Can't hardly wait for spring to get here, Turkey season!!

[gamestalker]

I have go through this anxiety every year, and have for the last 40 some years, I love turkey season.

I like hunting turkey so much, that once I've completed my hunt and family members, I start searching for those who haven't yet filled their tags, just so I can get some more excitement in before the season ends.

My absolute favorite thing to do is to put a bird to bed, or roost him as it were, then take someone out in the dark of morning before the bird starts gobbling. Then climb a slope, set up, and watch the new turkey hunter light up with amazement when the bird starts gobbling. How did you know he was there, how did you do that? Then the absolute best part is when that bird comes strutting in, often times flying off the roost and almost into our lap right after I let out that barely audible tree call. Ah, nothing like it!

GS

 

[eastbank]

me too, eastbank.

 

[urbaneruralite]

Gets in your blood, doesn't it?

 

[MCgunner]

I've killed one tom in my life. It was fun. We moved here 2 years ago. I've seen a tom and several hens on the game camera and we saw a flock cross the road down from the house yesterday morning, but I never hear 'em break roost or anything. We don't seem to have an abundance of 'em here; but, they ARE here. Bout the only way I'll ever get one is to stumble into one out back. I don't have a lot of land to roam out here, only about 25 acres. I ain't gonna pay the kind of money they want for a lease now days.

 

[gamestalker]

MCgunner, I'm sure that randomly walking into a tom and killing him is fun, well I know it is, I killed a few like that early on, but... There ain't nothing as exciting as a hunting a roosted, called, gobbling, strutting, drumming, wing dragging, decoy thrashing, gobbler, it's an absolutely amazing hunt!

MCgunner, how far from SW New Mexico do you live? Maybe?

GS

 

[eastbank]

i look forward to turkey season(fall-spring) more than deer season. eastbank.

 

[jrdolall]

I have not killed a turkey in 15 years but I love taking people turkey hunting. I agree that listening to them while on the roost and then calling them to you is one of the most exciting parts of hunting. I have probably killed 200 birds in my life from AL to MT and all in between but I don't care if I never actually shoot another one. Teaching novices is what it's all about for me.

 

[gamestalker]

I agree Jrdolall, nothing quite like watching someone getting their first called bird. I might not even buy my tag for this spring hunt, I just want to get out there and call for everyone else, and get it recorded on video for them.

I really don't know for certain how many I've personally killed, but it's a pretty big number, probably not 200 though, I've only hunted three states. As for those I've called for, who knows, been quite a few.

GS

 

[Cleveland48]

Opening day last year with my brother, then my single the next day. Nothing like it I must say

 

[eastbank]

good job, eastbank.

 

[MCgunner]

MCgunner, I'm sure that randomly walking into a tom and killing him is fun, well I know it is, I killed a few like that early on, but... There ain't nothing as exciting as a hunting a roosted, called, gobbling, strutting, drumming, wing dragging, decoy thrashing, gobbler, it's an absolutely amazing hunt!

MCgunner, how far from SW New Mexico do you live? Maybe?

Like I say, I've done it once. I was in a club, National Sportsman's Club, and had leases from west Texas to near my home on the mid Texas Gulf coast. One was ate up with turkey south of Junction, Texas across the highway from a state park on the South Llano River. I didn't know how to call, tried those things you put in your mouth and choked a lot. Got one of those push button box calls any idiot can use, taped it to my forearm on the old 12 gauge twice pipe, and by golly it worked. Yes, it was fun. Everything is private in Texas, though, except for some rather excellent duck and goose hunting in marshes along the coast owned by the state (WMAs) and the feds (NWRs). So, my focus has been on waterfowling most of my life. I've owned land with hogs and deer and been in clubs to hunt said animals, but turkey is a bit more exclusive in Texas.

I'm looking into this.... http://www.waterfowlparadise.com/index.html ...for next season. I've moved inland a ways, between Hallettsville and Eagle Lake, Texas, and hunting the coast is done with some planning using my travel trailer, but it's a bit less convenient than it was when I lived in Port Lavaca. However, the goose hunting, while it's all private up here, is amazing. And, great duck hunting of better ducks up here, too. I know the thrill of calling geese and talking to ducks. It's a thrill that happens over and over in a morning, not a one shot deal. But, if I had decent turkey hunting, don't think that I wouldn't get into it!!!! It was a thrill and, yeah, ain't an animal I can think of that's edible that I WOULDN'T hunt. I've even hunted the inedible, crows, coyotes, etc.

