Is head-to-toe camo mandatory for turkey hunting?

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Guvnor

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Im getting ready for turkey season and this will be my first time out. I have a camo shirt, pants, and hat.

Will this be good enough? Or should you be completely covered head to toe to have any chance of calling in a bird?

Reason I ask is because I hate wearing things over my face and there is no way I would be able to sit still for hours with a face mask on.

Can I get by without any facial concealment?
 
I know an uncovered face is definitely not a good thing for waterfowl and Turkey have GREAT eyes. I'd camo up big time, personally. I have it already, 3D stuff, leafy wear. It's great, just look like a tree. :D I've only ever hunted 'em once and scored a gobbler. I camoed out and had a camo cloth to make a temporary blind with.
 
Ive gotten by with minimal camo for years.

I do cover my face with something (camo or not) when duck and turkey hunting though.

I use subdued colors and I only use camo if it is incidental to the clothes I like hunting with. I dress for comfort more so than hunting.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Hmm...maybe I will need some face paint or something then.
 
I have had turkeys so close that I had to spook them to keep them from pecking my face... All while wearing a red and black hunting coat and a blue stocking cap.
 
It doesn't matter what camo you're wearing if you move - and turkeys see movement very well. They're not colorblind; but i think a piece of dirt-smeared and grass-stained burlap is just about as good as any high-dollar outfit.

Plenty of turkeys got it before the invention of Realtree.
 
I prefer it but no it's not necessary if there's not a lot of hunting pressure. I've had a flock of turkeys walk right up to me while deer hunting with blaze orange on and uncovered face. If you don't cover your hands and face (and if you are very white - you may not be), then get into a blind or a really dark shaded spot.
 
Your best bet without wearing a camo net face mask is blind up behind some light brush clippings.

Anything to hide face or eye movement.

They can spot you blink 50 yards away it seems!

rc
 
Camo shirt, pants and head is good. Also, don't wear anything red, blue or white --- turkeys are keyed for those colors as they are found on turkeys.
 
Also, don't wear anything red, blue or white --- turkeys are keyed for those colors as they are found on turkeys.

Not to mention some hunters wearing red/blue have been shot at by other not so careful 'hunters'.
 
I shot my gobbler last fall wearing jeans & a T shirt. I just used available cover, kept very still, and called 'em in. I'm sure head to toe camo works for the more serious turkey hunters, just don't think of it as a "don't even bother unless you have it" thing.
 
Camo helps, but is not mandatory. If you do everything right wearing solid muted colors works pretty well. The camo may help keep you undetected if you make a mistake and move a bit at the wrong time.

I would wear a facemask of some type and gloves to help hide your face and hands. These do not have to be camo. A cheap pair of brown cotton gloves will hide your hands. Your hands and head move the most and if nothing else is covered make sure they are.

I have used the camo face paint years ago and like the simplicity of the camo netting better. Mosquitoes are not unusual during deer archery and turkey season and it helps keep them away from my face and ears if nothing else.
 
I'd go so far as to say that the face is the most important area to camoflage. All animals with a strong sense of sight, including humans, instinctively recognize particular shapes as being a face, especially eyes. That's why some butterflies have spots that look like eyes, killer whales have white spots that look like eyes, etc.

The rest of you could just be an oddly-shaped tree or rock, but seeing a recognizable human face is likely to make a turkey run for his life.
 
When I first started huning turkey I only had a camo shirt and net face mask with camo hat and was sucessful. Now I am covered head to toe....still sucessful.
 
Absolutely. For all hunting, you must be camo from head to toe. It also helps if you look like you should have a cardboard sign saying, "Will work for ammo" taped to your $1500 shotgun.:D

duckmenGroup.jpg
 
Absolutely. For all hunting, you must be camo from head to toe. It also helps if you look like you should have a cardboard sign saying, "Will work for ammo" taped to your $1500 shotgun.:D

duckmenGroup.jpg
I think you're barking up the wrong tree poking fun at that lot. They may be a bunch of wild men, but if you've ever seen their videos, every one of them has probably shot more ducks than most of us have ever seen and they can flat out shoot. Posting their picture is an endorsement for full camo, not the reverse.
 
natman, you sure know how to read stuff that isn't there.:)

Anyway, turkeys and waterfowl have eyes like dogs' noses. Have you ever seen a person's face when he's wearing all camo? It sticks out like a road sign.

You probably don't need camo pants if your legs are not very exposed. Drab earthtones should do fine. It's your face that can give you away. It's up high, and it moves. OTOH people do bag turkeys without face paint. Ducks, too.
 
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No it's not necessary but I'm sure it's an advantage. My Greatgrandfather hunted them in a brown fedora hat and bluejean bib overalls, thats all he ever wore anywhere. He'd use a red bandanna to cover his face. I was too young to go with him. I've killed three or four, but I'm not a Turkey hunter. I'd just rather fish in the spring. But I remember him bringing home the birds. And with him, I'm sure seasons didn't matter.
 
He'd use a red bandanna to cover his face.

That reminds me of a rather graphic film they showed us in Hunter Safety class, about turkey hunting dos and don'ts...
 
I know a guy that killed a huge turkey two weeks ago, he had on camo pants and a brown t-shirt, then again this guy kills at least 13 deer every season, :D but I plan on wearing camo pants and a t-shirt and I'll let you know how that works out this weekend.
 
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