WyoDoug Spring Turkey Hunt 2021

[WyoDoug]

My response to Wytex on Feb 28, 2021:

wytex said:
Doug, a box call will make every sound you need to bring in a tom. Diaphragm for close calling if they hang up. Realize if he's with a hen, he will not leave her, find another gobbler.

A camo face mask works great with your camo clothing.

Good luck !

Toms is only ones I can take for spring turkey. Got both electronic and the box call so gonna test them out scouting turkey week after next.

 

[WyoDoug]

My post Feb 28, 2021:

Just for @Wildabeast got a ghillie suit in yer honor LOL

 

[WyoDoug]

@Wildabeast response Feb 28, 2021:

WyoDoug said:
Just for @Wildabeast got a ghillie suit in yer honor LOL

View attachment 175728

That’s much more functional than a gila suit!

 

[WyoDoug]

My post Mar 1, 2021:

License now in hand for spring turkey. Now ready to do scouting. Warm weather is expected for the upcoming weekend so plan is to drive to hunt area and sit by a try and do nothing but watch. Then later in afternoon, I plan to go to area I will not be hunting and play with my calls and see how they react. Seen turkeys in many of my antelope areas so might just head where I saw them last year and do some turkey calling where there is no hunting allowed on them anyways.

Locals in town have given me a lot of info, hoping it is valid. Since I never hunted turkey before, it's difficult to judge the quality of information you are given. You just have to take it all in and determine the final direction on your own pretty much. I think I got more info talking to people who hunt turkeys regular on HT rather than the town folk, though they are great people no doubt.

Settled on using gear I now have rather than purchasing additional gear this year. Limit is one bird so not going to invest a ton of money for what might be a day hunt at most. I really can't wait for this hunt to happen. Almost as fired up on it as I was for my retirement elk hunt.

Depending on results of this hunt, I might put in for additional hunts elsewhere in the state for the type 3 any turkey tags of which I can get up to two type 3 any turkey tags for total of three tags total for spring turkey and three for fall turkey

 

[WyoDoug]

@Hunter777 two posts Mar 5, 2021:

If you kill your turkey first time out......I will be impressed!

If you kill your turkey first time out......I will be impressed!

@Hunter777 as you saw in the other thread that got derailed, not my luck LOL

 

[WyoDoug]

My Post March 22, 2021:

Gotta get out scouting. I went to the town where I base most of my deer and antelope hunts from to help someone I knew to clear snow and the lady there running the bar there where I eat my hamburgers at showed me turkey pictures. I had her send them to my phone. This is not the area I am planning to hunt in April but close enough. It's one of the crab apple trees on an abandoned homestead. No one is sure who owns the property anymore and the person showing on the maps is deceased. I would love to get permissions there because I see deer there all the time.

 

[WyoDoug]

Post from @elkhnter March 25, 2021:

Well, Doug, someone has to be paying taxes on that property. Can you call the courthouse?

 

[WyoDoug]

My response March 25, 2021:

elkhnter said:
Well, Doug, someone has to be paying taxes on that property. Can you call the courthouse?

The person who owns the property is deceased. Unless I am involved in the probate case, they can not release any information other than who owns the property. Probate cases are confidential while the case is in process. After case is closed, the public can view it.

I did go up to the house that is still there and left a note offering to pay for hunt access. This is one property I am going to watch because if it goes into arrears on taxes I can buy it by paying the back taxes and the beneficiaries would have 7 years to pay me back after which I will own the property.

 

[WyoDoug]

Post from @shrapnel March 27, 2021:

WyoDoug said:
The person who owns the property is deceased. Unless I am involved in the probate case, they can not release any information other than who owns the property. Probate cases are confidential while the case is in process. After case is closed, the public can view it.

I did go up to the house that is still there and left a note offering to pay for hunt access. This is one property I am going to watch because if it goes into arrears on taxes I can buy it by paying the back taxes and the beneficiaries would have 7 years to pay me back after which I will own the property.

