Turkey in BC

[brouse.mike]

I am trying to plan a Turkey hunt for the spring, and have never hunted Turkey before.
I would like to go somewhere within a 3 hour drive of the lower mainland.


Any area suggestions, and tips on how to find them, I hear they can be illusive.


Firearm / ammo recommendation?
I would like to use my 20ga with 3" loads, but not sure if its enough gun.


Thanks in advance.

[300H&H]

Hunting "thunder chickens" is a lot of fun.

Start looking on HBC for past threads about turkeys...good place to start.

You can find turkeys within 3 hours of the LML if you drive 150km/hr otherwise plan on 5-8 hr drive.

20g is very lite but still allowed.

Keep in mind these birds are tough.

Good luck.

[Brez]

like 300H&H said, you'll have to drive very fast to get to good turkey places. Sometimes, a 12 gauge is too little and yet I've taken a hen with a .410 and 7 1/2 shot All I had at the time and a close head shot. 20 guage with 3" mag and the right shot................maybe.

[huntwriter]

I am trying to plan a Turkey hunt for the spring, and have never hunted Turkey before.
I would like to go somewhere within a 3 hour drive of the lower mainland.
If you never hunted turkeys before I would highly recommend to go some place where there are lots of birds. The more birds there are the better chances are that you run into one. There are no areas with good (plentiful) turkey populations within 3 hours from the LM.

Any area suggestions, and tips on how to find them, I hear they can be illusive.
From Christina Lake eastward along the Canadian/US border is good turkey land. Kelowna area has a fair number of turkeys but still has a ways to go to make it less difficult for a beginning hunter to find them.

Yes turkeys can be pretty elusive, especially after the first few days into the hunting season. Turkeys are a lot smarter then most hunters grant them.

Firearm / ammo recommendation?
I would like to use my 20ga with 3" loads, but not sure if its enough gun.
The ideal turkey gun would be a 12 ga. but if a 20ga. is all you have it will do nicely too. Just make sure you pattern the gun well at the range, using a variety of loads from #4 to #6 pellets. Start with a moderate choke and work your way up to a super full turkey choke if you have to (Most 20ga. print acceptable turkey killing patterns with a regular full choke). Use life sized turkey head targets with the vital area (brain and spinal column) clearly outlined. Use a new target for each shot and count the pellets inside the vital area after each shot. What you want to achieve is an evenly tight pattern from point blank out to about 30 yards that delivers consistently between 5 to 8 pellets into the vital area of the birds head and upper part of the neck.

Aim at the had of the turkey, keep your shots inside 30 yards and a 20ga will be a fine turkey gun.

One more thing. You might want to use the winter months to practice your turkey calling. As a beginner stay away from mouth diaphragms, instead use friction calls, they are a lot easier to learn. To get started you only need 3 calls and then build up as you gain knowledge and confidence. These calls are: Crow call to locate turkeys. To coax a tom your way you'll need a pot and peg call, glass, aluminum or slate, and you'll need a paddle box call. Listen to turkey sounds (can be downloaded form the National Wild Turkey Federation website) and then practice until you can duplicate each call perfectly. Remember, turkeys can tell the difference between "sounds almost like a turkey" and "it sounds just like a real turkey".

Best of luck and welcome to the turkey hunter brotherhood. :)

Hope this helps.

[Bobfl]

3 hrs from the coast, coopers may be your best bet. gobble gobble