A true stick burner (wood only) generally needs to be a quality smoker to work well - which translates to 1/4" thick plate steal and $1000+ price tags.
There are some cheaper thin metal ones (Char-griller, Smoke-N-Grill, etc.) that fall under the horizontal offset line of smokers. These usually require an additional $50+ of modification to work OK, but even then they do not like cold windy weather in any form. The horizontal offsets can be used with either straight wood, or a charcoal/wood mix. Most folks use a charcoal/wood mix - do a search on this site for "minion method" - the basic idea is you build a charcoal basket that holds a decent amount of charcoal, you fill the basket with unlit charcoal, then put a small pile of lit charcoal on top of that. It will burn slowly over a longer period of time giving you a more consistent temperature during the cook. As the charcoal burns you toss in fist sized or small splits of "flavor" wood to get your "smoke" - hickory, mesquite, cherry, etc.
There is also the
Weber Smokey Mountain smokers, they are a vertical charcoal smoker that works very well right out of the box.... but you are looking at $200-$400 depending on the size you buy: 22.5" - $400, 18.5" - $300, & 14.5" $200. I have the 22.5" and love it! Lots of room for cooking and runs like a champ - I smoke year round in all kinds of weather. For cooking something the size of a turkey you would be looking at the 18.5" or 22.5"
WSM, unless it was a small turkey.
Also there are several gas and electric smokers that a lot of people like and use on this forum as well. I suggest spending some time reading posts and seeing what people say about their smokers - feel free to PM (private message) folks as well. Most of us are happy to offer ideas or answer questions if we can.
Johnny