You might consider another place to hunt. There must be someplace that you don’t need to buy a ranch to hunt.

 

[shrapnel]

You might want to hit the button on your life alert! I think you have fallen and hit your head.

 

[WyoDoug]

Now this point is where post got derailed so I am going to kind if rewrite my post so they are more articulated and accurate. I am not including the rest of the posts.

4/4: I went out for my first hunt southwest of Gillette. Not going to say where because if the ar ea develops and numbers grow, I want to go back. There are tons of deer here so I would love to hunt it again. I only had stubby shells that I could only load the chamber with so I didn't even load. Season for area 3 opened April 1, compared to rest of state that opens April 20th. Not my preferred area but being retired and not working, I decided to venture out and try it. Bad move, 4 hour drive there and 4 hour drive back. But I plan to followup both with locals and a game biologist and find what I can. Turkeys were present last time I hunted this area in 2014.

Got to the motel that borders the south area where I plan to hunt and stopped there to eat. Sat in my truck later and played with my turkey calls. I got a response from a human caller. Season where I was opens April 20, but didn't see anything. Need to get with locals and biologist on this area too. This area seemed hot for turkeys last year. However, keep in mind that Wyoming just got over the second most severe winter storm on record. A question I am going to ask those in the know, is did a winter kill just happen? I did drive up to the private property the place where the owner died and the case remains in the courts yet. Turkey in both places. There was turkey close to the highway, but on private the owner has already declined to give me permission to hunt. The other private I did secure permission, but good for antelope but not turkey.

As for camo, I bought me a face mask but using the same camo pants, shirt and coat that I use for archery hunting.

 

[WyoDoug]

You might want to hit the button on your life alert! I think you have fallen and hit your head.

Naw...you should rephrase your post and stay on topic please. Posts like this is why some have left and reluctant to participate.

 

[madtom]

Gettum Doug

 

[MarvB]

I’m confused... did I just read 33 posts and 31 of them were Doug talking to himself?

 

[blueridge]

Seems unnecessary to me. Compared to the level of derailment that has been known to take place here regularly and is a part of any casual conversation, what happened in the original thread was minor. My opinion is that a new thread wasn’t warranted, especially one whose format is now so atypical, but that’s just me not staying on topic.

 

[Art Vandeley]

Where did you find the 1” shotgun shells ? I’ve never heard of anything shorter than 2 3/4”

 

[duckhunt]

Good luck wyodoug. Keep the story rolling

 

[WyoDoug]

Where did you find the 1” shotgun shells ? I’ve never heard of anything shorter than 2 3/4”

Me either. Until I went to get turkey loads at Sportsman Warehouse in Cheyenne and it was all they had except a few boxes of 3 inch which would not load into mine. Here is an article on them. They are actually 1 3/4 inch. They will shoot out of most 12 gauge shotguns but can not be loaded in the magazine. Least not mine.

The Aguila Minishell: The Little Shotshell That Could | OutdoorHub

OutdoorHub presents a complete review of the Aguila Minishell of two different Minishell loads: slugs and buckshot.

www.outdoorhub.com

 

[LCH]

Well, you posted in the other thread that you're a turkey virgin.. I guess a little bit of a learning curve is to be expected!

I would definitely look for a box of shells with a picture of a turkey on it, then shoot a couple shells at various ranges to familiarize your self with the pattern and establish a max range.

 

[WyoDoug]

Well, you posted in the other thread that you're a turkey virgin.. I guess a little bit of a learning curve is to be expected!

I would definitely look for a box of shells with a picture of a turkey on it, then shoot a couple shells at various ranges to familiarize your self with the pattern and establish a max range.

I found two cases of shells in my woodshop where I also did my reloading years ago. They will do the job and I know the pattern for them as I used them on doves when I hunted in Colorado. Yeah, huge learning curve on turkey so far. One month I see plenty and next month I see none, in two areas I had seen a quite a few over the years.