To answer your question, I'm a good 13 hours drive, including the hour you gain hitting the mountain time zone near Van Horn, from Las Cruces. THEN, to get to Silver City or up to Reserve where the turkey hunting is, the Gila River area, I've been there, is another most of the morning after leaving the motel at 6AM and grabbing breakfast. I've done this ride via motorcycle on multiple occasions. It's a butt busting trip even on a Gold Wing.

 

[MCgunner]

BTW, gamestalker, some beautiful country up in that part of SW NM. It's the attraction to me in the past. I've hunted the Guadalupes for mulies in the SE corner, almost in Texas, a lazy day of travel gets me there. Camped at Snow Lake in the Gila, froze my butt off in July at 10,000 + feet. Beautiful up there.

 

[gamestalker]

The area up around Cloudcroft is also really amazing, lots of streams and large springs, really lush and green. There is just something about the water falls, brooks and streams, really enhances the spring turkey hunting I think. Elevation is about the same as the Gila Wilderness, and I would say both are very similar as far as the scenery.

Can't wait, and I'm going stir crazy as usual waiting for mid April to get here, as is my Son and daughter in law.

GS

 

[urbaneruralite]

If y'all do any turkey hunting up around Cloudcroft, I'd enjoy reading your reports. I've meant to get out there for a gobbler for years.

 

[gamestalker]

I've been turkey hunting up there since about 1991, never had a bad season. I'm guessing I've killed between 75 and 100 gobs up there, counting those who I've guided. But It's just about as good as it get's up there, IMO. Very physically demanding though, 99% of the gobs require going vertical.

GS

 

[urbaneruralite]

I hear ya. We have a lot of up and down around here, but the elevation does not change much. The hindrance to breathing is high humidity. Sometimes it feels more like swimming through the woods than hiking.

How hard is it to find the turkeys out there? I would suppose that later in the season you would look close to water.

 

[gamestalker]

How hard is it to to find them up there? Well, if you camp up in the National Forest, like we do, you can't hardly sleep at night with all the gobbling that goes on. But seriously, the hardest part about hunting them uP there, is the extreme elevation coupled with having to go vertical for a gobbling bird. I experienced the flat land birds in S.D., talk about stupid easy, it was like what, no 10,000' peaks to deal with, oxygen to breath, what's that. But ya, the humidity was a factor, but every state / region has it's draw backs I guess.

Thanks a lot Cleveland48, it's not like the anxiety isn't bad enough already, had to go and post those pics didn't ya? BTW, those are a couple of really nice mature gobs there!

One of the one's my son got last year was the largest bird I've ever seen, big long hairy waddle, beard wasn't real long at just 9", some of it probably got broken off, but spurs, head and body size were almost freakishly large.

I'm going to do everything within my ability to learn how to post the pics and video for ya all when I get back from this hunt. This garbage of me not knowing how to post pics, links and such has got to come to an end. Were doing archery and shotgun, should be a truly awesome hunt.

GS

 

[MCgunner]

I've been to Cloudcroft/Ruidoso area many times, but not to hunt. About 20+ years back, after hunting the Guadalupes a couple of years running, I was thinkin' about chasing elk up there south of Cloudcroft in the northern Lincoln natl forest, southern part of the Sacramentos, but never made it out there for that and now they've changed the rules a lot. Never thought about turkey up there. The country is beautiful and I'd reckon it'd be worth the trip just for that. I'm a little long in the tooth now days, just have to pace myself, I guess.

Guess I'm going to have to do some research on NM turkey hunting regulations for out of staters. This would make a cool spring trip for sure. Thanks for the tip.

 

[gamestalker]

The regulations are pretty straight forward for non resident spring turkey.

The tags are over the counter, 2 birds for $100.

The general hunting license is only $75, which if so desired can be used for a 12 month period with other non resident tags, deer, elk, antelope, oryx, bear, varmint hunting and such. BTW, the bear hunting up in that area is crazy good, more black bear than any where else I've ever been.

The turkey tags are good state wide, with a few limited exceptions of course.

