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Turkey hunting is challenging, exciting and in some cases becomes addictive. Turkey's senses are extremely keen - even your heart pounding can make the turkey vanish like a puff of smoke.

Basic help in turkey hunting

Before you can hunt a wild turkey, you have got to find them. The easiest way to do this is by locating the general areas of the turkey's habitat.

' Get a good map of the area you plan to hunt.

' Wave or use a locator call like an owl hooter or crow call or even a turkey call to try to get a response. When you hear a gobbler, mark the locator map.

' Scout for the best location on foot. Check for signs of the bird's scratches, droppings of feathers. This information can help you locate some areas. Check along mud holes, creek banks, pastures, log roads, fencerows etc. as many trips as possible.

' Never try to get too close to the turkey. A turkey's eyes, ears and awareness are many times better than yours.

' Choose a tree that is wider than your shoulders. This will protect you from other hunters that might come behind you and mistakenly assume that you are a real turkey.

' Camouflage is almost a must to avoid being seen. Wild turkeys have such keen vision. Many turkey hunters usually wear camo suit, cap, facemask, gloves, vest with many pockets to carry calls and maybe a snack. Also do not forget to wear dark colored socks so that when you sit down, they would not show you. But the main thing to remember: your movement is more important; regardless of how well you are camouflage. It doesn't make you completely visible. Even though you are camouflage, you are still an unnatural form in the woods. Movement is the greatest enemy of the turkey hunter. A turkey can detect you 10 times faster than you sense the turkey.

' The best shotgun and ammunition for turkey hunting is the combination that delivers a dense, hard-hitting pattern at 40-45 yards. Practice with a target that portrays a turkey's vital head and neck area. These parts are the ones that you should be shooting. You should have at least 8-10 pellets in the vital area at 40 yards.

' Do not hide so well that you cannot see what is happening. Blinds are useful for the turkey hunter, but when constructed so well that vision is obstructed, it is no longer a blind, and it is a hiding place, as beneficial to the turkey as it is to you.

' Cease from using gobbler calls. Although this call can sometimes be productive, it is also very dangerous. In areas where many hunters are located, you can attract hunters to you rather than turkeys.

' Never wear any red, white or blue clothes. These are the colors of the gobbler's head - the main target of a turkey hunter.

' If another hunter is working a bird, do not mess everything up by trying to call the bird to you or spooking the bird. This is very unsportsmanlike. The true and experienced hunters do not do that kind of thing.