Frankfort, Kentucky – If you watch a sports channel on Saturday morning during the early spring, there is a good chance you will see footage of someone turkey hunting. Squatting against a tree with a camouflaged semi-automatic shotgun, dressed in full camouflage from head to toe, wearing a turkey hunting vest that has a seat cushion, the television hunter looks like he threw out $2,500 in gear.

An average person can do the same thing for a fraction of that amount if they are patient. “Take the time to learn to hunt before you buy anything,” said Norm Minch, avid turkey hunter and assistant director of the information and education division of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Getting a turkey close is much more important than the cost of your equipment. Increase your woodsmanship and decrease your cost.”

Ask turkey hunting friends or relatives if they have any old calls they will sell. There is a good chance they’ll give you one, as most turkey hunters collect calls like bass anglers collect crankbaits. Slate, push button or box calls are good choices for a beginner. Mouth calls take more time to learn, but are convenient to use because they keep your hands free.

Learn the cluck and yelp calls first before advancing to the purr, the kee-kee run and the cackle. You can buy inexpensive cassette tapes that teach the basics of calling. Local libraries sometimes have these tapes that you can check-out for free.

“Learn to use your calls. That is the most important thing you can do to help yourself,” said Minch, who can be found on a Shelby County hillside with his father many mornings during turkey season. “Also, after the season is over, take care of your calls. Many hunters throw their calls behind the seat of their trucks or in the trunk of their cars and forget about them. Heat is hard on the diaphragm of mouth calls. Moisture and heat can warp a box call. If you abuse your calls, you have to replace them again next year, which is expensive.”

A turkey shotgun doesn’t have to break the bank. It is a utility gun, not something you show off for your buddies. You can find an old, beat up pump 12-gauge shotgun at a gun store for $150 or less. It doesn’t matter how many nicks or scratches Father Time put on the gun, because the next step is to cover the gun with camouflage tape. Make sure the tape doesn’t interfere with the action of the pump. Now, you have an affordable turkey gun.

There are also 12-gauge pump shotguns on the market with black synthetic stocks for under $200. A new single shot 12-gauge in full choke runs about $125. Tape them up in camouflage and you are ready to go. A shotgun that chambers a 3-inch magnum shell is the best choice, but turkey hunters harvested turkeys for decades with 2 1/2-inch shotshells. The shorter shotshell limits your effective range, however.

A 20-gauge shotgun that chambers 3-inch shells is a good choice for women and kids because of the reduced recoil. However, you must take closer shots than with a 12-gauge.

The next step is to pattern the gun with a full or extra full choke and the turkey loads you plan to use. Check your local sporting goods store for turkey shells loaded with number 4, 5 or 6 shot. Get an old piece of cardboard and a piece of white paper and check how the gun patterns at 25, 30, 35 and 40 yards. Some people use paper plates and draw an outline of their fist with a marker to simulate a turkey’s head.

Make sure the turkey load produces a consistent pattern. If there are big holes in the pattern, switch the shot size or the brand of shotshell until you get a consistent pattern. If you use size 4 shot, a modified choke may produce the best pattern.

Patterning a shotgun’s load is a great idea for all of your shotgun hunting, including doves and waterfowl. Not patterning the load is one of the great mistakes hunters make. Knowing how different loads react in your gun improves your shooting tremendously.

You also don’t need to latest, expensive camouflage on the market. Military surplus stores carry the blotchy older style of camouflage that looks like something out of the 1970s. This style of camouflage helped hunters take turkeys for decades - and it still does. The main purpose of camouflage is to break up the outline of your body in the woods. Old school camouflage does a fine job for much less than the cost of the new ultra-detailed camouflage.

Use some of these tips to save money if you want to try turkey hunting this spring. The turkeys don’t care how much you spent on your equipment.
 
Lee McClellan is an award-winning writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.