Take your kid turkey hunting

[whiskey]

I saw the discussion in the TWRA thread about taking a kid turkey hunting. Well, IMHO, turkey hunting is a great way to get a kid fired up about the outdoors. The weather is generally mild. The woods are starting to come alive with new leaves and flowers. Turkey hunting has to be one of the most interactive hunts available in Tennessee. If things get slow, move. If you can't find birds, pick flowers or go mushroom hunting. Spring squirrel seasons usually overlaps the end of turkey season, so hunt a bushy tail. 

 

My daughter started turkey hunting around 10 years old. She was a small kid and handled a 20ga recoil pretty good. I started her off with bird shot and only asked her to shoot 1 3" turkey load at practice. When she fired her first 3" turkey load in the field she never noticed the recoil. She loves playing around with the turkey calls too. Another big advantage is you can go out and start a turkey hunt any time of the day. If your kid is strictly opposed to getting up before dawn, take them out at 9am or 2pm. Depending on their age, you can set up a blind or run and gun. I started my daughter in a blind, right out in the open in a field. Now we go light and mobile. 

 

One thing I would avoid is trying to get a small 8 year old to shoot a 3" magnum load from a singe shot youth-sized 20ga. Those single shots kick like a mule. A pump or semi auto weighs enough to tame the recoil a bit more. Also, there is nothing wrong with using #5 or #6 lead field load in 2 3/4" shells. Just call that turkey in close so they can make a clean kill shot. My daughter killed her first tom at 15 yards. She killed her second at 40. #5 or #6 with a full or extra full choke should be a good killer under 25 yards. Just be sure to pattern your shotguns. Try to get a pattern with 80-100 pellets in a 10 inch circle. Let the pattern set your maximum distance. I wouldn't suggest going smaller than a #6 with lead loads. You can get down to a #7 with Hevi-Shot or even a #9 with TSS. We use the Hevi Shot Magnum Blends with #5,6,7 in a Mossberg bantam pump with an UnderTaker choke tube and it is a good killer out to 40 yards. That said, we try to keep shots in the 20 to 30 yard range. One thing to keep in mind if you go with a really tight choke is missing when the bird is in close. My daughter's gun is shooting a softball sized group at 15 yards. She has to make sure her aim and trigger squeeze are perfect or she will miss in close. 

 

As far as camo goes, I would recommend getting a small adult sized 3-D leafy mesh camo suit. Wally world sells one that is reasonably priced. This will allow your kid to grow through a few years and still have camo. It will keep you from spending 100 dollars every year on new pants, shirts and jackets. They can wear whatever they want under the 3-D suit. The suit is mesh so it's not too hot. It has elastic cuffs so it can fit a good variety of body sizes. We are going on our 4th year without having to buy camo. Well, I still had to buy "fashion" camo for the little hillbilly. :)

 

Don't forget the bug spray and maybe a Thermacell. 

 

 

[UncleJak]

Great idea!  My son has been interested in squirrel hunting and turkey hunting, So I think it is time to get started.

[Guest capt usa]

This is so true. The first year I carried my son (he was 10) I called in one but he missed it. The next year I was able to call him up another one and he shot it. It started flopping around and I told him to go get it and when he got there he jumped on it like a pro wrestler. He looked like a frog jumping into a pond. We both still laugh about it sometimes, one of the best outdoor trips I've ever had.

[whiskey]

My daughter missed a jake her first year and rolled backwards downhill after the shot. We always laugh about that too. It cut her a full flip.

[ShaunM]

My daughter is 8 and she has begged me to let her go this year. Looks like I will be calling up some birds for her.

[ls-vtec]

my daughter is 5 and she sat in the blind with me last year for a couple hours . i enjoyed it and will take her again this year . even if you dont see any birds you can show her/him about the outdoors . we saw hawks , snakes ,she picked flowers on the way in and out ,and she still remembers most of what i told her . i also gave her an old box call to drive her mom nuts with lol. she is getting surprisingly good with it .  i cant wait she will be old enough to try for her own bird in 2014 and by fall for a deer we are both super excited .

[Cajun]

Good thread!

[Guest Tennessean]

I'm looking forward to taking my 6 year old this year. I put a 6 position collapsible ATI stock on my old Mossberg 500A along with a Stony Point bipod. We've been practicing with Fiocchi Golden Pheasant #6. We'll be shooting out of a blind, and out to 30 yards, we'll have a dead bird.

[EastHipster]

My 8 year old son is planning to call for me.

Don't think that Mom will let him have a 20Ga yet :)

[dickenscpa]

My son is just now 10 but he's been turkey and deer hunting with me since he was 4. Obviously those front end years he didn't shoot. Actually so far, rabbit and squirrel is the only shooting he's done, but since he was 5 or 6 he has been AMAZING at calling turkeys. He loves sitting out in the blind and using the turkey calls. About 5 years ago he called in a big tom that I took with a bow.

 

That was just as much his turkey as mine.

[whiskey]

Is everyone ready for the youth hunt this weekend? Better wrap up, it may be cold.

[mike243]

Spray your selfs down with tick spray,having suffered from rocky mountain spotted fever for no telling how long I am scared of ticks,dont know what all it has messed up but prevention is the way to go rather than treatment  :ugh:

[ShaunM]

Im ready to take my daughter. Supposed to snow so not sure how productive it will be.

[Deerbnb]

Great thing to do with your kids (or somebody else's) I have had the pleasure to witness a fair number of kids take their first bird. Nothing like it. I have to agree with OP greatest time to get the kids in the woods for lots of reasons.

[homeagain]

Great stuff.  The 9 year old daughter and I went on youth weekend for a couple of hours to see if she would enjoy it.....she did.  That first morning we sat in a popup blind and didn't see anything, but she still had fun. 

 

This past weekend, we went to a 100+ acre woods where I usually kill.  We didn't kill, but had a blast. 

 

She used the box call and push button to 'talk' to a bunch of hens moving through, and even got a jake to half-gobble at her from a distance.  We couldn't get anything to come in, but she had a blast 'talking' back and forth a bit.  This time we were running and gunning, and she liked that much better (she's ADHD like dear ole dad).  She got to see hawks and lots of squirrels, hear some crows and even found a den hole to explore around.  Spent the afternoon pointing out what 'turkey poop' looks like and other turkey sign, identifying different 'woods noises,' picking flowers, eating a packed supper and having a blast.  She was so into it she didn't want to leave the woods.

 

[whiskey]

^ awesome

[whiskey]

It's that time of the year again boys and girls. Get the kids out in the woods this spring!