’ve never gone hunting before… Why would I want to get up before the sun, in the brittle cold of March, put on every warm layer I own, hike through a field, sit on a bucket inside a tiny tent squeezed next to another human being, while trying to be as still and quiet and invisible as possible to just wait for something to maybe happen?
Because it’s exhilarating. And because turkey.
Not only are turkeys delicious, but have you ever seen a wild turkey up close? They are truly stunning birds. Yes, their heads are wrinkly and a bit alien—like a weird, bumpy dinosaur—but their calls are unique and thrilling, their strutting is a performance, and their feathers are like iridescent armor that changes with the light: providing camouflage under the trees, yet appearing beautifully transformative out in the sun.
My story is probably very similar to that of other women my age who have never been hunting—not because they didn’t want to, but because they were never provided the opportunity to learn. Family or friends who participated in the sport—often all men, no women—never thought to ask, or never took a shy request to join seriously.
All the boys got to hunt, my cousins, my brother, so why not me? What do I have to do? How do I start if no one will teach me?
The Opportunity
My opportunity to learn to hunt turkey came around this year by a stroke of good luck through my job at DSG Outerwear here in Madison, Wisconsin. DSG makes high‑performance outdoor gear specifically for women, for activities like fishing, snowmobiling, and hunting. We are a vendor at the Waterfowl Hunters Expo, put on by the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association (WWA), every year.
During one of our planning meetings for WHEXPO, our contacts—including Brad Heidel, Executive Director of WWA—began gushing about a “Learn to Hunt” program through the Wisconsin DNR. This particular Learn to Hunt opportunity was focused on turkey hunting, and Brad has been involved as a mentor for many years. Everyone’s response to my interest was unanimous:
“YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY DO IT!”
I said, Where do I sign up?
Learning to Hunt Turkey
For those of you who didn’t know this was a thing, I was right there with you.
The Wisconsin DNR offers several “Learn to Hunt” mentor programs that are absolutely FREE. The DNR works with local hunting clubs, conservation organizations, other nongovernmental groups, and volunteer mentors to orchestrate these opportunities.
This particular Learn to Hunt was a multi‑day course where you learn in a group setting alongside other new hunters and your mentors, culminating in a weekend hunt with the whole crew.
Day 1: Classroom Session
Day 2: Range Day & Processing Demonstration
Day 3: Scouting
Hunting Weekend
There were a dozen new hunters—and amazingly, one mentor for each of us. I was very lucky to already know Brad Heidel from WWA, who was a mentor in the program and was assigned to be his mentee. I was stoked that he wanted to mentor me, and I did my very best to be an attentive and receptive student.
The Hunt Weekend
After all of our learning and preparations, the long‑awaited weekend finally arrived. All hunters and mentors gathered the evening before our first morning hunt for a potluck dinner and to review last‑minute details and game plans with our mentors. Local wardens gave us a stern but important talk about proper behavior and protocol and what to do in the event of an accident, i.e. if we mistakenly shot the wrong turkey. This was a really excellent resource that was available to us and our group took every advantage to ask questions like what to do in case of this situation or that.
Brad and I planned to meet early the next morning at 5:30 a.m. I was driving from Jefferson, WI, which meant about a 50‑minute drive to our destination. To make that happen, I’d need to wake up, get dressed, and leave my house by 4:30 a.m. I was so wired that night I had trouble falling asleep—but eventually, I managed it. There was no snoozing my alarm the next morning, I jumped out of bed, grabbed my layers and started piling them on. I made a quick mug of coffee, kissed my husband goodbye, grabbed my pack, jumped in the car and I was off to Merrimac in the pitch black.
When I met up with Brad it was still black out, and we headed over to our blind in his truck. He told me that when we get there he was going to park along the access road next to the field we would be in and to be as quiet as I could. We parked the truck, I got my gear out and closed the door as quietly as I could. I started pulling on my neck gaiter, hat and gloves, as it was in the low 30s. Being that I work for DSG Outerwear, I had all the gear options at my fingertips and based on recommendations from coworkers, I was prepped and ready to go with my Breanna 2.0 black fleece lined hunting bibs and pullover jacket. Underneath that I had on my DSG fleece mid-layer pants, and my heated vest, and under THAT, my merino wool base layers. Brad had recommended that since we would be sitting in a blind, to wear dark colors or black if I had it.... I had it thanks to DSG! I was practically invisible sitting inside our blind, it was great.
