Turkey hunting is tough!

Bad year Central MO was a bust numbers were way down out of 5 of us my buddies wife got a Jake the other day and that guys a caller. On my 4th trip to the Black Hills now it has snowed/rained about every day I’ve been here just stopped raining again. The MO hens were on the nests but here the hens are still roosting with the gobblers. The only shots I could of taken were ditch birds in WY and it’s not legal and not fun for me.

Seen100s of birds in the Hills this last 4 weeks no shortage there some gobbling but the flocks are sticking together, lots of jakes just hope the next winter stays mild. Lots of hunters not seeing much either ran into TX, WI, MN, MS, FL, GA that I can remember. Put on 222 miles the other day seen 2 jakes, walked ridge road that had 2 flocks on it a week ago not a track a week later.

1 prairie tag to fill when I get home but that looks like rain the first 1/2 of the week. Worked some birds today at sunup had a sandy colored predator going through the junipers not sure if it was a yote or a cat but it moved along, I moved spots to let it know I was there. Seen large groups of elk everyday so far this trip.

WY road bird seen 3 groups like that last week during a snow storm.

Hang in there like a rusty fish hook

You are sure getting to enjoy a lot of nice scenery!

Getting a little old to be hiking these mountains. LOL

Hit one with a rock two nights ago and I'm not that good of a shot. It took about ten rocks to finally hit it and run it off. I m out of spring tags or it would have gone in the freezer. You are hunting the wrong states.

Headin to Nebraska on Friday and cannot wait. All private stuff and last I talked to the guy ( my buddy and i take turns getting ahold of him so its been a couple years) we were the only ones allowed to go. If i have an early opportunity im gonna see if my buddy will shoot first or screw it up in purpose. I dont want it over too soon.

In the airport now heading towards NM. Stop off in Atlanta then to El Paso to get a car to drive up to the Lincoln National Forest.

I applied for an antelope tag west of Newcastle, what was the late storms like as far as winter kill on pronghorns.

Nothing crazy in fact they said they lacked snow for the snowmobiles but then got plenty in April I was pushing 14 inches a few weeks ago but it did not last with the warm days and rain. Seen a few antelope on a trip over to Newcastle just last month they should be fine.

No shortage of birds in the Hills and not all that many hunters but your seeing more on the weekends now, seen my first side by side today on the WY side and the local camp guys showed up on the SD side with a couple military guys I scout for, but plenty of room out there. Most guys scouting rather then out calling, first you locate then work the next AM.

The biggest issue here is the birds had a screwy winter they are way off cycle they are all grouped up now hens, gobblers and jakes still hanging together and have yet to disperse across the countryside. So scouting is tough as they have no reason to travel they have everything they need as a flock. Hens still in the trees at fly down they should be on the nests weeks ago.

I have a tag for a county south of me to fill that’s a place if you go to in April and the birds are still in the thick hillsides then in May they are all over the open fields after dispersal.

Law Dog-Had a really slow day here in western Wisconsin today. Heard one gobble about 9 a.m., way off in the distance and that is all I heard all day. No shots heard at all.

Moosetrot

Been a lot of that this year I’ve been to the Hills 4X heard very few shots everyplace I’ve been to.

Buddy finally closed the deal on this eastern this morning! Bird won Tues and Wed but lost this morning!!

Been a terrible season here as well, about to head to krogers so I can put a bird in the freezer.

Monday I gave permission to a friend on my farm . I hunted with him until 8:am then showed him the property boundaries and went to work . When i got home I had turkey breast in my refrigerator . That gentleman sure knows how to show appreciation.

Had our first encounter today 1/2 hr in (about noon) with three toms came in silent. My buddy whiffed a 37 yard shot. Got around on them (i think was same birds) about 2 hours later and they were gobblin their heads off. One came in to 52 or so yards, didnt feel comfortable. Full strut for a while starin us down then walked off with another tom and they met up with two hens. Headin back to the pickup we hear some gobblin across the road and spotted two struttin on the hillside 600 yards away. My absolute favorite thing to do turkey hunting is call them in from a loooong ways while watching them. More fun than hearin them gobble 60 yards away but cant see them. Ive pulled two birds 1/2 mile plus to 15 yards. Its a rush. These particular toms were pretty fired up seemed like anything i did made them sound off. Finally i raised the turkey fan i carry inside my folding seat and that did it. They dropped out of strut and were comin steady. Im fully convinced they were gonna come right into our laps when the farmer showed up to plant the field right below us, and in between us and the birds. That turned them. Pretty good action. Back at it sunday.

We have a very healty population here in Ontario and very little hunting pressure. I tagged my second gobbler today and was fortunate enough to pick the birds I wanted to bag. Will be guiding my son until the end of season and hopefully he can fill his first tag.

