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2021 Spring Turkey hunting

I drove 4+ hours to try a new spot in CO for the opener. Friday night, climbed up a ridge near the spot I had e-scouted and wouldn't you know it, got a bird to gobble right there. What a good feeling!

This was tempered by opening morning hearing the bird head straight away from me for 20 minutes before everything went silent. This was the end of my opening weekend excitement. :D
 
I drove 4+ hours to try a new spot in CO for the opener. Friday night, climbed up a ridge near the spot I had e-scouted and wouldn't you know it, got a bird to gobble right there. What a good feeling!

This was tempered by opening morning hearing the bird head straight away from me for 20 minutes before everything went silent. This was the end of my opening weekend excitement. :D
I know that feeling. I have scouted birds for weeks and they have been on the same pattern and finally when its time to hunt they do the opposite of what they had been doing. That is what keeps coming back for more!
 
Ran into two guys I met last year at one of my hunting spots. They hunt the same area and said they parked at my truck opening morning and ended up killing a bird just a few hundred yards from where they parked. I must have just walked the wrong direction that morning.
 
2 toms I had scouted were gobbling off the roost 500 yards away on private. About 9 AM got as close as I could to them but a hen busted me at 250 yards and they all ran.

Next run and gun, bumped what looked like 3 jakes, then later bumped another hen who took off with 3 toms in tow. I returned in the evening to try and put those 4 birds to bed, and found a lone tom. He wasn’t interested in my calls. I might return in a couple days to try and decoy him.
 
I get to sleep in tomorrow morning :) :) :)

Not rubbin' it in or anything ;)

When I walked out, I found a guy set up 60 yds from my truck which was in full view. Crazy idea.
Did you talk to the guy? Or did he let you walk past carrying your bird like you weren’t there?
 
Scouted some public this morning. I've never been on this specific piece of property.

More of it is seasonally closed than the maps show, which I think will be a good thing. Makes the walk back about 1 mile, which should weed out 90% of the hunters around here.

After walking back, I walked the edge of a big field that is also managed for ducks during the winter. I hadn't heard anything or seen any sign when I happened to stop and saw a racoon inside the wood line.
For whatever reason I decided to get a better look. I looked down and saw a turkey track so I started combing the woods and found some more sign that was about a week old. Other than the old sign and how pretty the location is, I wasn't seeing anything to get too excited about. Before starting my walk back I decided to crow call. When I did I got atleast a shock gobble. Atleast one bird, maybe two.

Season opens Saturday, but I won't be able to get out to this spot until next Monday. Hopefully no one will make the trek back there until then

20210413_070942.jpg


turkey or crane/heron?

20210413_070049.jpg
 
Had some action this morning! I got to the parking spot about 5:00. Legal shooting time was at 5:56, so had plenty of time. There was a strong NW wind and it was spitting snow. I decided to climb the bluff and get set up in a large bowl that was facing the northeast out of the wind. I was in a good spot with 15 minutes to go until legal. My decoy and myself were just behind a little rise so any turkey would have to crest the ride to see what was calling. About 5:50 the first turkey gobbled and they sounded like they were at the bottom of the hill a couple hundred yards further to the south. I quickly picked up camp and climbed the rest of the bluff and moved to the south 100 yards. My decoy was about 10 yards from the property line and I was about 25. There was no fence in this spot and once again the turkeys would have to come over a rise to see my decoy. After some back and forth with the Tom I was convinced he was on his way. Another Tom gobbled for the first time in the direction I had just come. It was going to be a race and whoever won would get the prize. 3” of federal 1 3/4 oz 5 shot. To the south on the private land was a flash and I could see the Tom strutting 75 yards away. He still had to go across a ditch and come up the other side to where I was at. The turkey to the north went silent. A hen began yelping uphill from the Tom I saw and I figured the gig was up. I caught a glimpse of her charging hard towards me and she had picked up the Tom about 15 yards behind her. I turned my position to allow for a spot, but it would still have to be left handed, across the body. The hen came over the rise about 15 yards and immediately knew something was up. She began to putt and get nervous before turning and going back over the rise. I never saw the Tom or her again.
 