We hustled quickly across the field to our blind carrying our packs and the shotgun. The sky was still very dark, it was almost 6am and we still needed to set out our decoys and get settled in the blind. Brad showed me how we should set up the decoys, we got them inflated and organized in a somewhat semi-circle in front of our blind about 20 ft out. The Tom decoy was to our left with several hen decoy trailing behind him spread out off to our right in front of the blind. Brad had an infrared flashlight which was very cool that we used to find our way to the blind and climb quietly inside without tripping over anything, including the lines tethering the blind to the ground.
The Blind
By 6:15am we were settled in the blind. Brad had me sitting alert on a padded bucket seat with the shotgun next to me. It was COLD. I was making sure on all my layers were in place, neck gaiter, hat, gloves, and heated gear turned on before I started digging out the turkey calls. Our blind was sitting on the end of a field that was bordered by two other fields. One field to our right, or West of us, which we were NOT allowed to hunt in, and one to our backs or North, which we were allowed to hunt. We were nestled in the trees and brush that made up the tree line between the two North and South fields, facing into the South field.
Brad had previously scouted the turkeys roosting in the woods across the South field from where we were sitting. Our game plan was this... Brad would call them down from roosting, and draw them towards our decoys across the field. I would watch and listen and direct him to where I heard or saw turkeys coming from.
The plan did not go to plan.
We stayed quiet for a while and just listened to all the turkeys waking up and coming down from the trees. There was a lot of noise and it was hard to pin point where they were all located. It sounded like we were surrounded by all the turkeys. But we couldn't see anything. We could hear gobbles all around and some hens clucking as well. Brad eventually started calling to them when we could tell that the turkeys in the tree across the field from us were down from their roost. They were responding to Brad's calls consistently, he even changed up between hens clucking and a gobble call. We could hear them, but we still couldn't see them. The sun was starting to come up and we could see across the field into the trees and there was no movement.
After a while of this back and forth, it started to sound like the the turkeys across the field from us were moving farther away from us. No no no.
It got quieter as they moved through the trees towards the West field that we were not allowed to hunt. Nooooooo.
Then suddenly all we could hear were the turkeys coming from the North behind us and we could no longer hear anything from the group to the West... What the HECK. Where did they go?
The Coyote
At this point the sun was up and we had a pretty good view of the fields around us. Brad thought it would be a good idea to do some visual scouting with the binoculars so we slowly, carefully, and quietly opened some of the windows on the blind just an inch or two so we could examine the areas behind and to the left and right of our blind better. After a minute or two of this quiet surveillance I spotted some movement at the tree line in the West field to our right. There was an animal slinking out of the trees, was it a fox? It was on four legs with erect ears and a tail... I pointed to the spot for Brad to look and whispered "I think its a fox"... then we waited a moment longer and it jogged farther out into the field into the sun... it was a coyote... coming out of the trees right by where our group of turkeys were probably lying low.
"Whelp." Brad said as we watched the coyote trek across the field
"thats going to put a damper on things."
As the coyote was now heading in the direction of the North field tree line where we were certain the other group of turkeys we could hear behind us were probably hiding.
I mentally started to prepare myself for a much longer sit. Several more hours at least. We tracked the coyote and watched it trot across the field back towards the North tree line and out of sight. I checked my view out the window crack to my left and low and behold there was a turkey moving slowly down the field on the other side of our treeline from where we were sitting. I could just see it moving in my view between the trees... was it a Tom?
It WAS. I whispered to Brad... "theres a TOM over here...there's a tom over here, its coming towards us, but I don't have a shot through the trees. We will have to call it around to our side."
The Tom started puffing up, fanning out, and then putting his tail down again. He repeated this action as Brad was calling, but he slowly moved towards the center of the field away from us. Noooooooooo. WHY?
ANOTHER TOM. That's why. The other tom was coming towards him from the opposite side of the field. They were going to dance it out in the middle. Which was partly true... They met up in the middle of the field and started strutting.
