Turkey Hunting out West

[Hotspotter]

I'm planning a trip out west with some buddies this spring to go after some Merriams birds. I've hunted rios and plenty of easterns, but never have gone after these beauts.

Just looking for any advice, general to specific regarding these things, especially for you guys that hunt the Black Hills, eastern WY, or southeastern MT.

I've read quite a bit on them, and from what I can tell, they seem to be quite vocal under the right circumstances, and often more willing to come to calling than many easterns.

Do you guys run and gun? Do you sit tight? How far do birds typically range from roost-flydown-feeding and back? Any specific setups? How does the terrain/topography affect how you hunt? Any stark differences in tactics between these birds and easterns?

Just looking to hear your experiences!!!

Joel

[OUTDOORNUT]

Joel,

I've hunted the Hills a couple times, and found that the "Run & Gun" method to be your best option, at least in the morning while you can locate birds. For me it was a totally different style hunt, where is your hunting millions of acres of forest and flocks of birds anywhere from 15-25. They are a lot more willing to move, in fact they seemed to be on the move from the time they came off of roost until we "lost" them in the next valley/woods/bend, etc. With hunting Easterns in MN you usually working woods less than 100 acres and some as small as 5. Out in the Hills we are in their backyard, compared to their cousins in MN who are litterally in our backyard.

The first year we hunted them in the traditional sit and call method and found there to be way to many hens to even get more than one or two repley gobbles and the birds would move on and disapear into the dark woods....without a peep, for sometimes the rest of the day. So then we got a tad smarter and decided that the way to get to these guys is through team work. So we'd sit at the bottom of a valley and as soon as we heard the morning gobbles, we were off to the races, we thought if we could get close we could cut them off, with at least one guy getting shooting, well that seemed to work the best. Unless you go out on a unusually dry spring and can't walk across the pine needles without it sounding like walking on crushed glass. Oh and watch out for the Mnt. Lions, they seemed more than human friendly.

Here is how I'm going to hunt them again this April, take what you want from it and hopefully between your research and the tips others are going to provide we can both learn and aid in our search of the Ol' White Tiped

Pack Light; water, gps, map, calls and maybe one decoy between two guys

Stay on the move; once we found them we tried to stay with them as long as possible. They do "disapear" into those woods if you sit to long.

Located water; there is always a shortage of watering holes, daily tracks near any water hole were usually found.

Be prepared; we encountered every weather type from Dry, warm weather to rain/sleet & snow all within three days

Give yourself a good workout prior to your trip, running up those hills with a little less oxygen in the air can take a toll on a guy after a long day.

Talk to the locals, (i.e. Park Rangers, Mailman, Residents, etc.)

All three of these provided plenty of good starting points for where they see and or saw birds last.

Have a grand time, the sights and sound are second to none.

[Borch]

I agree with outdoornut.

It's pretty much a run and gun game out there. Aggressive calling is usually the order of the day. Don't get too hung up on hunting fresh sign. These birds cover lots of ground in a day. Based on tracking studies of the Black Hills birds they average 12 miles a day. So keep covering ground until you find birds. Definitely revisit those spots that there was good sign. The birds will be back. But maybe not for hours or the next day.

These birds will gobble all day long! So don't give up!

I use my boxcall and crow calls a lot to get birds to gobble. Coyote howlers can be very effective as well.

Our group is likely heading out there earlier than normal due to my work schedule. The weather can definitely be very unpredictable out there. We missed 3'+ snowfalls by less than 4 days on two different occassions.

Joel if you're planning on hunting the Hills give me a call and I'll get you some more info.

320-761-1413

[elevatorguy]

Well I have been hunting out there for 5 years now. But I had to miss last year due to a broken leg. Both Borch and Outdoornut are right with the run and gun. And as Borch said they do travel. Especially roosting. I have found they use same areas but they can not be there for a few days. As for the weather I have been out there trying to hunt in 12 inches of snow. And this was the first week in may. Not very fun and the turkeys shut down and can be tougher to locate. I have tried all ways to hunt and the best I found is be mobile. One thing I have found is mid morning to early afternoon is the best time to hunt. They are tough to get away from hens. I have had them gobble for 2 hours after sunup and then wander off with hens. If you want a jake they will come in at anytime and be silent. The most action I have had has been between 9am and 3pm. And they will gobble all day. Later in the season if you hear a gobble and the are silent sit a bit. I have been busted several times giving up to quickly. The best part about the Hills is there is so much land to hunt. It is mostly public. I hunt the Hill City area and have barely scratched the surface of places to hunt. Another nice thing is you can find some reasonable cabins or rooms there. And if you are willing to pull a trailer or tent it you can camp just about anywhere. If you have any questions you can e-mail me at [email protected]. Well i hope to get drawn I MN again. My SD hunt will depend on if I get drawn but plan to go again. So good luck this spring.

[Hotspotter]

Phenomenal.

Solid advice for a merriams newbie. I'm heading out there with an old codger (45 yr. old ) who showed me the ropes of turkey hunting. He guided out there for 15 years......and while that may sound good for me, his guiding days are done. Want to make sure I can keep up.

Will be working off the christmas cookies starting soon.

Any advice on call types? I've heard quite a few guys use box calls to really reach out into the bigger country. In that regard, a high-pitched slate would probably work well too?

When have you traditionally headed out there? Seem to be any correlation between henned up toms and time of year out there, or do they seem to travel in large groups throughout the spring?

Thanks again!!

Joel

[OUTDOORNUT]

A few different Shock Gobble tactics to try;

Cattle grate crossings; They provided a few Shock Gobbles, when we come to a grate, one (or more) would get out and walk into the woods a distance and have the driver drive over the grate.

Elk bugles; there are a lot of Elk out in the Hills.

A goose call; worked for my buddy, something I was going to add to my bag for this trip.

[mntraveler]

Last year was my first session in the hills and actually my first turkey hunt. Had a great time, aside from the snow that didn't stop from Thurs afternoon until we left on Sunday morning. The funny thing is it didn't really accumulate but really shut the birds up. That first morning they were very willing to answer calls (didn't want to come close enough) but once the snow started they were very quiet. If you are willing to take your chances, we also found making lots of racket (with calls, every one in your vest) for about 10-15 min and then sitting tight for an hour usually got a little action, albeit silent.

Good luck and maybe if you're in the Hill City area at the end of April we'll run into each other.

[Wallydog]

JNEL,

If you are thinking as far west as Idaho.........give a hollar.

WD

[Hotspotter]

Wally:

Someday my friend! I have a buddy that lives in Pocatello; and while I know nothing about where birds are out there, it doesn't sound like he's nearby very many. I'll get out there to hunt them someday, but until then I'm going to try the black hills area.

If/when it's in the nearby future, I'll call you out! I saw your posts last spring, and they were very informative. Made me want to add a new state to my to-do list. Keep posting about how your turkey scouting/season goes, you're sure to draw a few of us krafty norwegians westward!

Joel

[Log Hopper]

Great posts guys.

I'm planning a trip to Colorado on opening weekend. Any tips on public land around Dillon south of the limited area would help out. This will be my first time after Merriams, too.