Turkey Season

sveltri

WKR
Joined
Jun 22, 2016
Messages
822
Location
SALIDA
CAN'T WAIT!! Spring gobbler is one of my favorite hunts. Killed my first trad turkey last year at maybe 5yds without a blind. I mostly hunt mountain birds in Colorado, but would love to get back to KS or maybe try out Utah this year. With the mild winter we've had so far there should be good numbers this spring.
 

Reload

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jun 16, 2016
Messages
210
Location
Vandalia IL
Boom, I'm always up for a trade. I live in Illinois an I'm confident in you getting in on birds. What state do you live in? Our lottery permits come due February 9th so if interested you would need to act fast.
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
766
Location
MS
Nice, If you see a short guy with a diy painted 870 and kryptek highlander pants it’s me. Good luck.


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I'll be the other short guy toting a custom cerakoted 870 with a reflex sight, ha. Good luck to you too!
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2015
Messages
415
I am soooo ready for spring gobbler. I usually pack in and hunt in pisgsh national forest in NC. The usually 2-3 weeks later I go back home a pack in in Allegheny national forest in Pa. I love chasing birds!!! Last fall my cousin and I packed in for fall birds in Pa. I tried my hand with a bow. I had a close call on a BIG buck one night but it was to thick and the next evening I came close to connecting on a gobbler headed to roost. Still had a ball even though I didn’t kill anything but time.
 
Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
3,721
Location
Utah
I got drawn again this year for Utah Spring hunts. Last year I got a sweet 19.5 lb bird out of one drainage and smaller one the year before in the general season.
My biggest to date.
I will be heading in about April and probably way higher as we didn't get hardly any snow this year.
 
OP
aclawrence
Joined
Feb 20, 2015
Messages
668
That sounds like some fun hunts @fort fireman. To y’all guys hunting turkeys in the mountains, I wouldn’t know where to start with that. Never considered how winters would effect the turkeys or what elevation to hunt then at.


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Jbehredt

WKR
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
1,702
Location
Colorado
Counting the days! The wife is looking for redemption in NE after she whiffed on her only shot last season. Nice Tom 10 yds out, stopming the decoy and she can’t remember ever looking through her peep.
 

sveltri

WKR
Joined
Jun 22, 2016
Messages
822
Location
SALIDA
That sounds like some fun hunts @fort fireman. To y’all guys hunting turkeys in the mountains, I wouldn’t know where to start with that. Never considered how winters would effect the turkeys or what elevation to hunt then at.

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You can usually start at the snow line, however, sometimes I find them in heavier snow that I would expect. It seems like where I live/hunt its best to start looking in places whose name ends in "Creek". Almost every XYZ "Creek" drainage holds turkey's around here. I live at 7K' and typically find spring birds from 7500' to 9000' in elevation.
 
Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
3,721
Location
Utah
That sounds like some fun hunts @fort fireman. To y’all guys hunting turkeys in the mountains, I wouldn’t know where to start with that. Never considered how winters would effect the turkeys or what elevation to hunt then at.


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Look for cotton wood trees or other roosting type trees and find water close by- turkeys will be there-
The rest is just hiking seeing where they wandered off to.
 

Hesseltine32

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 24, 2016
Messages
134
Location
Maryland
I’m getting ready. Start my season off in Nebraska for the first time. Then Virginia and Maryland. Probably head up to New York one weekend to visit family and hunt.
 

Murdy

WKR
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Messages
623
Location
North-Central Illinois
Counting the days! The wife is looking for redemption in NE after she whiffed on her only shot last season. Nice Tom 10 yds out, stopming the decoy and she can’t remember ever looking through her peep.

That's a heart-breaker. Couple years ago I had a chance at one of the biggest toms I ever saw. I don't have a peep, rather, a double bead. I'm pretty sure I just used the front bead and shot over its head. Arrrgh!

Good luck out there to both of you.
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
766
Location
MS
This spring I plan on hunting MS and Bama and then making two trips...One to Illinois and maybe Iowa (depending on draws) and then a second to New York and Pennsylvania.

drew Pope County, Illinois for the second season (April 14-19) and second season zone 4 in Iowa (April 20-24). Perfect!
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
766
Location
MS
Saw the first strutters of the year yesterday here in MS. Three were puffed up trailing a flock of about 35 hens. This warm weather has them amped up!
 

boom

WKR
Joined
Sep 11, 2013
Messages
3,185
i'm shooting my bow again.

looks like i'm gonna have to scooch the decoy just a bit closer this season...hahahha
 

BrentLaBere

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 24, 2013
Messages
239
Location
Bismarck
Just found out I drew my second choice unit. It will be mid April before I can hunt the North Dakota Badlands. Plenty of time to find some spots to hunt.
 

Davebuech

WKR
Joined
May 16, 2016
Messages
694
Location
Rocky Mountains (SLV) Colorado
Ready yes, but still a while to wait. Enough time to run calls and scout.
This will be my first time turkey hunting, chasing Merriams in Co. Ive seen scratchings and feathers while elk or deer hunting, even jumped one, so thought I'd give it a go this year. From what Ive heard of hunting them, seems a little like chasing and calling Elk. Sounds like fun to me and easier to pack out! You can hunt them twice in the same year, the seasons are fairly long so why not
Got a new benelli SBE3 this year for close coyote encounters, which coincidentally makes a good turkey gun too. Patterned it some yesterday with a few different turkey loads and found a couple that will work. Gonna try a couple more load combos for fun but it's ready to go too.
Yes, getting excited!
Good luck to everyone.
 

FLAK

WKR
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
2,287
Location
Gulf Coast
I'm in extreme SW Alabama, but I'll be in the Talladega NF back home come Turkey season.
Got a wee bit of private ground my son killed his first longbeard on 2 years ago.
We are ready!!!!
 

CREillY

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 26, 2018
Messages
255
Location
MN
I'm just starting to get into to Turkey hunting in central Minnesota. Does anyone have any recommendations on Decoys? I will be using my bow. TIA!
 

Murdy

WKR
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Messages
623
Location
North-Central Illinois
Avian-X turkey dekes are great and worth the money.

Place male dekes facing toward you so the tom comes around front to confront it and turns his back on you.
Place hens facing away, so the tom comes around back to breed it and turns his back on you.
Either way, turkeys have well over 200 degree fields of vision, so it's not foolproof.

I use one hen deke early in the season, when they haven't seen any for a while. Later, I either use none or multiple (3 or 4), when they're getting decoy shy, to show them something different. (Most people don't use more than one or two, in my experience)
 
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