Turkey Hunting

Turkey hunting is a national pastime where people hunt the elusive wild turkey. This effort began with the Native Americans, and has now expanded into a huge area of hunting activity.

History
Turkey populations have been up and down in recent years. In the early 20th century, habitat destruction, over-hunting, and a lenient regulatory atmosphere caused the wild turkey's numbers to drop significantly. Today, happily, more than 8 million turkeys call North America home.

Turkey Hunting Techniques
The wild turkey is often hunted in the spring or fall; male turkeys are typically hunted in Spring, while both male and female turkeys are hunted in Fall.

Shotguns are a popular weapon of choice for turkey hunters, as is the AR-15. Some hunters choose to hunt using a bow-and-arrow.

Turkey Calling
One of the most important aspects of turkey hunting is the use of electronic or simple manual turkey calls. There are many types of calls out there, from friction calls, to box calls, to turkey mouth calls, to slate calls. These call types have varying levels of difficulty, but all can be leveraged effectively to enhance one's hunt.

There are also locator calls, which are very useful for shocking a gobbler into gobbling. This is often a shrill crow, owl, or hawk call, intended to help the hunter locate the turkey.