Turkey Camps- All the Excitement of Big Game for a Fraction of the Cost

Elk and deer camps are magical, but drawing tags is very difficult.  Turkey tags are often available over the counter and relatively inexpensive when compared to big game.  Even state that require tags to be drawn often have left over licenses due to low demand.  Your camp can be a rented cabin, series of tents, an RV rendezvous or an inexpensive motel near the hunting grounds.

Just Like a Camping Trip

Organizing a turkey camp is as easy as making a few phone calls or bringing up the idea at the next meeting of your hunting club.  Since the weather is usually mild in spring and you won’t need horses or an expensive pack-in, treat it like a camping trip and plan meals accordingly.  There is probably a lake or trout stream nearby which adds to the fun and requires fewer groceries when you consume your catch over an open fire. YUM.

Take the Family

Big game hunting often requires a considerable expense and effort, making “camp time” a few hours in the evening after dark.  Not so with turkey hunts.  Many states offer all-day hunting so that you can do something with your family and hunt all afternoon or visa-versa.  When you take loved ones along, a hunting trip becomes a vacation, and you may establish an annual tradition your very first year.

Book an Unguided or Semi-Guided Lodge

Many lodges in the South offer guided or semi-guided hunts.  A one-on-one guide situation creates the best opportunity for success, but often isn’t necessary to enjoy a great adventure.  Exploring a new section of the country, sneaking through trees laden with Spanish moss, and working around swamps are all new and exciting experiences for northern hunters.  Most ponds and lakes in the South are loaded with fish so don’t forget your fishing gear.  Turkey seasons in the South will open soon and many areas, like Kentucky’s Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area offer cabins for rent at campground with public hunting land nearby.

National Forests Abound

The Monongahela National Forest is the size of a small country and that’s only a slight exaggeration.  Spanning Virgina and West Virginia, campgrounds abound among majestic mountains.  Farther north in Maryland, the Green Ridge State Forest has dozens of rustic camp sites where you’ll hear turkey gobble from your tent.  The Black Hills of South Dakota are a popular tourist destination, yet the hills ring with the sounds of Merriam’s each spring.  Check out this bird taken near South Dakota’s Badlands National Park.

Lone Star Long Beards

A Texas turkey hunt can be a multi-species safari.  Your goal may be a turkey, but you’ll be invited to shoot all of the wild hogs you can.  Additionally, exotic animals often escape fenced ranch, and you never know what creature may walk by from the Asian axis deer to the African kudu.  The Texas bush is rough and prickly, yet most hunts are done from stands near feeders which attract turkeys and keep them in the area.

The tradition of a turkey camp will give you two seasons of excitement and don’t be surprised as you hunt new territory that you find lots of whitetail deer sign.  A turkey trip can pay big dividends if you return to deer hunt in the fall.  Best of luck.