Preparation

• 1). Visit the California Departments of Fish and Game website to find your nearest area to hunt wild turkey. Northern California has a wide choice of turkey hunting areas, including Shasta County, Trinity County and Tehama Wildlife Area. Spenceville Wildlife Area in central California is another option, while Jackson State Forest is ideal if you are near San Francisco.
  
  
• 2). Check when the hunting season starts. California has a fall and spring season for hunting turkey, and the dates of these seasons depend on your hunting type; The fall season (every county except San Diego) opens on the second Saturday in November and runs for 16 days. The spring season for all counties opens the last Saturday in March, and extends for 37 days. For 2010-11, all fall hunting can commence November 13 to 28, general spring turkey hunting March 26 to May 1 and spring archery hunting March 26 to May 15.
  
  
• 3). Apply for a hunting license in California. Anyone wanting to hunt turkeys in the state needs to apply for a license for upland game birds before they can legally hunt. For the 2010-11 hunting season, you need to purchase either a resident ($42.69) or non-resident ($148.78) license and an Upland Gaming Stamp ($8.64). You need a further license to hunt in either season, valid for two days or a year and registered for the area you want to hunt in. These range from $17 to $144 depending on the area.
  
  
• 4). Scout the area you plan on hunting before the season. Familiarize yourself with the area so you can pack the right amount of supplies and see how easily you can locate turkeys.
  
  

Hunting

• 1). Camouflage yourself. An effective camouflage will hide you from turkeys; however, it could also hide you from any other armed hunter. Approach any other hunter by speaking as opposed to waving or using a turkey call.
  
  
• 2). Use a turkey call to attract wild turkeys. The turkey may not respond at first to the call, but it may eventually come toward the sound if you have mastered the technique of calling well.
  
  
• 3). Positively identify a turkey before you shoot. Don't aim at colors or a sound you hear; double-check before you shoot that you have a turkey in sight and that it is legal game.
  
  
• 4). Aim at a turkey while it stands erect. If it's walking or feeding, it's difficult to get an effective shot. Aim to shoot the backbone or spine. This will stop the turkey from being able to run while injured.
  
  
• 5). Limit the numbers of turkey you hunt. In fall hunting, there's a bag limit of one wild turkey, while in spring the limit to how many turkeys you can kill is one bearded turkey per day, three per season.