Western Birds

[bennett454]

Good morning Guys,
I'm originally from the East Coast (PA). However I've been working in Utah the last year. My 10 yr old wants to get out and bag a gobbler. I'm used to hunting Eastern's in "big woods". This year we will be hunting Rio's in Cottonwood bottoms. Is there anything I should know about working these birds differently than easterns? Decoys never helped me with mountain birds as the topography made it tricky for birds to see them. Will decoys come into play more with Rios? Getting ready to start scouting this weekend youth opener is April 28th. I'm thinking big cottonwoods will act as roosting trees. With the open country how tight should we push in regards to roost trees? Anything else I should look for. I have confidence with my son to 30 yds. Do Rio's hang up easily? Do i need to work on expanding his range in the next few weeks? He's still a bit recoil shy of the turkey loads so If we're good at thirty I'll likely leave it. Any other tips.
Thanks in Advance

 

[seeth07]

I don't really have anything to help you out with but I can really appreciate this post and what you are all asking. Its what this forum is truly about and I really hope there are some nice people that live out there and hunt Rios that can provide you with some good help.

 

[WildWill]

Good morning Guys,
I'm originally from the East Coast (PA). However I've been working in Utah the last year. My 10 yr old wants to get out and bag a gobbler. I'm used to hunting Eastern's in "big woods". This year we will be hunting Rio's in Cottonwood bottoms. Is there anything I should know about working these birds differently than easterns? Decoys never helped me with mountain birds as the topography made it tricky for birds to see them. Will decoys come into play more with Rios? Getting ready to start scouting this weekend youth opener is April 28th. I'm thinking big cottonwoods will act as roosting trees. With the open country how tight should we push in regards to roost trees? Anything else I should look for. I have confidence with my son to 30 yds. Do Rio's hang up easily? Do i need to work on expanding his range in the next few weeks? He's still a bit recoil shy of the turkey loads so If we're good at thirty I'll likely leave it. Any other tips.
Thanks in Advance

Here in Oklahoma I get the chance to chase both. I find Rios less wary in general be it calls or decoys. Big cottonwoods with some water nearby are gold for roosting especially if there's a hill or elevated ground or fairly open clear ground on another side. They use the elevated ground to makes flying up and is a big key to alot of annual roost i find. Rios do seem to be much more transient then easterns and have a wider home range. I think a decoy or two would be a good idea. I find Rio's fairly easy to call but in the wide open country if they can't see a bird they're likely to hang up. You should be fine with 30 yards. I find in open country if they hang up it's usually more like a 100 yards then 50 and if they're coming to 50 probably come all the way. Goodluck hopefully you and your boy can get one down should be fun regardless.

 

[bennirio]

Get out on the youth hunt for sure! The general hunt, that starts in May, gets hit real hard. All the turkeys I've taken in Utah have been inside 30 yards. I have had success sitting on decoys and calling when they are strutting their stuff. Have a jake decoy and a hen decoy. If you can make it look like the jake is breeding the hen it will bring them running in. Not that much calling if you can get them close enough to see the decoys. With the late spring hopefully the youth hunt will see some good action for you guys.

 

[bennett454]

I don't really have anything to help you out with but I can really appreciate this post and what you are all asking. Its what this forum is truly about and I really hope there are some nice people that live out there and hunt Rios that can provide you with some good help.

Thank you... I'll do my best to keep everyone updated on our quest

 

[bennett454]

Here in Oklahoma I get the chance to chase both. I find Rios less wary in general be it calls or decoys. Big cottonwoods with some water nearby are gold for roosting especially if there's a hill or elevated ground or fairly open clear ground on another side. They use the elevated ground to makes flying up and is a big key to alot of annual roost i find. Rios do seem to be much more transient then easterns and have a wider home range. I think a decoy or two would be a good idea. I find Rio's fairly easy to call but in the wide open country if they can't see a bird they're likely to hang up. You should be fine with 30 yards. I find in open country if they hang up it's usually more like a 100 yards then 50 and if they're coming to 50 probably come all the way. Goodluck hopefully you and your boy can get one down should be fun regardless.

Glad to hear 30yds wont be to bad of a handicap. I've marked a few places Escouting that are exactly like this. Hoping to get boots on the ground within the week. Noted on the decoys, I will see what the area looks like before i pull the trigger. If its what I think will probably pull the trigger on a jake and hen gettup.

 

[bennett454]

Schedule hasn’t lined up to scout with my son. But finally got out and found some birds. 1st spot I checked found a roost tree and a few birds. He only gobbled once but had two hens with him.

 

[bennett454]

 

[bennett454]

Finished our Utah season with an unfilled tag. Got out scouting after my last post, found more birds but clinging to private. First day of youth called a hen in which got his blood pumping. Second day had a Jake follow a hen the opposite way off the roost. (May have pushed to tight). Following week we didn’t hear or see birds. Schedule got busy. Gave it one last go the day before the end of season. Spotted a jake from a glassing knob. Attempted to intercept him to no avail. Over all the kid had fun and we had birds close two days. The birds were pretty quiet which always makes it tough for me. I get very impatient with non vocal turkeys.
Thanks again for all the input prior to our excursion