Getting Ready for Turkey Season
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Time to read 6 min
Preparation for Turkey Hunting
Looking outside at all the snow on the ground, it’s hard to believe that the Wild Turkey Season will start in Ontario, Canada in a little over 3 months! Most hunters have put away their guns after our Waterfowl season ended January 12. To be honest, the majority of Turkey hunters won’t really start thinking about hunting until the snow is gone in early April.
This time of year is a good time to slowly start preparing for the opener.
Equipment Review - January to February
I’m sure that many of you received gift cards for your favorite hunting stores. Winter is a great time to look over your equipment to organize and see what items you need. (Let’s face it, we all need more decoys, blinds, ammunition, etc!) Part of this review might include washing items like mouth calls, decoys and clothing, including face masks.
Determining what equipment you need depends on the types of hunting you do. In my case, I hunt exclusively from blinds and find the TideWe See-Through blinds are excellent. Part of my review would be setting up these blinds to ensure they are in good condition. Because I hunt from blinds, I no longer use Turkey vests. I keep all of my gear in my TideWe backpack. I can get all my gear and my coffee thermos in this backpack with no problem.
Once I find out what I need/want, I make a list and start doing some online browsing and add items to my wish list. If I find an item I want at a good price, I’ll buy it now.
Scouting
Trail Cameras
In my case, I have a number of Trail Cameras out year round in the areas where I hunt deer and Turkeys. I check these throughout the winter to see what sort of animals are around.
Once I get to the end of March, I will move my cellular trail cameras to the areas I traditionally hunt. This allows me to scout without interfering with the turkeys.
Boots on the ground
A great time to get out looking for Turkey sign is from mid-March to the opener. You can also combine some hunting for shed antlers. Deer and Turkeys often occupy the same areas like hardwood forests and food sources such as harvested corn and bean fields. I look for Turkey sign such as tracks, droppings, areas where the ground has been dug up and feathers. One of the best indicators of a roosting site is turkey feathers and droppings. It’s always good to have a pair of binoculars with you and to try to walk along field edges so you are partially hidden.
Scouting with your ears
As we get closer to opening day, you will start to hear hens, Toms and Jakes calling. One of the best times to hear turkeys is the same time you would be hunting, early morning. Hearing hens calling and the responding gobbles can indicate where the birds are roosting. This also just adds to the excitement of hunting.
Once you find the roosts, you have a good idea of where to set up for the opener.
You can also use online mapping to find possible areas to hunt. Google Earth shows elevation, etc and their photos are fairly current.
Getting Permission to hunt
If you have been hunting an area for a while, you have a good idea of where the turkeys will be roosting, feeding, strutting and nesting. If you are lucky, you have permission to hunt these properties. March to early April is a good time to drop by to talk to landowners to visit and confirm you still have permission to hunt. They will quite often let you know where they have seen any turkeys on their properties. This is a great time to drop off a small gift such as pepperettes made from wild game or a bottle of wine.
You can also confirm when and where you will be hunting. I regularly share my Wild Turkey meat with one landowner that owns 300 acres that I hunt on.
Patterning your shotgun - sighting in your bow
This is one of the most critical steps in your preparation for Turkey hunting. Your success is dependent on knowing exactly where your shot is going to be.
When patterning a shotgun, I set up 20 yards from my target. This gives me a good idea of where my pellets are going when I shoot. I use a tripod or bipod to be as accurate as possible. I will record the type of shell and shot sizes on the targets. I can then determine where I should be aiming and what shell I should use. Once I find the best combination, I will do at least one more test shot at 30 yards.
I always have my decoys set up 15 yards from my blind and probably 80% of the turkeys shot are 15 to 20 yards away.
Sighting in a crossbow or a bow, I set up for 20 yards and once I am confident the bow is sighted in properly, I will shoot at 15, 25 and 30 yards.
It’s all about being confident that your weapon will allow you to make killing shots.
Weather Patterns
Last year we had a very mild winter and as a result, I was seeing Turkeys regularly on my trail cameras in my hardwood forest. As there was little snow cover, they could look for food almost everywhere. The impact of this was that the birds did not form large flocks as they do during traditional winters.
When there is a lot of snow, the food sources are harder to find and turkeys will tend to form larger flocks close to sources of food. While the hens and last year’s poults group separate from the Toms and James, they will come together at good food sources.
Once the snow cover disappears, they will range further and in smaller flocks. They start to move to their spring roosting, feeding, and nesting areas. This is a great time to be out scouting for Turkeys.
Reviewing Turkey hunting regulations
It’s always a good idea to review the hunting regulations for your hunting area and to purchase your tags. In Ontario we are allowed to buy 2 tags for bearded Turkeys. The tags cannot be used on the same day.
I buy my tags online and print them immediately to confirm my printer is working correctly. I usually do this at the start of April. These are then put with my other Turkey hunting gear.
Once I have filled my tags, I can still assist other hunters to fill their tags.
In Ontario we are also required to complete a Wild Turkey harvest report, even if we have not shot a turkey. It’s a good idea to review what is reported so you can keep accurate records during the season.
Online research and watching videos
There are all kinds of information available online to help Turkey hunters be successful. YouTube is a great place to see how to do anything from patterning your shotgun to how to butcher and cook your Wild Turkey. It’s also entertaining to watch hunts and enjoy other’s hunts. On those stormy winter days when you are stuck inside, a couple of hours of Turkey hunting shows or videos can be time well spent.
Author
John Matthews
My name is John Matthews and I have always loved being in the outdoors. I started hunting ducks over 56 years ago, and I now hunt waterfowl, deer, turkeys, moose and small game. I have been hunting Wild Turkeys in Southwestern Ontario for the past 17 years. I retired in 2012 and since then I have helped over 20 hunters shoot their first Turkey. Being retired allows me the time to show new hunters how to be successful and safe hunters.
