Spring Turkey Setup - What is in your Turkey Vest this Spring?

Spring Turkey is coming up fast and I couldn't be more excited. My Blog post this week is talking about what type of gear you are using for your Turkey Hunt this Spring. 

This winter has been really hard in Ontario but finally some warm weather is in the forecast and snow is beginning to melt; the idea of Shed Hunting and Spring Turkey is real and I cannot wait. 25 more days until opening day for Spring Turkey in Ontario. 

I have not tagged a Turkey as of yet, and have been reading a lot of blog posts and articles through Twitter to help prepare a game plan and strategy for this Spring. I went out with Matt a bit last Spring and had a great time, I also did a bit of hunting this Fall and had no luck. 

Although I haven't been out Scouting the property where Matt tagged his bird last Spring, I know there are at least 8 Toms in the area, and we have seen a ton of hen groups out throughout winter. Darcy texted me this photo of 8 long beards eating at his deer feeders.

When I get back from Mexico my plan is to walk to the bush to figure out where these birds are roosting and decide where to set up a blind and decoys for my first hunt. 

Decoys:

The decoys I am using this Spring are the ZinkAvianX Strutter decoy along side the Widow Maker by Hardcore Brands. I hope that this combo will help bring in some turkeys, if no luck I may try go down to a Half strut Jake decoy instead of the Strutter, although we will probably be placing a Jake tail on the Strutter decoy. 

Weapon:

Since I haven't had much practice with my bow over winter I am going to purchase my first tag and plan to use a Benelli M2 20 gauge shotgun, which Darcy has just bought and graciously offered me to borrow. I have shot this gun once and it is very light with little recoil. I really like this shotgun and am happy to try it out in April

If I tag my first bird my plan is to purchase a second tag and get practicing on my bow to hopefully take one with it. I shoot a 2013 Quest Bliss and love this bow. It is small, light and perfect for a beginner hunter like myself. I shoot a carbon express arrow with a mechanical broad head which I think will work well for turkey.

Calls: 

I have a great beginner call from Primos. It's the mini sonic dome triple with bat cut. This call fits in my mouth really well and with practice am beginning to produce some pretty good turkey sounds. Matt and I also use a variety of striking calls generally when turkey hunting as well.

Packs/Vests:

I am on a budget when it comes to hunting due to student loans and everything else in life, therefor most of my gear has been bought for me as gifts or borrowed from friends, but Matt got me a great pack from Badlands for Christmas which I am planning to have act as my turkey vest this Spring. My pack is the Badlands Super Day pack and I love it. It has a ton of space, I will be able to fit my decoys in as well as all my calls. This bag is extremely durable and lightweight. It has space to attach my shotgun or bow and I am able to attach a seat to the bottom so I can convert it into a turkey vest.

With the season less than a month away Matt and I soon need to get out and pattern our shotguns as well as line up my bow. Hopefully we will have some good stories after this Spring's Turkey Hunts and maybe even some trophies to mount on the wall.