You can be a successful turkey hunter without breaking the family budget. In fact, frugal can be a blessing in the turkey woods as you encounter other hunters carrying vests packed full of calls, decoys, fancy cushions and the latest, short-barreled shotgun. Turkey hunters like bass fishermen and deer hunters can easily get hung up on gear and gizmos to the point that the devices, which may work in certain circumstances, get in the way. Old school hunters carried a diaphragm in their pocket and a box or slate caller along with their shotgun and out-foxed longbeards consistently. Micheal Pendley does an excellent job mastering the art of frugality in this post on the Realtree.com website, yet I’m a fellow cheap-skate and pride myself in doing more with less.
Think Essentials
If you are a deer hunter, most of your whitetail gear will work fine for turkey hunting especially camouflage clothing. One of my good friends scoffs at specialized turkey camouflage and wears a different pattern on top than on the bottom, since most turkeys are killed from the sitting position and the variance in pattern helps camouflage the hunter. In the clothing line, you need a camo top and bottom, hat, head net, and gloves. I’ve seen brand name gloves in specialty hunting stores for $25 and up, while a pair of cotton jersey gloves sell for less than $2. Honest, the turkeys can’t distinguish between brand names and won’t give a gobble what pattern kills them.
Plan for Next Year
The two months leading up to turkey season are not good times to buy turkey gear. However, as summer arrives and neighborhoods fill up with yard sales, you can get terrific bargains on all kinds of gear, clothing, even shotguns. Some guy will only hunt with the newest and hottest gear and you can pick up calls and camo for pennies on the dollar. If you are on a budget or just like to save money, check out these tips from Realtree.com:
It isn’t hard to spend money when it comes to turkey hunting. Custom calls, high-dollar turkey guns, trips to far-off states with expensive non-resident fees: it can all add up to a budget (and marriage) busting total in the blink of an eye. New turkey hunters, in particular, may be overwhelmed by what might seem to be an impossible sum for the gear they need.
But turkey hunting doesn’t have to be expensive. The thrifty shopper can fully outfit his or her turkey-hunting gear collection for a fraction of what they might spend. The following tips will get you in the turkey woods with all the tools you need, and enough money left in the bank to maybe take another out-of-state hunting trip. You might even go for your Grand Slam.
