>>2733095I don't know if Colorado publishes an introduction to turkey hunting, but I know Washington department of fish and wildlife gives a quick primer on turkey hunting, you can probably look it up easily enough.
From my experience:
Scouting is important, go out before and look around with binoculars or go to an area you think might be decent and try using a shock call - either crow call or practice making an owl call by yourself. Turkeys respond to sudden noises with a "shock gobble". This lets you locate them initially, but don't shock them too much. Turkey are generally very noisy when they are roosting, but you won't be able to get them to move from their roosts once they've started. Find a roost and set up in between that and where you think they'll go.
You can try calling turkeys with various tools, box call, pot call, mouth call are general types, which one works varies on the bird. You call to bring a bird to you, it'll be looking for a hen. Some birds make noise, some come in silent. Decoys are good for this. You can also go without a decoy and try and be in their path. The key thing is turkey are quick and skittish, camo helps, not moving helps more.
The area you want to hunt is generally going to be the edge of a field in a transition between field and trees. Turkeys want fields to display and eat in, tall grass to nest in, and trees to roost in.
When you set up, either have a chair and a long bipod, or sit your butt on the ground with your back against a tree, and keep your gun up on your knee to shoot off of, this keeps your gun up and ready but you aren't destroying your arms trying to hold it up. If you need to lift it off your knees it's still less movement. Get relatively comfortable, you may be there awhile.
Don't wear red, white, or blue, you may get shot.
One of the coolest things is getting calling down well enough they'll talk with you, it takes a long time on a mouth call.
Look for state turkey publications.
