Nine Types of Turkey Hunters You May Meet This Spring

The public land enthusiast measures success more in the difficulty of the hunt than the number of punched tags. They know property boundaries like they are under their eyelids. They are terrain-savvy, fluent in topography and consider map reading an art form. They have secret spots on public land that they believe have never been hunted by anyone else. The public land enthusiast would rather get skunked deep on some national forest or state land than tag out on private land any day. They’re at the access point — likely one you don’t know about — at 3 a.m. They usually will not share a pin, and if they do, they better not hear about you being there without them.  

Your bird had a double beard totaling 24 inches? The one upper’s had three for a total of 36 inches. The one upper may not be the best hunter, but their stories suggest otherwise. He killed a bigger one than you for sure, probably last week. It was definitely a harder hunting scenario than yours, in worse weather too. Every part of your hunt that you describe reminds him of a better part of his that he forgot to mention until just now. He doesn’t necessarily mean to compare; it’s just that his birds always gobble more, strut harder and are definitely bigger than yours. 

Even when the bird he is calling shuts up, he doesn’t. The over caller believes silence is defeat. Before the first owl is even ready to hoot, he hooted more times than that owl will all morning.  Once he finds a good tree to lean upon, he unleashes a calling sequence longer than Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor. When the over caller is mid-solo, he doesn’t even hear other birds gobbling over him serenading himself. He simply enjoys the process of interacting with the sounds of nature, even if no toms are listening.  

The mentor has already lived through an era of tagging and bragging. These days, he carries extra gloves, spare face masks and more patience than most. He has birds roosted across the state for others to harvest, and he celebrates others’ kill like he pulled the trigger himself. He doesn’t rush the moment; he cherishes it. 

For the traditionalist, turkey hunting is supposed to be hard. He wears the same faded camo he’s owned for 20 years and uses a box call handed down by his grandpa, which has been broken in by decades of spring seasons. He listens more than he calls and believes woodsmanship is learned in the woods, not on the computer.  

The shortsighted turkey hunter assumes everything will work out because it usually hasn’t, but this could be the year. He doesn’t pattern his shotgun or zero his red dot and is surprised when it shoots somewhere else entirely. He pays a nice penny for the best of the best TSS turkey loads but forgets them on the kitchen counter. Breakfast is a gas station burrito his body has already rejected year after year. When a gobbler finally stands in range, something goes wrong. It always does. 

The run-and-gunner owns lightweight everything and considers sitting still pointless. He has no snacks for the day and just one call he keeps in his mouth. He covers ridges, dives into hollers and believes distance covered kills turkeys. Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn’t. He doesn’t mind either way; for him, moving is a part of hunting.  

Wild turkeys aren’t lazy, but he might be. Preseason scouting sounds exhausting. He’ll just figure it out. On opening morning, he hits snooze, twice. By the time he arrives at the public access, every decent parking spot is gone. Undeterred but unwilling to hike, he slips 200 yards off the road and waits for destiny. He stays on well-worn paths because someone else probably saw a bird there once. When noon arrives birdless, he blames pressure, weather (even though its perfect out) and maybe even the moon. A Plan B has never existed. Deep down, he hopes the turkey comes to him out of pity. 

Yes, that vest was limited edition. The gear junkie has more invested in nylon and optics than most people have in retirement. His vest looks like it could sustain life in a small country. TSS in multiple shot sizes? Obviously. He watches product launch videos like playoff games. Does all of it help? Maybe. Does he enjoy it? Absolutely. He may not always kill the biggest bird, but he’ll do it in impeccable style. 

While we might know a handful of folks that exhibit some of these quintessential types of turkey hunters, these are just fun portrayals and caricatures. As turkey hunters, we are united in our passion for the wild turkey to ensure the gobble of America’s great game bird endures for future generations, no matter what type of turkey hunter you may be. Did we miss any other quintessential turkey hunters? Let us know by emailing: info@nwtf.net.