The single most important element of any camouflaged setup is the simple ability to sit still. Clothing designed to help a hunter break up his outline or blend in her appearance adds a great deal to stealth and concealment, but the best clothing patterns in the world won’t work if the person wearing them is squirming around.
Making sure to be as comfortable as possible is the best way to make such setups successful. Strong, lightweight, portable seats are a tremendous improvement for comfort, and so become a direct key in hiding well.
Turkey hunting chairs are generally made in one of two patterns. The first is a hunting version of a collapsible, umbrella-style camping chair. The second is a footrest-style seat to help a hunter lean against a tree without sitting directly on the tree’s roots. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages and, like all else, is a question decided by what compromises its user is most willing to make.
The footrest-style of turkey hunting seat has been available for more than 20 years, and its simplicity continues to pay off. Early versions of this seat involved a wide nylon belt woven around a rectangular frame of tubular steel. This version had two small feet or rails that folded down to put against the ground and make the seat tilt.
Fold it out
An excellent, more-recent version of this style is the Millennium Field Pro. This seat is very solidly built but only weighs about six pounds. It includes a shoulder strap for carrying.
The rails that elevate it and its user off the ground are in a fixed position, so there’s no chance of them folding up. It also has a hinged back, a tremendous help in scenarios that don’t come complete with an excellent tree to lean on. This version is very sturdy and quiet, which makes it reliable as well.
The other primary version of turkey hunting seat follows the model of folding camp chairs seen along the fence lines at baseball games everywhere. This seat is the same general shape as a full-sized camp chair, but its legs are much shorter, the better to help its user hide in the underbrush while hunting.
This seat invariably has legs of tubular metal or of carbon fiber. Many versions include Velcro straps for holding the chair closed in collapsed positions, as well as shoulder straps for carrying.
When placed on level terrain, this version is easily the more comfortable option. It can be placed in front of a tree or not. Any scenario that offers sufficient front and back cover is a place this chair can be used well.
Disadvantages of this version fall into a few clear categories. If the ground is soft, its feet will sink in much further than would the rails of the other version. Its Velcro can be noisy, and unfolding it can sometimes be a struggle in the dark because the shoulder strap and Velcro closing straps can tangle as the legs fold out.
Pack it up
Turkey hunting shares much in common with fly fishing when it comes to carrying gear. There is no limit to the number of nifty, useful devices either pursuit can offer.
For devotees of both who enjoy remaining mostly mobile, there are many cuts to be made. A turkey hunter needs a shotgun, two or three shells and something to use for a call. Beyond that, everything else is an option. While a turkey seat certainly is not on the list of must-haves, it doesn’t lie far from it.
It does as much or more for overall comfort and enjoyment as the mosquito-repelling Thermacell, and it’s something most who’ve tried one have little desire to go without.
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