Montana turkey hunting

[Thomasj1107]

Hey there, I have hunted eastern birds in several states, and I have started dabbling in elk hunting out west but have not yet been out for spring turkey. I have some friends to visit in Montana and would like to turkey hunt at the same time. If there is anyone who could point me in the right direction, or at least away from the wrong direction for public land hunting that would be great. Would also love it if someone wants a partner for spring turkey, I can keep up, and have met some good people on here before wouldn't mind meeting/learning from some more. Thanks!

 

[tbowers]

The SE portion of the state has good bird numbers in general. I was doing some research on MT turkey, and thier online harvest numbers make zero sense to me .
In 2021 they issued 38K tags(that alone is crazy high) 36K of those are for residents. The resident success rate is around 17%. The non resident success is 42%. Thats a huge gap- Do most of the residents just buy a tag and never hunt? The number of days afield is roughly the same.

Then what also throws me for a loop is the Excel file that has the stats has a separate 'hunter success' tab that notates RES success is 42%. No idea were that number comes from.

Just thought it was really odd.

 

[Erict]

It's a big state - what general area are you looking at?

I would not limit myself to public land for turkey. Knock on some doors and you may just find a honey hole like I did a few years ago.

 

[bsnedeker]

The SE portion of the state has good bird numbers in general. I was doing some research on MT turkey, and thier online harvest numbers make zero sense to me .
In 2021 they issued 38K tags(that alone is crazy high) 36K of those are for residents. The resident success rate is around 17%. The non resident success is 42%. Thats a huge gap- Do most of the residents just buy a tag and never hunt? The number of days afield is roughly the same.

Then what also throws me for a loop is the Excel file that has the stats has a separate 'hunter success' tab that notates RES success is 42%. No idea were that number comes from.

Just thought it was really odd.

I buy a turkey tag but rarely hunt turkeys. I'm out looking for bears and if a turkey happens to gobble when I'm by the truck with my shotgun I might go after them.

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[Thomasj1107]

It's a big state - what general area are you looking at?

I would not limit myself to public land for turkey. Knock on some doors and you may just find a honey hole like I did a few years ago.

I have some friends that may join from Bozeman so if I could be somewhat near there that would be nice, but I’m more concerned with getting into birds than I am about being close to Bozeman.

 

[Wagner]

I hunted the SE, around Broadus. It’s been a while though so not really relevant these days. Numbers were good, but I know the rancher we hunted with stopped selling turkey hunts because of the low numbers 5 years ago. I believe 2 years ago he started selling ago.
Anyone find a good map for public access?I thought the Montana fwp website was difficult to navigate. Probably just me..

 

[huntin_fool94]

The SE portion of the state has good bird numbers in general. I was doing some research on MT turkey, and thier online harvest numbers make zero sense to me .
In 2021 they issued 38K tags(that alone is crazy high) 36K of those are for residents. The resident success rate is around 17%. The non resident success is 42%. Thats a huge gap- Do most of the residents just buy a tag and never hunt? The number of days afield is roughly the same.

Then what also throws me for a loop is the Excel file that has the stats has a separate 'hunter success' tab that notates RES success is 42%. No idea were that number comes from.

Just thought it was really odd.

my understanding is these numbers are a guess at best. there is no required reporting of harvest. they will do random phone surveys to get a guess at harvest data.

 

[Erict]

In the past three Octobers I have put on several thousand miles driving throughout SE MT looking for turkey, coyotes, badgers and scouting for antelope spots. I think I have a pretty good feel for the area. A lot of dirt roads and a lot of places without cell coverage. In SE MT, if I had limited time, I would spend all my time within the ag areas/green zone of the major river drainages (Yellowstone, Powder River, etc.). I have found small pockets of birds in very unlikely places, like a small area of "green" surrounded for 10 miles in all directions by open, treeless prarie. Maybe they were released there? The BMA booklet may be helpful and also don't count out the Wildlife Management Areas and other public lands listed in the book. Just because a BMA is listed as having "Turkey", don't believe it - I've been to some where I find it hard to believe a turkey ever stepped on that ground. I bagged two gobblers this fall with my .17 WSM, which was fun as we can't do that out east. Both had crops loaded with grasshoppers, which I was told were bad this year. Anyways, good luck.

 

[bsnedeker]

I bagged two gobblers this fall with my .17 WSM, which was fun as we can't do that out east.

I'm sure you are aware of this, but just so no one else is confused: That is only allowed in the fall season. During Spring turkey you are limited to shotgun or archery equipment.



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[tbowers]

Turkeys can hang in what we consider 'weird' spots, especially out west if you are coming from the midwest or down south. Like you say, a small clump of trees along a river can hold 3-4 birds...or none. Plenty of people have said it, but if turkeys didnt gobble it would be near impossible to kill one.

I'm thinking too regarding the super high 36K RES licenses sold, its mainly due to people just buying them alongside thier spring bear or elk, lope, deer tag in the fall. For res, the turkey tag is only $14 so I'm sure a ton of guys just buy one in case they stumble into a bird while chasing other critters.