Newbie, advise needed pleassssse

[dave300]

Southern Nevada Turkey tag lottery recepeint. One of 5 tags awarded with a 5 day season, begins March 18th.
I do have bit of local help who are casual Turkey hunters.
I can use my bow or shotgun and strongly prefer to use my bow.
Having said that, should I have decoys to be prepared? Type? Quantity?
Call? type? Ease of use would be preferred?
Broadhead? Prefer to stay away from any head shot type broadheads.
Any additional advice would be welcomed
TIA

 

[Zen Archery]

Having said that, should I have decoys to be prepared? Type? Quantity?

4, don't go cheap. 2 Hens, Jake, Tom

Call? type? Ease of use would be preferred?

Box are the easiest to learn

Broadhead?

Wide mechanical.

Prefer to stay away from any head shot type broadheads.

These actually work great.

Any additional advice would be welcomed
TIA

I'd def get a blind, natural or pop up. Their eyes are incredible.

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

Southern Nevada Turkey tag lottery recepeint. One of 5 tags awarded with a 5 day season, begins March 18th.
I do have bit of local help who are casual Turkey hunters.
I can use my bow or shotgun and strongly prefer to use my bow.
Having said that, should I have decoys to be prepared? Type? Quantity?
Call? type? Ease of use would be preferred?
Broadhead? Prefer to stay away from any head shot type broadheads.
Any additional advice would be welcomed
TIA

By avoiding hunting then with a shotgun, you are drastically reducing your chance of success!
Turkey hunting is plenty difficult as it is with a shotgun.
You certainly will need a ground blind, but this then limits your mobility.

 

[Lee7588]

When you go to hunt take a shotgun with you, if you have a 5 days hunt and you are one of 5 tags awarded then do what you can with your bow but give yourself a backup that improves your odds of filling your tag

 

[cm1021]

Being new to turkey hunting, and drawing what sounds like a highly coveted tag, take a shotgun. That's a super short window to get it done in and choosing a bow is going to make it even harder, almost impossible I would say.

Not sure what species you'll be hunting as I've never looked into Nevada hunting, but turkey gear I'd mostly universal. As for calls, get a push box and remember, less is always more when calling. We're trying to convince a Tom to do the complete opposite of his nature, come to the hen vs the hen going to him.

 

[littlebighorn]

I have hunted turkeys in Utah a fair amount. I think it's a way fun challenge but it's way more difficult than most think. Calling in Toms is an art, not usually mastered the first time out. They can see the slightest movement and I agree that you will have to be very lucky to kill one with a bow if this is your maiden voyage.
I go out after dark and use a coyote howl to try to locate where they are roosting. Then I get near before daylight and hope they come my way when they fly down. If you can connect with someone who has hunted your area before, it will give you a big leg up.
Best of luck

 

[Rick Richard]

All good advice. Shotgun for sure. Blind if using a bow. I don't like decoys since I want the Tom to come in looking for that hen. Also, if the Tom answers your call then he knows where you're at . So, at this point keep the calling to a minimum or don't call at all. Remember, "curiosity killed the cat (turkey). Good luck and let us know how you do.

 

[rbrhea]

Use a blind with a bow, but I'd also recommend a shotgun. I'd only switch to a bow when newbie was far from you! When using a shotgun, I'd leave the blind at home and also wouldn't screw around with a bunch of decoys. A box call would be a good option, but you need to practice calling very softly. (It can be hard to call softly on a box call.) Try not to call more than (a hesitant maybe) once or twice while the birds are in the tree. Use the terrain to your advantage when setting up or moving. Finally, when he's headed your way - shut up, put the call down, and get ready to shoot!

 

[Tulsa Reiner]

Use a blind with a bow, but I'd also recommend a shotgun. I'd only switch to a bow when newbie was far from you! When using a shotgun, I'd leave the blind at home and also wouldn't screw around with a bunch of decoys. A box call would be a good option, but you need to practice calling very softly. (It can be hard to call softly on a box call.) Try not to call more than (a hesitant maybe) once or twice while the birds are in the tree. Use the terrain to your advantage when setting up or moving. Finally, when he's headed your way - shut up, put the call down, and get ready to shoot!

"Rhea's short course in turkey hunting"

 

[OG10]

First question have you talked to the Wildlife Biologist in your hunt area,second question have you ever hunted in the area for the tag you have drawn?

 

[dave300]

First question have you talked to the Wildlife Biologist in your hunt area,second question have you ever hunted in the area for the tag you have drawn?

Part of my hunt unit is in fact on a WMA, without a bit of a joke, I have seen no less than 20 turkeys in the Game Wardens front yard located on the WMA. I have never seen them on the WMA outside of them being on his front lawn, guessing that the Turkey have learned his yard being off limits, considering that we dove hunt and late season duck and goose hunt which is pretty dismal til the very end when migrations arrive. My point is the Sept to January gunfire has prolly accustom them to being on the off limits area his home is located on.
The entire valley of my hunt area is mostly private and being only an hour from Las Vegas, most locals have had a belly full of "Vegas transplants", but I believe I may some land accesses from a few friends that live in the valley.
Next couple weekends will be used to spend some scouting time, securing permissions, looking for roosting areas and trying to identify amy patterns.

