rushed and wasn't planned enough (sure fire way to get yourself in trouble at least IME ,broke my hip that way once but that is a different story).

Also, I want to go scout Santa Maria a little more. I've heard tons of stories about seeing them there but no harvests from people I have talked to.

Either Way Hunting is Awesome rather or not we harvested. You are still hiking with a gun. What more can you ask for, lol.

On a side note we will be trying our luck with Archery and small game. I plan to lose a few arrows but should become very accurate once Deer Archery starts. Been thinking about putting together a boar hunt too but not sure if I have the cajones to try Archery with boar. In CA it is illegal to carry a side arm while bow hunting... Basically you get one shot plus I carry a machete. Not sure who would win that battle if the arrow missed the target and/or didn't drop him on contact.

 

[crazykiwi420]

Where do you live? are you allowed to hunt deer?. So much more exciting than bird hunting, the rush of shooting a roaring red stag is more of a buzz than any drug can give you.

 

[yktind]

I'm in Southern California. Deer Hunting Starts in October I believe. Never Done it before. I have a 30-06 that needs to be sighted in. I'll have to look into getting a tag.

 

[crazykiwi420]

What kind of species can you hunt? forgot NZ is one of the only places to free range hunt without tags or payments on public land.
I mainly hunt Red, Sika and Fallow but we do have some species you're familiar with like Whitetail and Wapiti(Elk) but are in the south island of my country. If you ever find yourself in New Zealand you have to hunt man no tags or anything but we stalk them and the bush is probably way more dense and scrubby, not like the nice big grassy plains you guys have.

 

[yktind]

That is awesome. I've always wanted to go to New Zealand.
In CA we have a ton of regulations but I agree with a lot of them. Fee's and tags help pay the forestry services and wardens and stuff. Of course the people that maintain the National Forest as well.

The new regulations coming out are getting ridiculous though and a ton of the laws contradict one another.

Anyway that is another conversation.

Mostly where I live we have:
Black tail and Mule Deer.
We also have Boar, Bear, Pronghorn, Big Horn Sheep. But you have to put your name in a lottery and hope you get picked.