Scouted some public this morning. I've never been on this specific piece of property.

More of it is seasonally closed than the maps show, which I think will be a good thing. Makes the walk back about 1 mile, which should weed out 90% of the hunters around here.

After walking back, I walked the edge of a big field that is also managed for ducks during the winter. I hadn't heard anything or seen any sign when I happened to stop and saw a racoon inside the wood line.
For whatever reason I decided to get a better look. I looked down and saw a turkey track so I started combing the woods and found some more sign that was about a week old. Other than the old sign and how pretty the location is, I wasn't seeing anything to get too excited about. Before starting my walk back I decided to crow call. When I did I got atleast a shock gobble. Atleast one bird, maybe two.

Season opens Saturday, but I won't be able to get out to this spot until next Monday. Hopefully no one will make the trek back there until then

View attachment 180424


turkey or crane/heron?

View attachment 180425
Turkey, I’d be lookin for morels in that forest!
 
Scouted some public this morning. I've never been on this specific piece of property.

More of it is seasonally closed than the maps show, which I think will be a good thing. Makes the walk back about 1 mile, which should weed out 90% of the hunters around here.

After walking back, I walked the edge of a big field that is also managed for ducks during the winter. I hadn't heard anything or seen any sign when I happened to stop and saw a racoon inside the wood line.
For whatever reason I decided to get a better look. I looked down and saw a turkey track so I started combing the woods and found some more sign that was about a week old. Other than the old sign and how pretty the location is, I wasn't seeing anything to get too excited about. Before starting my walk back I decided to crow call. When I did I got atleast a shock gobble. Atleast one bird, maybe two.

Season opens Saturday, but I won't be able to get out to this spot until next Monday. Hopefully no one will make the trek back there until then

View attachment 180424


turkey or crane/heron?

View attachment 180425
Gobble gobble. Those are turkey tracks
 
A blind right on the road huh, I wonder if that's ever worked out for them?
I wasn’t there and don’t know the guy, but I am still 100% confident it hasn’t worked. It’s 1/4 mile up a heavily used recreational trail at that spot and I imagine they saw 1000% more baby strollers and spandex than any kind of wildlife. We believe he saw some old tracks in the trail and stopped right there.

future son in law tagged out sunday. Note that the picture was taken elsewhere for deception purposes before all you local guys head down there :) He and I went out yesterday morning and heard a couple on private at dawn, but couldn’t move them and then struck out in some of my rampart spots. Looking forward to hunting my draw tag weekend after next.

4E92EF49-8D57-443D-A0CA-E1C6E6AC4EB4.jpeg
 
I wasn’t there and don’t know the guy, but I am still 100% confident it hasn’t worked. It’s 1/4 mile up a heavily used recreational trail at that spot and I imagine they saw 1000% more baby strollers and spandex than any kind of wildlife. We believe he saw some old tracks in the trail and stopped right there.

future son in law tagged out sunday. Note that the picture was taken elsewhere for deception purposes before all you local guys head down there :) He and I went out yesterday morning and heard a couple on private at dawn, but couldn’t move them and then struck out in some of my rampart spots. Looking forward to hunting my draw tag weekend after next.

View attachment 180452
Congrats! Yeah I had all the doubt in the world that spot on the road wouldnt work...your future SIL looks familiar...he from here?
 
Maybe they were "hunting" for something else entirely 😂
I wasn’t there and don’t know the guy, but I am still 100% confident it hasn’t worked. It’s 1/4 mile up a heavily used recreational trail at that spot and I imagine they saw 1000% more baby strollers and spandex than any kind of wildlife.
 
We had a very good opening day running and gunning in eastern Montana in R5 and R7. We got weathered out on day 2 with wind and snow but no complaints jsut means I get to go back to try and fill a few more tags
 

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