First Time Turkey Hunting

My first time turkey hunting was a great experience. I chose a familiar piece of public land that I found while perusing the On X app. The last time I was hiking the trail of this WMA was over the winter. (Check out the post: Public Land – Packed It Out)

I am in the very early stages of learning to hunt, and doing my very best to be a human sponge for all information about the sport. Like most things, I want to be able to do it right. Until I am able to successfully call a turkey in and shoot it with my camera, I will not be taking a firearm with me.

I want to successfully call a turkey in close, and study its behavior with my own eyes. See how it reacts to different noises, and also see what noises or movements will scare it off. I want to know what to really look for and expect when I am out there with a firearm.

The call I picked up is a Primos Rare Breed Slate Pot Call. I think I’ve been pretty successful with making 1 call, but definitely have TONs of room for improvement. I’ve been watching Youtube videos of guys using it, and recently read a great article from Meat Eater about the different calls that a turkey makes.

I was unsuccessful calling in a turkey, but I did spot 2 hen turkey while I was hiking to a new location. Definitely going to bring my Birds of Minnesota Field Guide with me next time I’m out. This WMA has a small lake on it, and it’s pretty marshy. It was full of geese, ducks, and a few blue herons that are always fun to watch.

Wrote some quick notes, but had to update them. I went back to the remains I found, and they were not from a turkey. The remains were from a goose, and 2 ducks. I’m still going through those photographs and I’ll have another post up about them later.

I think my first time turkey hunting was a success. I wasn’t able to call in any turkey, but that’s okay. Positives from this outing:

• Explored some public land.
• Familiarized myself with my new slate pot turkey call.
• Found some remains of what I thought was a turkey, but turned out to be 1 goose, and 2 duck. (Will share later)
• Saw a few ring necked pheasant.
• No ticks.

Looking forward to getting out, again.