Taking a youngster turkey hunting? These 9 tips will help make your gobbler hunt a success

#4  TIME IT PROPERLY

During Ontario’s five-week-long spring turkey season, there’s always a sunnier day ahead (although the bug-free window is short). In retrospect, Charlie and I should have gone back to bed on that blustery opening morning. Lesson learned. Save the hunts that require hardcore stamina and technical apparel for days without a young person in tow.

Of all hunts (particularly for deer and ducks), the pursuit of spring turkeys provides the greatest opportunities for midday action. That means an apprentice doesn’t necessarily need to set the alarm for 4 A.M. In fact, kids can get off the school bus and still have plenty of time to join their parents for an action-packed afternoon in the turkey fields and woods.

#5  KEEP IT SIMPLE

Little legs can’t keep up with a run-and-gun approach across acres and acres of land, so set up within a manageable walk from your vehicle. And for those days when the weather doesn’t cooperate, have a hunting blind option at the ready.

#6  KEEP IT INTERESTING

Echoing the same timeless advice for getting kids into fishing, keep the outing short. Also be sure to manage expectations. It’s important to stress you may not even see a turkey, but that an encounter of any kind with nature is still a measure of hunting success. The distant drumming of a grouse, the discovery of a turkey track in the dirt or the sight of a sandhill crane, for example, provides opportunities for great questions. I love taking kids hunting for that particular reason—it’s a time to slow down and contemplate subtle outdoor observations through their youthful curiosity.

#7  GET THEM INVOLVED

Attention-span planning is certainly the best advice for both fishing and hunting mentors. With turkey hunting, however, you have a distinct extra advantage—a duffle bag full of decoys and vest pockets full of amusement. Take a kid hunting with every turkey call you own, and present them one at a time. There could be an hour’s worth of undivided attention in just demonstrating how each call works, and how different turkeys respond to the various yelps, clucks, cutts and purrs.

Kids also love to have special job of their own, so put them in charge of setting up and taking down the decoys. And while a pop-up hunting blind takes care of camouflage needs, I find that kids still enjoy dressing for hunting success, especially when it comes to accessorizing with camo face paint. These are great ways to help kids feel they’re truly part of the hunt.