new to the game

[Lost Cause]

Going to try turkey hunting for the first time this season. Wondering what gear is essential for a first timer.

[Cheetah]

You can get by with very little. Camo and a shotgun and you can sneak up on birds or ambush them without calling. Decoys are for guys who like to sit in one spot a lot. Calls often aren't necessary. An owl call for locating birds in the dark in the early morning is good to have. Buy a turkey choke and turkey shells for your gun if you like, but you could also use a full choke too with pheasant loads if you have a spot to shoot birds close enough.

Patience and persistence are about the most important aspects of turkey hunting.

[leech~~]

Going to try turkey hunting for the first time this season. Wondering what gear is essential for a first timer.

Lol, spot & stalk may work out west in more open areas, but good luck with that here in Minnesota. I would get a few cheap hunting videos during the off season and watch them. You can get equipement, call, decoy and bird reaction ideas by watching them.

[DonBo]

A pop-up blind is the best investment I ever made for killing turkeys, spring or fall.

In the fall I like to set up right near where your scouting tells you is their roost area. Wait for them to come in in the evenings, and get there well before light in the morning and wait for them to wake up and fly down.

During the day, you may be able to find a flock and do a stalk on them, but around here, most often what happens is you scare them onto the neighbors property never to be seen again.

[Lost Cause]

I'll be parking it in a blind. Am I nuts for wanting to add to the challenge by using my bow?

[S.D. Ice Angular]

I'll be parking it in a blind. Am I nuts for wanting to add to the challenge by using my bow?

Parking what? Your A$$? I guess no matter what you are implying NO using a bow is a great way to go a little tougher in the fall but very doable.

[efishsport]

Doing a spot and stalk turkeys does work in MN, but you have to have the right type of terrain. I've done it successfully many times--but there are a lot of rolling hills in the area I hunt. It is difficult to do, but it can be done!

[Powerstroke]

Turkeys from the blind is a great idea for first timers because it allows you to move a little and watch a little longer.

Using the bow is certainly possible, but it makes it exceptionally tougher. I'm not saying its impossible. I got my first bird with a bow this past spring. If you've never checked out where to shoot though, you better do some research. The vitals area on a turkey is about the size of a baseball, maybe a softball.

Good luck!!

[Lost Cause]

yea I'm going to try bow the first two weeks and if I come up empty will be bringing my shot gun out. I just like the challenge of using my bow. Kind of like bow hunting deer is more fun than using a gun, at least for me anyways.

[bigbucks]

Doing a spot and stalk turkeys does work in MN, but you have to have the right type of terrain. I've done it successfully many times--but there are a lot of rolling hills in the area I hunt. It is difficult to do, but it can be done!

For sure, the majority of my birds have been killed in run & gun mode. Fall birds I've killed have been spotted first & ambushed enroute to roost.