Wild Turkey Hunting   The wild turkey (Mellagris gallopavo) is the largest game bird in the United States of which there are 5 sub species, Eastern, Florida, Gould's, Merriam's and Rio Grande. These sub species can and do cross breed which create unique hybrids.  Wild turkeys fly at a speed of about 35 - 45 miles per hour.  Wild turkey toms by the time they're 10 months old (jakes), weigh 14 or 15 pounds. As adults, gobblers typically weigh in between 17 and 22 pounds and stand 36 to 40 inches in height.  In all the subspecies turkey hens are noticeably smaller than toms, usually weighing in at 8 to 11 pounds and standing about 30 inches in height.  Turkey hens nest in a variety of habitat types, including pine forests and young cutovers/regeneration areas, old fields, hay fields, and rights-of-way. Nest sites generally have dense, herbaceous cover and some shrub cover at the ground level, with some form of woody structure around the nest. The majority of nests are located within 30 - 40 feet of a forest edge such as a logging road or firebreak.  Young turkeys consume mostly insects the first couple of weeks after hatching, and thereafter quickly begin to pick up fruits and seeds. For poult protection, vegetation dense enough to afford some cover from predators is necessary. Forest edges adjoining fields and openings can provide this cover and are excellent brood habitat during this vulnerable time. Forest harvesting activities can be planned to provide a good mix of mature to young forest.  During the fall, turkeys begin to shift their ranges as food sources change to such items as dogwood fruits and oak acorns. Many times forests will provide better winter range for turkeys than other vegetative types, as mast foods such as acorns become available. Turkeys may move from pines into mixed pine-hardwood or hardwood stands during this period, but pine stands may continue to see heavy use in winter (pine seed is good turkey food).  During the spring, as winter flocks break up, a variety of forested habitats are used, but turkeys tend to move toward areas with greater amounts of openings such as pasture fields. Openings are used extensively during the spring breeding season as areas to display and mate. They also provide a food source of greens and insects.  Turkeys roost in a variety of forested habitats but often prefer to roost in conifers located adjacent to a water source. On upland forested sites, turkeys frequently roost on slopes near ridgetops or knolls. Many times these roost sites offer protection from adverse weather, with the particular roost tree chosen for protection. Turkey Hunting Tip - Ammunition:  Turkey hunting shotgun ammunition is made with 2 different objectives or school of thought in mind.  1. High speed turkey loads refer to shotshells that have less oz. of shot in them and are loaded to a higher velocity, delivering more energy per pellet.  2. Magnum turkey loads refer to shotshells that have a maximum amount of shot in them and are loaded to a lower velocity, therefore delivering a denser pattern.  Note: When buying your favorite brand buy 1 box of each to find what your turkey shotgun likes best because they pattern very differently. Turkey Hunting Tip - Concealment:  A turkey has very good eye sight even the slightest movement or light reflection from a moving shotgun will put a wary tom to flight. Camo for hunter and gun alike is a very essential part of turkey hunting and highly recommended.  A turkey has monocular vision, this can be attributed to their eyes being set on both sides of their head with a 300 degree viewing area. This allows them to view almost all of their surroundings without moving their head. For the turkey hunter, concealment is one of the most vital aspects of turkey hunting, using a turkey blind is an excellent way to be concealed from your quary. Turkey Hunting Tip - Shotgun Sights:  Fiber optic sights have just about made standard gold or white bead sights on turkey hunting shotguns obsolete. The TruGlo extreme light gathering fiber optic sighting system started the trend. Early morning low light or middle of the afternoon bright light situations these sights work extremely well. Turkey Hunting Tip - Decoys:  Turkey decoys work extremely well on birds that are hard hunted often coaxing in the wariest of toms. The more realistic the decoy looks the better it will work. If you use a jake in your turkey decoy mix, position it closest to you as any big tom will confront the jake to drive it away from the hens. Turkey Hunting Tip - Turkey Calls:  A gobbler can hear your calls and locate you from about a hundred yards away. At daybreak, when turkeys first come off the roost, use your call and do some cutting notes. Keep it brief, six seconds at most. Then make four or five yelping notes and wait approximately 20 minutes or so, then yelp a few more notes. Repeat this process approximately every twenty to thirty minutes for up to 2 hours. Turkey Hunting Tip - Turkey Shotgun Choke Tubes:  Turkey choke tubes have 2 very unique designs, non ported and ported if using a shotgun that has a ported barrel then the non ported tube is a good choice if using a shotgun with no barrel porting then you should use a ported tube. Porting reduces wad pressure and acceleration that is amplified by extreme constriction of turkey choke tubes. Copyright 2001 - 2010.