Students at the class will learn about these skills and more:Scouting methods and proper decoy use.Turkey hunting techniques.Using a map and compass.Distance estimation.Shotgun patterning and shot selection.Turkey calls and how to use them.
Never wear red, white, blue, or black, the head colors of a male wild turkey. Pre-select a zone-of-fire. Shoot at a turkey only in the predetermined area. Choose safe and responsible hunting partners.
What is a reason to plan and prepare for a hunting trip? To improve your chances for success. When you go on a hunting trip, you should leave a hunting plan with someone you trust.
Of all the steps of preparation, educating yourself about the game you're hunting is one of the most critical. Understanding your quarry will increase your success and add to the enjoyment of the experience as well. In many cases, knowing your quarry is also necessary to ensure that you're taking legal game.
To safely hunt a turkey: Never wear turkey colors—red, blue, black, or white. Call only with a large tree at your back. Drape an orange vest around a tree near your calling location so that other hunters know you're there. Wear hunter orange when entering or leaving your turkey hunting area.
The most effective firearm shot for a turkey is to the head and neck. The preferred shot angle for bowhunters is broadside, aiming for the heart or lungs.
Be Ready: To help you avoid or minimize problems, it's essential that you plan carefully for the hunt. Responsible hunters anticipate potential problems and make plans to deal with them. Considerations include terrain, location, weather, dangerous game, and the potential for forest fires.
Knowing the key characteristics of animals will help hunters distinguish between similar species and between the male and female of the same species. Mistakes in identification can lead to illegal harvest of game or non-game animals.
Consuming alcohol before or during the hunt increases the risk of incidents because it impairs coordination, hearing, vision, communication, and judgment.
It is a hunter's ethical responsibility to stop the hunt and search for any wounded animal. You should wait for at least a half-hour to an hour before trailing a deer, unless the downed deer is in sight. Make a practice of carefully observing every movement of a game animal after you shoot it.
From the National Shooting Sports Foundation's (NSSF) 2007 Industry Intelligence Reports, these are the most common causes of hunting incidents:Failure to identify the target (15.5%)Shooter swinging on game (12.8%)Careless handling of a firearm (11.4%)Victim out of sight of the shooter (8.3%)
The most effective shots are delivered to an animal's vital organs—heart and lungs. In large game animals, these organs lie in the chest cavity behind the front shoulder. A lung shot is the most effective shot for big game. The area of the vital organs also contains major blood vessels and arteries.