Northern Idaho Turkey

jlong17

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Joined
Jan 21, 2019
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'Merica
Whats up fellow hunt talkers! Ever since getting bit by the hunting bug a few years ago I have found myself hunting a new species, in a new place every single year. This year will be no different. My wife, daughter, and I will be traveling to Hayden, ID to help my grandparents move into their house. I figured that while I'm out there I can take the time to walk the elk woods, and possibly give turkey hunting a shot? I'll be out there for the last week of turkey hunting towards the end of May. I have a couple questions:
1) Does anyone want a partner to go hunt with? I'm a firefighter from southern california, so I do realize in advance that you N. ID folks are sick and tired of us!! haha
2) Being brand new to turkey hunting, am I going at a bad time or is there decent odds of running into birds?
3) I was reading that some landowners are more than happy to allow hunters come and mitigate their turkey problem, can someone validate this?
4) Lastly, how far from Hayden should I expect to travel each morning/evening?

Thanks a ton for reading, and I hope to add to this thread with a picture of my family and I enjoying a turkey dinner!!

God Bless,
Jake
 
Hunt to mitigate a turkey "problem"? Not sure about ID, but in IA they are not a nuisance animal by any measure, and the only people who care about them being dead are hunters.

Turkey hunting is hard. There are vast areas of suitable habitat which are not inhabited by them for whatever reason. So you have to locate them. This is really hard to do in late May because the vegetation covers the animals and their sign very well. I scout early spring before anything is green for my May hunting.

Once you locate them you have to figure out a way to kill them. Being in a blind allows you the freedom to look around and also get your weapon up without spooking the animals, but if you don't put the blind in the right spot it's pointless. You can ambush them, but you have to know their day-to-day behavior and where they will travel. Lastly, you can spot and stalk, which requires being stealthy as a cat - turkeys have laser vision and will pick you off before you can get close about 80% of the time in my experience.

Anyways, it's not an impossible idea, but I'd be prepared to do a lot of research into your particular hunt beforehand in order to have a chance of being able to take a bird.
 
Thanks for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it. I figured I might as well buy a tag and walk around the woods... if I get one great, if not no big deal.


Hunt to mitigate a turkey "problem"? Not sure about ID, but in IA they are not a nuisance animal by any measure, and the only people who care about them being dead are hunters.

Turkey hunting is hard. There are vast areas of suitable habitat which are not inhabited by them for whatever reason. So you have to locate them. This is really hard to do in late May because the vegetation covers the animals and their sign very well. I scout early spring before anything is green for my May hunting.

Once you locate them you have to figure out a way to kill them. Being in a blind allows you the freedom to look around and also get your weapon up without spooking the animals, but if you don't put the blind in the right spot it's pointless. You can ambush them, but you have to know their day-to-day behavior and where they will travel. Lastly, you can spot and stalk, which requires being stealthy as a cat - turkeys have laser vision and will pick you off before you can get close about 80% of the time in my experience.

Anyways, it's not an impossible idea, but I'd be prepared to do a lot of research into your particular hunt beforehand in order to have a chance of being able to take a bird.
 
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