GS

 

[jrdolall]

I once limited in Montana (big deal, they're Merriams), Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Florida in the same year. Merriam, Rio, Eastern and Osceola. To me the eastern is by far the hardest to hunt but that could be because of the terrain. The Merriams were just plain stupid and I could have killed ten a day. Rio's were next but that could have just been a good week. I killed more rattlers than turkey. Osceola and Eastern are close but, IMO, the Osceola is easier to call in. Easterns older than two years old are a challenge.
I only had the opportunity to hunt Gould's on one occasion and we had one morning. We never heard or saw a bird. I keep saying I am going to go for the grand slam but just don't have the energy.

 

[urbaneruralite]

I'm always skeptical when I see the words easy and turkey used together. 'Course, I've only killed them in SC, GA and FL. And mostly on public land. Some of the old birds here have learned to control the volume of their gobble, and cut them off short, even. You won't hear them from more than a couple hundred yards and that's if you're on the same ridge and know about where they are all the same. It'll sound like he did it down in his chest with his beak clamped shut. You will hear them that get up high as they can and broadcast to all the world, too, which is fortunate for us that find them a challenge. To tell it all, roost gobbling doesn't figure very highly in our favor. I kill most of my birds between ten and two.

I think I'll make a plan for a family camping trip out there some time late in the season of 2016. Good luck, y'all!

 

[MCgunner]

BTW, the bear hunting up in that area is crazy good, more black bear than any where else I've ever been.

Well, of course, Smokey was born there.

 

[gamestalker]

I wish I had the resources to hunt them all over the country, what a treat that would be!

I've never hunted the Gould's, but I've worked them preseason and they didn't act any different than a Merriam, in that they were just as stupid.

As for Merriam's, I've spooked them before and was still able to call the same bird right back in 10 or 15 minutes later. On at least a couple occasions, I've had someone shoot and miss a bird, then I change positions by 50 - 100 yards and I've called him right back in.

On one particular Merriam hunt, I had two brothers I was guiding, and at fly down, 2 gobs flew down almost landing in our laps. The one brother shot and killed one bird, the other brother missed. So knowing Merriam's as I do, I got everyone to sit tight and was able to call the other gob straight back in. I kid you not, it didn't take that gob more than 2 minutes to return to the theater.

Back in the late 80's I was doing some preseason calling and located a single gob on a steep slope, nothing unusual about that. So I set up and called him straight in, he was 10' away from me within a a minute or two. My buddy was running the video recorder, and despite not having decoys, this bird completely depleted two battery packs because he strutted so long. It gets better, cause once both battery packs were dead, we just started messing around with him. I would let out an almost inaudible soft call, and he would get inches from me, staring straight into my eye's, I almost couldn't keep myself from laughing. I picked up a small twig and smacked him on the head, he jumped and popped, but then came right back for more.

On another hunt I had just killed my bird up the canyon of my buddy who was working a different gob. So I drove back down the canyon and parked below the slope he was on, I could hear both he and the gob talking. Then I heard some hens not far from him, but not part of his calling party as they were a good couple hundred yards down canyon from him. So I started the truck and drove over to where I was directly below the hens, shut the truck off, and started calling from inside the truck. All of a sudden I see 3 hens flying down off the slope, and they landed right next to the truck. They were talking with me the entire time I waited for my buddy, and didn't leave until he had gotten within 20 or 30 feet of the truck.

So ya, IMO, Merriam turkey are the absolute dumbest animal on the planet. And honestly, I can't imagine the other species being any more intelligent, a turkey, is a turkey I would think.

GS

 

[urbaneruralite]

I've been watching videos of Merriam's hunts in NM tonight. These were average Joe vids on youtube, not the hyper-produced professional stuff. I have only seen our turkeys act like that when calling for camera in the middle of a large preserve that had not been hunted in maybe thirty years. Our average bird is a paranoid schizophrenic; convinced death lurks behind every tree.

This is all very encouraging.

 

[Cleveland48]

I've been watching videos of Merriam's hunts in NM tonight. These were average Joe vids on youtube, not the hyper-produced professional stuff. I have only seen our turkeys act like that when calling for camera in the middle of a large preserve that had not been hunted in maybe thirty years. Our average bird is a paranoid schizophrenic; convinced death lurks behind every tree.

This is all very encouraging.

The heavily hunted birds here in Ms shut up if u fart too loud lol. The 2 year old birds are where most of the kills and gobbles come from here. The 3 yr old and up whole different ball game, on the right morning though they can be killed, sometimes easily. By the way we open up this coming Saturday here, how bout y'all?