Spring turkey season is here once again, and now is the time to get geared up for doing battle with long-bearded birds in the days ahead. Getting ready for game day is nearly as exciting as the hunt itself! Question is, what will you add to your arsenal this season?
New calls, decoys, or camo? To make the gear selection all the easier, we’ve put together a list of some of the top turkey hunting gear for 2021. Check it out below…
Hunter Specialties Paul Butski Series Calls
Paul Butski is one of the the OG’s of the turkey calling world, making him the perfect choice for a partnership with Hunter Specialties. Butski is a renowned turkey hunting expert and champion turkey caller that lends his skills to develop a new line of calls for Hunter Specialties. The new line includes the Butski “Long Stroker” boat paddle box call and Butski “Original” Cutter mouth calls.
The box call is a great locator call and is plenty functional for close in work as well. In reaching back to the past, Butski delivers an old favorite in mouth calls. During the height of his calling career, Butski designed the “Cutter” cut in 1980 propelling him to the top. He designed this cutter call as a 3 reed, stretched extra tight. It’s now better than ever in the H.S.
Price – $9.99 (mouth call) $49.99 (box call) / www.hunterspec.com
Rolling Thunder Josh Grossenbacher Collection
Josh Grossenbacher is one of the most prolific mouth call makers in recent history. The man knows how to build mouth calls, and he builds every call that leaves the Rolling Thunder shop. He’s the 2015 World Champion and the 2017 Grand National Head-to-Head Champion, and has twice been the 1st runner-up in the Senior division of the Grand National Championship.
The Rolling Thunder Josh Grossenbacher collection features three of his favorite calls: the Combo Cut (3 reed), Ghost Cut (3 reed), and the Combo Cut (2 reed).
Price – $34.99 (3-pack) / www.rollingthundergamecalls.com
Houndstooth Success Call
Houndstooth Game Calls is bringing a revival to an oldie-but-a-goodie turkey call with the sweet sounds of success. The “Success Call” was created by the late Earnest Black. The call is a re-creation of a call that never got its due. There is no other call on the market that produces the sound you get with this call. The Houndstooth crew says they are honored to continue the legacy of the “Success Call” for modern day turkey hunters.
Price $39.99 / www.houndstoothgamecalls.com
Higdon Apex Strutter
The Higdon Outdoors Apex Strutter Turkey Decoy is a premium, beta-size full-strut tom decoy that is sure to command attention. The aggressive body posture of this decoy is challenging to territorial toms, and the decoy’s small size is sure to give them the confidence they need for a confrontation.
The Apex Strutter is a premium turkey decoy that is quiet to deploy, super lightweight and painstakingly designed by professional turkey hunters, engineers and decoy designers. Higdon’s XHD Hyper Feathering highlights each individual feather with deep carving technique and ultra-realistic paint, showcasing aggressive strutter details with bright whites, vibrant blues and glowing reds.
The rich, natural looking black flocking on the back of this decoy brings it to life. Use Higdon’s innovative magnetic fan ring to mount the included premium Apex Synthetic Fan, or a natural feather turkey fan. With its included Apex Stake System, this decoy offers a ton of lifelike movement in even the slightest wind.
Price $119.99 / www.higdondecoys.com
Avian-X HDR Series Feeder & Strutter
Avian-X continues to expand on their HDR series of turkey decoys for 2021 with the addition of two new decoys. The series now includes the Avian-X Feeder and the Avian-X Strutter.
The Feeder adds a submissive feeding posture to the Heavy Duty Realism (HDR) series. The HDR design features blow-molded construction, from hand-carved designs. The calm feeding position of the Feeder decoy puts approaching birds at ease, resulting in closer encounters. The decoy includes an integrated mounting stake that stores in the tail.
Price – $139.99 / www.avian-X.com
The new Avian-X Strutter rounds out the HDR series flock. The decoy delivers an impressive display of detail and realism designed to fool tough toms. The Strutter allows for some pretty slick customization when going head to head on tough birds. You’ll find interchangeable heads with varying aggression levels to set the mood you’re looking for.
The tail fan design also allows you to make adjustments between a tom or jake by shortening the tail fan sections. You’ll also find flocked feathers built in to this decoy for a more realistic presentation and detail to fool the most wary of gobblers.
Price – $249.99 / www.avian-x.com
Apex Ammunition
Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) has changed the game on killing turkeys with a shotgun. Simply put, the range has been extended when it comes to hunting with TSS. And in just a few short years, Apex Ammunition has risen to be a leader in TSS ammunition for turkey hunters. They deliver the ultimate in density to create maximum performance down range. Their iconic TSS is comprised of 18.1 g/cc density tungsten alloy for the ultimate shotshell. They combine material science and physics to create the best patterning shotshell the world has ever seen. From 10 gauge to 410 and everything in between, they’ve created the new standard against which all shotshell ammunition is measured against.
Nomad Turkey Series
The Nomad crew has released a whole new lineup of apparel for turkey hunters for 2021 in their new Pursuit Series.
It’s a super comfortable apparel series that includes a 1/4 zip Pursuit Shirt, Pursuit Pant, Utility Hoodie, and Stretch Lite Pant and Shirt. The series is available in Mossy Oak Bottomland and an exclusive Mossy Oak Shadow Leaf camo pattern.
“It’s an unprecedented year of new products and innovations in our turkey hunting collection,” said Jason Hart, General Manager of Nomad. “Chief among them is the addition of Mossy Oak’s Shadow Leaf pattern in our premium turkey clothing and gear.”
Price – $50 (1/4 zip shirt) / www.nomadoutdoor.com
Nomad Killin’ Time Turkey Vest
The all-new Nomad Killin’ Time Turkey Vest is a beast of a vest, complete with 28 total pockets to organize and house all your turkey gear, calls and even a ThermaCell pocket. It has a removable stadium seat with dual high-density foam and magnetic attachments. You’ll find conveniently located pockets for a variety of calls, including mouth calls, box calls, slate calls, and more.
Price – $180 / www.nomadoutdoor.com
Nomad Pursuit Convertible Turkey Vest
Also from Nomad, comes the all-new Pursuit Convertible Turkey Vest. It’s a hybrid of sorts that wears like a traditional vest but can easily convert to a fanny pack depending on what form and function you need.
It has a double padded high density foam seat with magnetic closure, ample pockets for all your calls, gear, ThermaCell, rangefinder, and water bottle.
Price – $100 – www.nomadoutdoor.com
H.S. Spur Gauge
For the turkey hunter that likes to keep tabs on the size of the spurs their turkey has, the Spur Gauge makes the job super simple. You’ll never have to guess again how big the spurs are.
The Spur Gauge has an accurate curvature design for a perfect measurement of the turkey spur, with 1/16″ etched increments. It’s a compact tool that easily hangs on a turkey vest or key ring.
Price – $9.99 / www.hunterspec.com
Houndstooth Turkey Strap
Looking for a nostalgic way to tote your turkey out of the woods when success comes your way? Check out a timeless piece that’ll be passed down from one turkey hunter to the next.
The Turkey Strap from Houndstooth is made from the finest leather and rolls up and ties up for storage in your turkey vest or pack. It’s a more comfortable way to tote your bird back to the truck.
Price – $40 / www.houndstoothgamecalls.com
Conclusion
What about you? What gear will you be adding to your turkey vest this spring? Comment below and let us know what you like, what you need, and what we left off our list.