TURKEY HUNTING
The 2011 Georgia turkey season starts on March 26th and runs to May 15th. Getting ready for opening day takes us through several steps of preparation. We get turkey reports throughout the deer season and this year the hunters have seen good flocks, and we have reports of some excited gobbling as well.
The excitement of turkey season approaching is evident as we attend many of the NWTF Banquets held early in the year. We get to see products useful in the turkey woods and the fellowship with other turkey hunters encourages us to start the preparations needed for hunting success. This is also a good time to pick up some new calls and hunting accessories.
Every year there is one call that seems to be a new secret weapon and if you are lucky enough to find the right call, it will give you a big advantage over that wise ol' Tom. People in the call industry are always looking for a new twist on their calls, something that will make them stand out over the rest. It's always a good practice to get new mouth calls and go through your old calls to see what needs maintenance or replacing. Be sure to check your locator calls and always have a couple on hand to make an ol' gobbler talk to you without the worry of him moving premature on your location. We like to use a good owl hooter or crow call as our locator. Now is a good time to do some practice calling and tuning all of your calls. We don't do any calling in the woods we hunt before season. Calling to birds you are going to hunt may educate them to a point where they don't come in during the season. Using a locator call is OK, but try to stay well away from the birds if possible.
Knowing how your gun will pattern a certain shell at a given yardage is very important. Guns and chokes are advancing rapidly as well as the technology shell manufacturers are using to customize loads for specific hunting uses. Many manufacturers have dedicated "Turkey Loads" that were developed to have high energy and tight patterns at long ranges. If you are shooting a new gun or have changed the type of shell you're planning to shoot, then it's always a good idea to go out and pattern that load. We
like to shoot a couple patterns at 20 yards to get the aim point and then move your target out to your maximum range to check pellet density in the kill zone. We have found some loads will shoot a tighter pattern with a more open choke tube, but as a general rule, going to a full choke or one og the newer turkey choke tubes will usually give you a tighter pattern. Experiment with different loads and manufacturers to see which combination shoots the best pattern for your gun set-up. This exercise will give you confidence in knowing what your gun will do and at what ranges you will be able to make a clean and ethical shot.