 

[OG10]

OK good you have some minimal Intel on the area that's always a bonus next I've hunted turkeys in five different states successfully over the past 50 years and religiously in Texas every year for the past 35 I missed a few seasons being out of the country anyways the point being as someone suggested a shotgun gives you a little bit of an advantage to the fact you don't have to move to draw, a box call requires you to use your hands to move the device which creates movement turkeys have very good eyesight do not underestimate it, full body camo relative to the train you're going to be in, a face mask with a cut out for eyes and mouth only things to break up your silhouette sitting against deadfall moving through leaning up against trees/ rocks, vegetation turkey hunting is great you will learn a lot in the woods just being there but for a first timer a box call could be an advantage however if you have the ability acquire some mouth calls and start practicing you could give them a try every hunt is a learning experience some of the curves are steeper than others enjoy your hunt if you have any questions feel free to ask decoys are good but you've got to be in an area that has birds in it spring hunts depending on the location can be hit and miss spring rain spring winds all those could affect your hunt birds like bugs ,seeds/grains flowers in the spring they like to strut finding an area listening and moving accordingly to position yourself in the best possible position is very advantageous to turkey hunting ,don't confine yourself to one small spot use your binoculars use your ears look for them move to intercept. Finding Turkeys coming off of the roost or going to their roost will help to put you in a position to be successful look for the tall trees and areas I've hunted generally that is the place they will roost for the night.PS my punctuation may not be great never was an A student in English class

 

[dave300]

Good evening all, finally getting a minute to update the thread and again thank everyone for their input along with a few of my observations.
I was succesful in harvesting a mature Tom, however it was with my shotgun and I'm ok with that. Pretty consistent and heavy winds thwarted my archery attempts along unseasonably cold weather and a over average amount of precipitation, all this weather is very unseasonable for being 1 hour north of Las Vegas.
Observation 1;
In both instances of setting up a pop up ground blind, one being in place for 5 days and one for 3 days, both proved to be a deterring factor. The blind that was in place for 5 days was well brushed in and 20 yards off of a well traveled roost to field trail that had a concrete pad that proved to be helpful in recognizing Turkeys were using that trail due to the amount of droppings that were not being left behind soon after the blind was placed and as such the amount of droppings left behind significantly picked up after the second day of the blind being removed. The other example was a blind being in place on a section of property we gained permission for and patterned a group of turkeys on. It was tucked into the trees and no other brush was placed simply as none was available but set as far off of the path they used and to still provide a shooting lane, approx 20 yards. We sat it 3 times and they just moved to and from, well outside of the shooting range of my bow or shotgun with a clear view of the decoys and very limited to no calling. It was clearly obvious the group that included 3 Toms had zero interest in getting near the blind.
Interesting enough, there is a elevated area that allowed us to look down upon the fields from 1000 yards away and we watched the fields pretty much daily and after day one of the blind being down, timing must've been just right as we looked from our vantage point 3 hens slow fed right out of the very area the blind was set up, however we did not see the Toms in this instance.
Observation 2;
They do not like the wind. I am convinced as with many animals the wind limits their senses and makes them a bit more vulnerable as their movement was significantly reduced when the winds were around the 25-30 mph range and unfortunately that was fairly often. It did seem the few calm moments after the winds elevated their daily activities as if to be they didn't get to feed or water as they would normally? The light rains seemed to have no affect.
Observation 3;
Although the Toms strutted with one and another, very little fighting or challenging was viewed until the evening that my Tom came in as I got to watch a magnificent flock of turkeys 30 or so strong with several Toms go at it. Straight up in the air and down on one and another and the sounds they made was incredible to witness.
This morning started as a strange morning with big winds, hardly any roost gobbling and only saw 2 turkeys in the morning.
The fighting started that evening in the field just north of the field we were set up in, lasting 5-7 minutes. Just prior to that was a ton of ruckus going on west of me in the no hunt area. I presume they were fighting then as well?
I was lightly and very limited in my purr calling and apparently a Tom broke away from the flock out of my view, as the entire flock headed west back into their roost area near sunset, but I had my friend Ced tucked in SW corner glassing back to me, when he texted one coming down the road directly to you. I would've blown it thinking they all had stayed way north, and went to roost for the night with just 5 minutes to go til shooting time ended.
As he came into my field of view, he stopped, looked at my Jake and hen decoy, did a 360, then fanned/strutted and walked over, pecked my jake once, and that was that. I suspect he may have been one if not the only one of the dominant Toms and he just couldn't let the Jake have one of his girls.

 

[dave300]

A few pics