Use of Camoflauge?

I was thinking about the upcoming turkey season the other day and how I was planning on using my blackpowder shotgun. Do any of you who use your blackpowder shotguns for turkey camoflauge them in any way? My barrels are bright and shiny and may give me away. Do you guys do anything special to make your guns blend in?

Jeff

I don't even though I wear camo when I hunt them. It likely makes no difference whatsoever.

I've always done the hole camoflage bit myself in my past turkey hunting. I wear total camo, gloves, facemask, etc. I know turkeys can see well, but I wonder if this is overdoing it a bit. I believe people were killing turkeys with blackpowder guns long before camoflage came into vogue. I was just thinking that maybe a shiny, black gunbarrel may not be the ticket but I sure ain't putting any tape on my gun. I did have an idea for taking a dark brown pantihose and sliding it over my gun barrels while I hunted. Maybe secure it with tape over the outside of the pantihose? We'll see. I do know those wily old birds can see pretty darn good.

Jeff

If you are hunting out of a ground blind, it don't matter if you or the gun has camo.

Don't use camo, waste of good money :nono:

them birds cant be that smart. while deer hunting on cynthias property i pretty much stumbled upon a bunch of em. i rounded a corner on a service road and found myself 20 feet from 6-7 turkeys. upon seeing me the turkeys just slowley started walking away. if i had a smoothie we would have been eaten turky for dinner.

-matt

If u are calling them into a decoy setup i would try hard to blend :in. If still hunting i wouldnt bother .

Avoid bright colors. U literally could not pay me to camo my baby.

Just my thoughts......eat turkey every Thanksgiving

I know what you mean on the barrel shine. It certainly can be enough to put a wary gobbler on the run. I use the cloth camo tape on the barrel. The vinyl camo tape has a shine of it's own,lol I see you think against it,but the tape is fairly cheap and easily removeable.It's been no biggie for me. :thumbsup: David G.

I have never hunted turkeys but there have been plenty of times when I was deer hunting and had a bunch of them walk right past me. A couple of times within about 10 feet! If a blaze orange vest, blaze orange hat, and my 42" barreled uncamoflaged rifle didn't spook 'em you shouldn't have to worry that much either.

Afternoon light...browned barrel.....
Most of the time the turkey will only be looking at the muzzle.
Wouldn't get worked up over your barrel..
1"X 37" 62. cal turkey choked flint drop-in bbl.

I had three walk by me at 15 yards while I was wearing lots of blaze orange, too. Didn't seem to bother them a bit.

Good posts Gentlemen. I have been hunting eastern turkeys for a good many years. Yes, at times turkeys seem as dumb as a rock and that you could probably kill them with one. However, I have had multiple times during the Spring when calling a gobbler into a setup that they come in looking HARD for a hen! The slightest movement, anything that seems out of place, and many times they will just either run for the hills, or simply move away quietly from your setup. While my opinion has changed on modern camo, I still feel that a shiny black barrel glistening in the early morning sun will most likely make ole Gobbler lose the warm and fuzzies. Not really turkey time yet but I'm thinking ahead. This will be my first year using my blackpowder shotgun and I am very excited, plus I want to do all I can from load development on up to ensure that I can be as successful as possible. Thanks for the responses.

Jeff

More comfortable to sit in a blind. I have several that are made out of slab wood from the saw mill with rubber roofing on top. They are located in key spots where turkeys like to travel. I have a chair to sit on and can stay there rain or shine until I get the job done. Way more productive than walking around and sitting under trees. In these blinds it don't matter if the gun or you has camo. If the bird does not see the barrel poke out from between the pine branches that cover the windows, it is headed to the roaster. The inside of the blind stays dark and you can not see the hunter inside even when you stand in front and look. Planting a food plot in front of the blind don't hurt either.

Good points Rat Trapper. Simplicity is golden.

Jeff

since it my own land, I can leave the blind there year around. Wooden blinds are not hot like tent blinds get. I have several and a little scouting tells me which area they are using the most. I can kill a bird in any of these blinds, but the scouting, tells me which one will produce the bird the quickest. My records show that my last fall turkey was my 80th turkey. Should have learned a little in that time.

I would say your track record is mute testimony to the effectiveness of your techniques. Thanks for sharing.

Jeff

see my avatar thats what I was wearing when i shot it.

I don't even wear camo anymore. I am a runner and gunner, I do not use a blind at all. When I get a bird going I just sit as tight as I can under a tree to where my barrel is just sticking out, and I always sit on the shady side. If no sun hits your barrel, it wont shine.

As you can see it works for me!!

Good Luck!!

Nice. I am definitely considering changing up my gear and tactics this Spring. Thanks for the reply.

Jeff

Running and gunning can cause problems. If you bump a few birds by accident they become aware you are out after them. If several people will be hunting the same property all can kill a bird from a blind, but the same is not true unless the property is pretty large when running and gunning. Back in the days when I did the run and gun it took me about 3 days to get a bird. Now using the blind set up I can get one the 1st day and often in just a few hours. The secrete is when you are comfortable, you can sit there until you get the job done. Plus they don't see you move when you are in the blind.