Raise ‘Em Right: Teaching Children How to Hunt Turkeys

Most turkey hunters never forget the first time they heard a turkey’s gobble come thundering through the woods, and for many that memory was forged at an early age. If there’s a child in your life who has never been turkey hunting, consider how powerful such a first impression could be for him or her. The initial excitement prompted by a single gobble could be the seed that blooms into a lifelong passion that beckons youngsters to the woods for the remainder of their years and ultimately turns the pupils into teachers. Indeed, there are many life lessons to be learned in the turkey woods, and many core values, like determination, patience, integrity, perseverance and the stewardship of our natural resources, go hand in hand with these lessons.

If the time has come for you to introduce a kid to the nuances of spring turkey hunting, there are steps you should take to ensure the child enjoys the experience and his or her time with you outdoors. The process will take some work, but the rewards are well worth the effort.

FUN ABOVE ALL

The most important thing to remember throughout a child’s indoctrination is to keep things fun. If kids are not having fun, they aren’t likely to be interested in your instructions and even less interested in continuing the pursuit of turkeys later on.

The first step in ensuring they have fun is to lower your expectations for the hunt. There’s a good chance that they’ll make a noise or move at the wrong time and spook a bird or blow a shot opportunity. Instead of reprimanding them, make it a teachable moment and take the opportunity to explain what took place, what caused it and how to prevent that from happening again to be more successful in the future.

PIQUE THEIR INTEREST

In my opinion, there are two key things that make spring turkey hunting exciting. One is the calling and responses from the birds, including the gobbles from toms and jakes and the various vocalizations of hens. The other is the behavior turkeys display as they approach decoys, including strutting, acting coy or being aggressive.

Exposing your child to the birds’ different sounds and behaviors prior to taking them out to the woods, and explaining the reasons for them, will spark the kid’s sense of discovery and enhance his or her appreciation when he or she finally gets to experience these actions in person.

Pull up videos on your phone or laptop and let the child hear what turkeys sound like and see how they act when they detect the presence of nearby counterparts. Then, pull out your turkey calls and have the kid listen to the sounds they produce, subsequently explaining what each is supposed to mimic and is meant to achieve. After a while, hand them the calls, help them replicate the sounds you made and encourage them to practice calling on their own.

PREVENT BOREDOM

Once you’re out in the woods on a hunt, point out critters and interesting parts of the landscape, and periodically remind the child to listen for gobbles and for calls from hens. When you hear a call, ask the child to whisper what they think it means and why certain things are taking place. Such simple and fun challenges are a great way to get children to focus and stay engaged. Soon, the youth will eagerly volunteer his or her impressions, opening the door for further instruction and greater involvement in your turkey hunts together.

Taking into account kids’ short attention spans, packing a book, a note pad for them to scribble in or some other low-key activity is usually a good idea. You want to keep young children occupied during the lulls with simple games and diversions that don’t require a lot of movement or noise. Gaining a hunting partner for life begins with preventing—or at least curtailing—boredom during a youngster’s early outings.

DON’T FORGET the SNACKS

Always carry sufficient hydration and plenty of snacks. It’s better to pack more than you think you’ll actually need. When you hunt with kids, snacks and beverages can be lifesavers, especially if the action is slow. If your kid’s favorite munchies come in wrappers that could make noise, reflect the sun or easily fly away and alert turkeys of your presence, unpackage them and place them in a more suitable container before leaving home, then dole them out at designated times.

PROPER GEAR

While you may already own plenty of turkey hunting gear, there are some essential items that must properly fit the child you plan to take under your wing. The first is camouflaged clothing and outerwear. Of course, we all know that kids outgrow things quickly, so I’m not proposing you should outfit kids with the most expensive garb from head to toe. However, it’s important that they are comfortable, otherwise they won’t enjoy the experience, and your time in the woods together will invariably be cut short and perhaps even interrupted indefinitely. Get them functional camo that will ensure comfort and warmth, as well as concealment.

The next important piece of equipment is a comfy seat. You can’t expect a child to sit completely still on the bare ground for lengthy periods, so consider buying one of the many lightweight, low-profile hunting chairs on the market. Do some research to ensure you get one that will work for your child and your style of hunting.

If the situation allows it, I would also suggest using a blind, be it a pop-up or even a more simple panel blind, to help escape detection from the keen eyes of a wary boss gobbler.

GUNS AND AMMO

If the youth will be attempting to kill a turkey, be sure to choose a shotgun that fits. Three seasons ago, I introduced my oldest son Waylon Gene (only 4 at the time) to spring turkey hunting and set him up with a Rossi SS Poly Tuffy Turkey .410 shotgun. While there are many great youth models, that Rossi single-shot, break-action gun is hard to beat. It’s simple, safe, accurate and doesn’t have much recoil.

In my opinion, a red-dot sight is also a must for young turkey hunters. If sighted in properly, a shotgun is going to shoot where that dot is placed when the trigger is pulled. So, even if the kid doesn’t shoulder the gun perfectly in the excitement of the moment, he or she is still bound to hit what was aimed at.

Incorporating the use of a tripod or gun rest is another biggie. My son uses the BOG DeathGrip tripod, which absorbs some of the recoil, keeps the gun steady for better accuracy and also ensures it’s pointed in a safe direction at all times.

While on a hunt, I like to set my son’s gun so it points toward a jake decoy in the direction from which I feel a turkey is most likely to show up. Then, all he has to do is get behind the gun, take the safety off, aim at the bird and shoot. This reduces the amount of movement involved in getting a gun into position, which could spook an approaching gobbler.

Using quality ammo is another key to success. I favor TSS turkey loads, which have impressed me with their effective range.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Take the child shooting as much as possible. The more a kid handles a shotgun, the more it will become second nature to him or her and the greater the chances of making a good shot when opportunity comes knocking.

Try to replicate a real hunting scenario to eliminate any surprises when it counts. That means practicing with all the gear your child will be hunting with and having the kid shoot from the hunting chair while wearing the clothes and outerwear he or she will have on in the woods.

During an actual hunt, do what you can to ensure that any potential shot is as close as possible. Place the decoys near where you set up, establish a landmark at what you consider the limit of the child’s effective range and instruct him or her not to attempt to shoot beyond it.

RECOMMENDED DECOYS

The proven effectiveness of lifelike decoys can make things considerably easier—it certainly has for my boy and me. Realistic dekes can provoke aggressive behavior from approaching turkeys, which is a blast for a kid to watch. Secondly, if a tom is fixated on a decoy, it’ll often overlook incidental movement from your setup location. In addition, realistic decoys help draw birds in closer, affording the child more high-percentage shot opportunities.

I also like to take advantage of the lifelike dimensions of those realistic decoys to help my son practice his aiming. I set a strutting tom or jake decoy at different angles and ask Waylon to show me where he would aim if it were a real turkey. That gives me the chance to teach him the ideal shot placement for various positions.

THE END GAME

When it comes to actually shooting a bird, my suggestion is to not get too picky. Don’t turn your nose up at a jake if one comes waltzing into shooting range, especially if your child has not yet taken a turkey. Kids have to start somewhere, and jakes, often oblivious to their surroundings when fired up about a decoy, make a great first bird. Besides, you don’t want your child to be spoiled by bagging a world-class gobbler during his or her first season.

Whether your kid is ready to shoot a shotgun or not, get them geared up and take them with you to the woods as much as possible this spring. They can learn a lot more valuable lessons out there than by playing video games or sitting in front of the TV.

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• This article was featured in the March 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

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