By STEVE SHERK Jr.

Special to The Era

When it comes to youth turkey hunting, the biggest key to success is your setup. Getting a shot opportunity on an eastern tom is no easy task, especially for a young hunter. For kids who have never turkey hunted or have very little experience, there’s a lot you have to keep in mind for your calling setups. First and foremost, the adult hunter has to sit right beside them. This gives you the full ability to coach them through the entire process. The best sitting technique is to have the youth hunter sit right in front of the adult with his or her back leaning against the body of the adult hunter. This gives the adult hunter the same viewing window as the youth hunter, as well as the ability to help them with the gun and talk them through the shot. Keep in mind that most youth hunters have very little understanding of shooting distance. You have to be able to tell them when a bird is either in range or out of range.

When choosing a good calling setup, it’s best to call toms into flatter, open areas that make it easier for youth hunters to see them in the distance as well as getting a clear shot. You also have to keep in mind that slight changes in elevation in your setups can have a greater impact on a young hunter’s long range visibility than your own. What looks like a clear shot to you might not be for them since they are much lower to the ground. Small logs, stumps and other obstacles might not obstruct shooting opportunities for adult hunters but most certainly will for a youth hunter.

If you do get a tom to come into shooting range, there’s definitely a happy-medium for shooting distance. I’ve always believed that 30-yard shots were the best for spring turkeys. Shots further than 40 yards are tough to make, especially for youth hunters. Even though today’s turkey guns and ammunition are far more advanced for long range shooting than ever, you still want to get birds into close range for a young, inexperienced hunter. Nevertheless, you don’t want toms to come in too close either. The closer a tom gets to you, the tighter the shot pattern and then there’s no room for error when it’s time to pull the trigger. Let us not forget that turkeys have exceptional vision and when they are in close range to your calling setup you can hardly blink an eye. You have to constantly remind young hunters to keep movements minimal. I always tell kids that if you can see the turkey, it can see you even better. Once a tom is within sight, the only times you can move are when there’s a tree or another type of obstacle blocking the bird from seeing you.

All in all, a great shot opportunity is pretty rare in the turkey woods. They rarely stay still. If you get a good shot opportunity as the bird approaches within 30 yards, that’s the shot you want to take.

As kids grow older and have multiple years of experience spring turkey hunting, you can get more versatile in your calling setups. You can also get away with more challenging setups. My favorite setup is to get about 20 yards behind the hunter and do the calling for them. By doing this, you can extend the distance of your shot opportunities as the tom will not expect a hunter to be out in front of the caller.

Adult gobblers have been called to many times over the years by other hunters. They have learned that not every turkey sound is a real one. In my lifetime of spring turkey hunting, I have called in countless toms that never came in close enough for a shot because they didn’t see a real hen doing the calling. Most likely they had been called in at a young age and were either shot at or witnessed another turkey in the flock being shot. Even when using decoys, some toms still won’t come into shooting range due to many years of being educated by turkey hunters.

Lastly, we must understand that taking a child turkey hunting is not the same ball game as hunting with an experienced hunter. You have to be able to communicate and coach a young hunter through the entire experience. With the right setup and some luck on your side, you can create a turkey hunter for life.