Hope you had success and share your story and pics!! My son sorta threw a kink in my Montana plans, but there’s always next year! We may end up making this an annual trip.

We had a great hunt.
We each killed 2 long beards in Montana and each killed 1 long beard in Wyoming.
Get into the right habitat and there’s lots of turkeys in that part of the world, but you better be able to walk.
Montana made the 15th state that I’ve killed gobblers in.
I’ll definitely go west again before my walking ability goes to pot lol

Birds in Idaho are kicking my butt…13.4 miles first day scouting, 8.7 today chasing, lol. These birds literally hit the deck without their hens. Ole boy this morning went one way and his hens came to me. It’s almost like they aren’t interested. He’d gobble at everything I threw at him but never once gobbled to his own hens.
My highlight today was getting to hear Grouse drumming!! Talk about getting the heart racing at 0-dark30!! I apparently set with 15ft of it in the dark and it’s started way before light. I actually jumped, lol. Everywhere I went today grouse were drumming. That’s something I’ve only witnessed on TV. And I’ve seen Bald Eagles the past two days. We only see them when they migrate back home. Same time every Spring.

Ruffed grouse?
Are you seeing other hunters?

Only saw one other hunter on a 4-wheeler. Came by me twice while working a bird and never saw me. This was about 5 miles deep and I killed a bird.
When I got back to the truck he was there loading up his 4-wheeler. Said he had seen some “females” but no “males” and didn’t think he was allowed to shoot females, lol.

Oh boy. One of those lol!

Sounds like turkey are far between in Idaho.

Last day of my 3 day license and got it done in Idaho. Not sure what was going on in the area I was in, plenty of turkeys, but none wanted to play. When you roost a bird and he doesn’t gobble at his hens but gobbles at you then you think it’s roasted. Not the case. These birds fly down and head the other way. Hens come to check me out but the gobblers act like they’re more interested with joining up with there buddies…bro’s before ho’s I guess.

I decided to make a move midday. Looked on OnX and found something closer to the Washington line, I knew those birds liked to play. I finally found access, OnX is all screwed up on this place and a lot of Idaho for some reason, and started my hike in. Thankfully I always drop a waypoint on access and track my route. I hiked, more like crawled, up this ridge calling most of the way and of course I get to the top and I hear multiple gobbles down the ridge, across the creek, and on the other ridge. I mark a spot on OnX on a road where they should be near and drop off the ridge. And when I say drop, I mean the on fire maneuver, stop…drop…roll!! I wasn’t on fire but wasn’t too happy about having to climb back up to retrieve my gun that I dropped on the way down. Nothing hurt except pride, lol.

I get to a road that isn’t marked and thought this is strange. I follow it to the road that should intersect with the new road I found and there’s no road. Now I’m really confused. I follow the road I found even though it doesn’t match my app, and get to a landmark I made note of from the opposite ridge. I start calling and nothing. Get up that ridge and call and hear birds back the way I came. I’m really confused now and just get back on the road I was on when I “dropped” off the ridge and follow it to see where it ends up. I’m calling the entire way and nothing. My “road” leads me back to where I originally started before crawling up that ridge. And guess where the birds gobble from??? Up the ridge where I initially struck them. I have no clue how they covered that distance or how we didn’t run into each other. I know stealth wasn’t a word I would use dropping off that ridge, lol.

So now I’m at an intersection and call again. They answer closer. I dive in a ditch and call again. Now they are real close. Within 30 seconds I see red heads! I’m thinking you’ve got to be kidding me, lol. They stop and gobble multiple times looking for the hen. I praying please just keep coming! They start back down and as soon as they’re behind some brush I give a light call and they immediately answer. I hear 2 gobblers and a jake. The jake heads down the trail, the gobblers make a beeline where the calling came from. Now I’m at a dilemma…two gobblers coming straight at me and can’t get a shot because I’d hit them both. I’m not picky on out of state trips, whichever one gives me a shot I’m taking. Finally one took a few steps to the right at 20 yards and I filled my Idaho tag!!

Turns out there was 2 gobblers and 2 jakes, lol. They beat up on their dead buddy for a minute then gobbled to celebrate his death and finally moved on. I was and still am as happy as a man can be! Didn’t get to make it to Montana, but there’s always next year!!

Nice job! I love hunting Idaho birds. When I first moved up here in 1994 I kept thinking someone is starting up a little motorbike and heading my way. Took me a minute to figure out it was grouse drumming.

They were really on a roll yesterday. I did my best to try and find one to get pics or a video, but they are hard to pinpoint in the wind. This was my first time ever hearing that and it won’t be my last. I couldn’t imagine hunting them, they stick to some serious thick cover for the most part.

Are you done hunting or do you have any more tags left?

Beautiful birds. We are planning on doing South Dakota and Wyoming next turkey season

Only bought one Idaho tag. I fly out tomorrow.
This afternoon we went fishing and I caught my first Rainbow and first Smallmouth Bass!! What a way to end a trip! Accomplished everything I came out to do, minus Montana and catching a Walleye. Montana went on the back burner when my son decided to fly out for a week, but we’ve already made plans to return again next year so hopefully Montana will be first on the list…and finding a Walleye, lol!