Turkey Hunting - A Skilled Sport

Turkey hunting either in the spring or the fall can be challenging to say the least. Turkeys have great eyesight, and also good hearing, so that you have to be very careful that they do not see or hear you.

Camouflage is needed, so that you blend in with the scenery, but this is different in the fall to spring, so make sure you get the color scheme correct. Fall is the time for browns, yellow and gold, whereas spring is the time for browns with the start of different shades of green.

Camouflage clothes are not the only thing to be camouflaged. You need to camouflage your gun as much as possible, or the shaft or your bow and arrow, if that is your weapon of choice.

You need to be aware of other turkey hunters in the area, especially when you are using decoys and calls. Calls are great for attracting the turkeys, but they will also attract other hunters to the area. Make sure you call to these hunters so they know you are there, and make sure you are not in a position that you could be shot by these hunters if they miss the turkey and you are next in line.

Turkeys can be very challenging to hunt, which is why many hunters like to try. However, to be a successful turkey hunter, you need to have patience to wait for the turkeys to arrive. This means that you have to know where the turkeys are likely to end up, and getting there before them. Then you wait patiently. How do you do this? You can follow their tracks, search for their roosts, or look for their feeding area or where they drink. There is real skill in this.

You could set up a turkey blind, a place where you can stay hidden from the turkeys, and where you can wait patiently without being seen. Some hunters prefer to use tree stands, or else they just take advantage of the natural cover in the area. Others just rest patiently on tree stumps. By blending in with the surroundings you increase the chances of having a successful turkey hunt, but you have to make very few moves too, and remain quiet at all times.

It doesn't take much to spook turkeys, so what this means is that you may only get one shot at a turkey, as raising your gun, or setting your bow and arrow can easily alert these birds, and then they are gone for the day. This means that you need to get your shot off quickly, and accurately which is what makes turkey hunting so challenging, and why there are so many hunters who just love this challenging sport.