Newbie turkey hunting question

[JackO]

Folks, I am a COMPLETE newbie, newer hunted in my life. Just finished my hunter safety class and booked a turkey hunting trip with one of the reputable hunting guides in ME.

The question is, what clothing do I need for a spring turkey hunt (beginning of May) in ME? I was told it has to be all camo. Pants, jacket, coveralls? Loose fitting or not? Allow for some warm clothing under the camo? Water resistant? Good materials, good brands, where to buy? And so on, and so on. Again, I know absolutely nothing about this, a typical city boy with no outdoor experience. So please don't be to judgmental, just help if you can.

 

[derrick_lui]

Which guide did you book your hunt with?

You will need full camo since they say Turkeys have great eyesight. Full real tree camo will do plus a camo hat and some camo netting over your face. Wear boots if possible since it can get a little wet in the morning sometimes.

Good luck!

 

[Dan W]

I would look in to an inexpensive turkey vest with attached seat, which has easily accesible pockets for all your supplies(calls, ammo, snacks, water). If you're heading up to Maine i would look at www.cabelas.com. They have a store in Scarborough Maine which has everything you need at great prices, you can probably find full camo there with vest and boots for $300. Also pick up some bug and tick repellent.

Not to promote another site but turkeyandturkeyhunting.com has some great articles on turkey hunting.

Good luck.

 

[TNHunter]

You will most likely be hunting at dawn. This time of year, dawn in Maine will often find temps between 20 and 30. Dress warm under the camo. Good insulated boots are a must. It is very hard to sit still while you are shivering.

 

[hunter46spring]

Full camo and dont forget your hands and face. As important as camo is lack of movement. Movement will spook a bird quicker than hunting in a glitter disco suit. Sit still and dont call too much

 

[Nicole]

Taking your newbie comment at face value - turkeys see extremely well and they see in color. They also have good hearing. So your goal is to blend in with the trees, not move, and not make noise. Unlike deer hunting, smell is not a big concern.

You need to be camo or camo-ish from head to toe on the outside. No bright soles on your boots, no pasty white hands drawing attention to your last-minute movement of the gun. No white tube socks visible when you sit down and your pants ride up your legs a bit.

I would go with a loose camo shirt and pants. Bring along a variety of layers to go underneath. Dress for comfort. If you're too cold to sit still you might as well go home. Ditto if the clothes are somehow binding or irritating.

If you don't mind dropping the coin before you even know how much you like hunting, you can start building a stock of colder-weather camo. Look for a jacket/parka that will easily layer or has zip-out liners. I think insulated coveralls might be overkill for turkey season, but I don't hunt in Maine.

If you have drab, earth-tone boots already those'll be fine. Bring suitably colored gloves.

Cover your face. My personal preference is a camo boonie hat and a mesh net mask since this keeps the bugs off my face too. Some people prefer a closer fitting half-face mask, baseball caps, or even face paint. Whatever floats your boat. Go to the store and try on the options.

As others said - plan for bugs.

Camo pattern - Anything of the basic woodland camo patterns should be okay, but if you're concerned, call your guide and ask what he'd recommend. Most people I know don't stress too much over the camo patterns. Girl clothes don't offer too many patterns so I just wear what's available and go for it. However, the idea is to blend in, and some hunters will swear that if your pattern has too much or too little green/brown/whatever compared to the environment you are hunting then you're basically dressed in FAIL.

I purchased good raingear in flat olive drab. Not the best thing ever for turkey but I'm not investing in multiple rain gear outfits at this time. You can always wear camo over whatever rain gear you own and thus keep the body dry and let the camo get wet.

Figure out how you want to sit. I LOVE the turkey vests with the built-in seats. Go try these on if you can because they offer a variety of levels of support and you want to find the one that's comfy for you. Some people have a hard time sitting directly on the ground and prefer the little stools. They come in camo and have a carrying strap. I like these in the winter - for some reason sitting with no bend in my knee is an issue in the winter, but not during turkey season.

Where to buy - girls have limited options, so darn near all of my gear is the RedHead line from BassPro. Works just ducky in my opinion. Go to one of the big stores and try on what needs trying on. Buy wherever you feel like patronizing. Boots require special attention, but really, most camo gets worn a couple days a season and most of the time you're sitting still or trying not to doze off - some of it has to be warm, but that's about it. If you want to drop bucks on a super cool ghillie bug suit, have at it while I covet your new toys, but it's not necessary.

Enjoy and bring back pics!!

 

[TNHunter]

If you wear eyeglasses you should look for a hat with a loose mesh face mask. Boonie hat or ball cap does not matter as long as it is camo. Tight fitting face masks will fog your glasses. I like the mesh to have cut outs for your eyes. I used to get a headache looking through the mesh until I cut out 2 eye holes.