I have only been once. The first day of the season, I woke up early in the morning and walked and sat on the edge of a field. When walking in I heard a turkey gobble in the woods. I sat quite for a few minutes and turned on my FoxPro caller. The turkey came right in and I shot him at 10 yards. The whole hunt took about 15 minutes.

Maybe it would have been a bit more of a challenging hunt if I had used a hand call?

Birds are either in the mood to come in when called to or they arent. Theyre either in the mood to gobble or theyre not. I dont think any turkey is unable to be called. Maybe your window of opportunity is smaller on the old birds having dumb moments. After hearing several live hens call, i think most “pro” callers sound better to our ears than the real thing. Now off to bed so i can fill my tag tomorrow.

Our birds are few and far between.

The lack of a real winter in many places seems to have the off their cycles in many areas we are loaded with birds they are just way behind their normal yearly cycle from past years it look like. They will break up before the end of the season when they do then things will be rocking.

I went out to the black hills last week and it was tough hunting. Not much happening on the south dakota side and we had some better luck on some BLM land in Wyoming but even then it wasn't easy. Had one bird come in range in 6 days and that's the one we got.

Having several properties to hunt within a 20-35 min radius definitely helps with success rate. When options are limited and there is little to no activity it can be discouraging to most hunters. I am fortunate enough to have access to about 18 private properties all of which have birds so I basically have the option of picking and choosing the birds I want.

covid killed them all !! Or covid caused the deaths of thousands. Everybody off work last season and killed all the gobblers.

Not many getting killed by the standard methods here but plenty of hunters after them, during the bad weather seen 100s out feeding just no interest in anything but the flock right now.

Here is a link to the Missouri Harvest Map. I tagged out here in Nw Mo. Counties close where I hunt all done pretty solid. Better then past couple years.

Missouri Turkey Harvest Map

I find this year it has been much harder to bring in birds. I already shot my two birds. However, I have been out with my son this week and last weekend and it has been a different story.

Normally at this time of the season I have had good luck luring good size Toms without too much problems but this year many are still sticking to the hens.

Our best run was last Saturday with 4 nice Toms within 15 yards, but they stayed together and my boy wouldn't take the shot...frustrating it was. It took us 3 hours to bring them in and at the end it still didn't happen. Will be at it again tomorrow and hopefully he will be able to fill his tag. Tough year for sure.

Birds are there just not on the move now the hens are still in tow, spent about 2 weeks in the Black Hills this spring total. During the early storms that pushed them into the open areas they were all over the place just not workable then. Now that the snowpack is gone they hang together in the thick areas, life is good for the gobblers now. LOL

I put on well over 1,500 miles scouting for birds seen more in the last 2 days then the previous weeks out there, seen a gobbler with several hens today and a string of jakes and hens yesterday about 8 of them. They gobble on the roost but get quiet soon after fly down making them tough to set up on, when you do they walk off with the hens they have with them. You can chase gobbles all morning and never see a bird.

I can think of 3 shot that remember hearing the whole time out there so not a lot of birds getting killed.

We are already seeing poults down South. Turkey numbers on public land are down significantly. Private land birds are always plentiful, but we manage them. 3 birds off one 2500ac. And 6 birds off a 5000ac tract. My son saw one hen with 11 poults and a different hen with 13 poults. This property is trapped year round. Another property 2 hens were seen with poults, one had 5 the other 7...this property is not trapped. Already had a landowner call and say this is the first year he’s ever seen poults and gotten pics of hens with poults on camera.

I believe I’ve heard Georgia will shorten their season and reduce the limit next year. It’s a shame too. If they’d just eliminate the use of fans and decoys they could change the population in one season and make money by fining those that don’t comply. Reducing bag limits and shortening season will take years to accomplish anything unfortunately.

The introduction of TSS might have a impact on calling in the future also, I know since side by sides became popular open road calling is avoided more.

Wow you must have some different turkeys down there if they commit suicide every time they see a fan or decoy. I will keep that in mind if I ever hunt in Georgia.

Prn, if you watch any hunting show or any YouTube videos you’ll see what I’m taking about. In fact, you already know it. I can put a fan in the hand of a 6yr old and tell him to make any sound other than talking and he’ll kill a turkey. Decoys and fans up your percentage to about 75% most of the time, especially on field birds. I know folks that couldn’t call in a turkey inside an aviary, but with a fan and or decoys they limit out. So yeah, take away the crutch and get back to calling in birds and the population will rebound real quick.

I have used multiple fans up with a combination of decoys and they are effective in bringing in dominant birds. These birds often won't respond to calls but will just about run in to investigate fans up when they see them. In fact, I shot my second bird this way.