We started hearing the other turkeys in the back field behind us as Brad was calling. They were coming out of the trees now into the field to our right, the field we can't hunt, clearly not afraid that the coyote would come back. THANK GOD.
The Toms behind me to my left were strutting off across the field away from us, clearly they had other plans so we gave up on them.
Now both of our attention was on the group that was progressing towards our side of the field from the West. They were having a PARTY out in that field. Brad was calling and working them. We were being still and quiet, just calling and responding to calls. We zipped up the blind to make ourselves as invisible as possible. Brad kept calling.
Eventually the party stopped progressing, they had found their party spot in the middle of the field. But two of their number seemed to be moving towards us still.
Brad checked with his binoculars.
"There's TWO TOMS breaking away," he whispered excitedly "they're coming towards us."
We sit quietly, not moving, just watching through the gap.
"They're RUNNING, oh wow they're moving fast, time to get ready."
Brad told me to get set and get the gun up because they will be here in moments.
I get a stable position and get the gun up with the safety off. We didn't have a gun rest so I rested the barrel on the window of the blind which probably wasn't the best move.
"Are you ready? Get ready, they're here... They're coming around the corner any moment now."
The toms had absolutely booked it to our position. We just needed them to cross over into our field from the property we didn't have permission to hunt and they were about to walk right through the gap between the fields marked by a big tree stump at the corner.
I put the shotgun up to my shoulder and got ready, waiting, they came through the gap and around the corner past the tree stump and they were strutting into view side by side! I didn't have a shot.
I needed one of them to step away from the other just enough for a clear shot on one of the birds. Still walking in tandem... COME ON. They were almost to our decoys at this point. Almost directly in front of our blind, I wouldn't have to angle my shot at all.
Then, one of the toms excitedly out paced the other tom and got ahead of him, I moved my shotgun in line to get the reddot on him, trailing waiting for him and trying to calm myself down. I could hear my breathe starting to pick up and felt my heart-rate accelerate. I was PUMPED. But I needed to calm down. I could literally hear my blood pumping in my ears. Then the tom turned to face us, straight on and I had a clear shot. I didn't think, I aimed for the base of his neck and I just squeezed the trigger. It was now or never.
BANG.
I hit the tom straight on and he was flailing and flapping about away from the other tom. "Shoot him again!" Brad said "Shoot him in the head. "
I took aim, waiting for him to stop flapping around so much and squeezed the trigger again when I could see the dot on his head.
BANG. He stopped moving.
We just sat there for a moment, quietly absorbing what had just happened.
I did it.
I got a turkey. I GOT A TURKEY!
And the other guy was still hanging around! The other tom was all smoothed down, wondering what just happened. Walking around and around our decoys mostly oblivious.
The Experience
I shot my tom at just after 7:30am on Saturday morning. We had only been sitting for maybe an hour and 20 minutes. Seriously? It felt like longer. It took a moment for everything to sink in that a tom came and I had successfully shot my first turkey. My first turkey, my first time turkey hunting. Holy crap.
I definitely think we had a challenge trying to get the turkeys to come to us, but Brad was top notch with calling and got the toms to play along. I 100% do not think that there would have been a positive outcome if say I had been left to the calling. I am so new at calling and when to do it and for how long. Brad was an awesome mentor and was incredibly supportive and knowledgable. I was spoiled on this first turkey hunt for SURE.
After the other tom finally walked off, we left the blind and we went to go look at my tom. Brad looks at me and goes... "His beard is gone, you shot it off!" This is with out a doubt an experience I will never forget. Not only because it was my first hunt, and my first successful hunt, but I managed to decimate the beard on my first turkey and I have the BEST 2.5 inch beard to remember this experience by. Brad poured us each some coffee from his thermos and we walked around the area looking for any remnants of the beard, but it was gone, totally obliterated.
Brad helped me to remove the nubby beard and the tail correctly so I could preserve it and make a fan to remember my first hunt. The first of many hunts I guarantee. I already purchased two more turkey tags for this year and my husband and I are going to go out and try my luck again in May. I am so glad I got to have this experience and really grateful to everyone who runs this Learn to Hunt program and all of the mentors for making it possible. You've made a lifelong turkey hunter out of me!
~ Written by Liz Falk, DSG Outerwear Marketing Specialist
