Braxton Taylor
No one wakes up addicted to meth. Just like no one casually strolls into the backcountry to hunt elk. There’s a natural progression of slipping into hunting madness, and turkey hunting can be the gateway drug that sends a person down that rabbit hole.
Tags are cheap, it requires little gear, and I can’t think of anything more fun than watching a tom strut and gobble his head off on the other side of a shotgun bead. Whether you’re taking a youth or introducing a late-in-life hunter, turkey hunting provides a fun entry into the sport.
Take a Buddy
A few years ago I offered to take a friend turkey hunting for the first time. He was a bit hesitant at first, mainly because his only hunting experience involved sitting in a box stand and watching a green patch for deer. He assumed that turkey hunting would be the same. After much convincing, he finally agreed. While he didn’t kill a turkey on his first hunt, he did get to see three strutters gobble their heads off just across the property line we had permission to hunt. It was an insane hunt for anyone, much less a new hunter. My friend was hooked.
Fast forward a couple years, and he’s bought his own turkey hunting shotgun, bagged his first bird, and even attempted to hunt another state. Not only is he addicted to turkey hunting, but I’ve also managed to talk him into a few pubic land whitetail hunts. And it only took one encounter for him to start researching the best deer hunting rifles.
But don’t think I didn’t benefit from his newfound love for turkey hunting either. I’ve got another hunting buddy, I get to tag along with him once I’ve tagged out, and getting to see one of your best buds shoot their first turkey is more rewarding than doing it yourself. Plus, missing a turkey with your hunting partner is a lot easier to shake off than missing one by yourself. Which is exactly what we did last year. We both missed the same bird, had a good laugh, and set out to strike another one.
Low Stakes, Lots of Fun
Unlike other big game, turkey hunting has a lot less riding on it. Sure, it sucks when you miss a turkey or spook one, but it’s not nearly as deflating as whiffing on a mature whitetail or a stud bull that you called into bow range.
While there’s not one waiting around every corner, it isn’t out of the question to strike another one if you blow your first hunt. It’s low stakes for everyone involved, especially for new hunters who have zero notion of what to expect.
Learn the Basics
Teaching a new hunter to scout and interpret turkey sign can provide less of a challenge than other game species. One reason is that turkeys are diurnal creatures. They’re only active during the day. If you find a place with tons of fresh tracks, scratching, or scat, you’ve found where the turkeys roam during shooting hours, which new hunters can wrap their brains around.
Teach them how to roost a turkey, and they’re on their way. There’s obviously a lot they’ll need to learn about calling, turkey habits, and habitat, but these foundational skills are a great starting place and will translate to other species as well.
If you’ve ever taken a new hunter to the woods, you know that stealth is the first skill they need to hone. Thankfully, turkeys can’t smell like deer. This means you can help a new hunter work on being still and silent without having them juggle the added complexity of wind direction and scent mitigation. Of course, what turkeys lack in smelling capabilities, they make up for with periscopic vision, meaning they have a nearly 300-degree viewing window at all times. If they can learn to be still enough to kill a turkey, they’ll do just fine with other game species.
Even if they’re lucky enough to fill a tag, new hunters need to know how to dress and prep their kill. Unlike skinning a deer, dressing a turkey is quick and painless. Whether they decide to piece it out or pluck the whole bird, new hunters are probably more familiar with the anatomy than other critters, thanks to the local grocery store and Thanksgiving at Granny’s. Still, dressing a turkey is an easy way to introduce someone to cleaning their kill and probably something they can do by themselves after just one crash course.
Last Call
There are few things more satisfying than tagging a turkey. Watching someone bag their first is one of them. It’s a great reminder for those of us who came from hunting families that not everyone has the same opportunity. And sharing the opportunity to hunt is a great way of making certain it goes on. Turkey season can’t get here fast enough.
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