Category Archives: Public Land Turkey Hunting

Tips on hunting public land turkeys with the Grand Slam Network

Member Articles, Public Land Turkey Hunting, Turkey Hunting, Turkey Hunting Tips

Hunting Turkey in the Snow

The wind was blowing the snow completely horizontal as my friend Les and I put on our hip boots. That April afternoon we were in the midst of a full fledged blizzard, getting ready to cross the river to set up near a turkey roost. I carried a Double Bull blind and my seat, Les had his gun and seat. As we started our mile long trek Les said “I bet we are the only dedicated turkey hunters on the river right now.” I said “Les…I don’t think dedicated is the best word to describe us.”

The roost was in an old river channel and we found the slight drop in elevation protected us from the wind. In the blind it was really quite pleasant as we watched big flakes of snow float softly to the ground. We called periodically, and a little before sunset I looked out my side of the blind. Just 25 feet away there was some movement at the top of some weeds that I couldn’t figure out. Finally I realized I was looking at the head and neck of a hen turkey. I didn’t recognize what I saw at first, because she was covered with a half inch of snow from the base of her neck to her tail. Her body just blended in with the white background. The hen fed around the blind for a while and eventually shook off all the snow that had accumulated on her. Les commented how cold, wet, and miserable she looked. The hen soon moved off and flew up to roost about 70 yards away. We managed to slip out of the area without flushing her. Les and I never saw or heard a gobbler that evening, but I will never forget that hunt. Hunting turkeys in the snow can produce some special memories.

I do most of my turkey hunting out west and spring snowstorms are not uncommon during the turkey season. I have experienced spring snows as late as the third week in May. Our spring snows usually come with a good dose of wind, and many fall into the blizzard category. It seems I hunt turkeys in the snow at least once every other spring, and two or three times in some of the more volatile springs. I have put together some observations on how a spring snow affects turkeys and hunting them. However, my experience with hunting turkeys in snow is limited to the Rio Grande and Merriam’s turkey. I have yet to hunt Easterns in the snow. If you are hunting out west for a Rio or Merriam’s and find yourself hunting in snow, then perhaps you may find some of the following information useful.

BEHAVIOR

Both Rios and Merriam’s tend to gather in pretty large flocks in the winter. In cold late springs these flocks don’t break up until just before the spring hunting season opens. An early spring snowstorm can delay flock break up.  Once breakup occurs, a snowstorm may cause the birds to regroup into flocks of 10-25 birds. For Rios this means the flocks may be fewer and farther in between, but more birds in each flock. In the case of Merriam’s in the mountains, the birds may migrate vertically downhill in a spring snow after flocking back together. If you are hunting public lands, which are usually at higher elevations, the birds may just move to lower elevations which are usually private lands. Since these spring snows are not uncommon, some turkeys do take them in stride and stay up high.  When hunting higher elevation public lands during a storm, I have managed to find a few birds still weathering the storm.

Turkeys may just choose to hole up in sheltered areas during the intense part of a storm.  The birds are out there 24/7 and will have to feed and move about sooner or later. When a storm finally does break the toms are pretty anxious to get back to the task of breeding. If the snow quits and the wind dies down some gobblers may start sounding off even in the middle of the day. And if the temps are rising with some snow melting, things will be getting back to normal relatively quickly. However, if the snow is very deep (close to a foot or more) it may take several days for the turkeys to resume their normal routine.

Prolonged cold and several storms during the spring may delay nesting in hens for a week or more. This could affect how the breeding flock structure progresses later in the season. The hens may not be leaving the gobblers as readily to lay their eggs.

ADVANTAGES OF SNOW

There are really not many advantages of hunting in snow. The competition of other hunters certainly is reduced. About the only other hunters out there are ones that pre-planned a hunt for that particular time and ended up hunting in the snow by chance, or the few turkey hunting nuts, like me, that think its fun to chase gobblers in the snow. Local hunters normally just wait for the weather to improve.

Turkey hunting in the snow

Here   Tracks will certainly be more easily revealed wherever turkeys roam. In snow it is easy to tell fresh tracks from those even a few hours old. You may be able to track a flock and anticipate the direction they are going and have an opportunity to head them off. Tracks that end suddenly or start from nowhere indicate the location where turkeys have flown up or down from a tree. Find this subtle clue and you have probably just found a roost site.

Turkeys are much easier to see in the snow. Out west where the country is open, it is very likely that you could spot a flock from a good distance just by doing some glassing with binoculars. Spotting turkeys is also simpler because the size of the area to search may be reduced if some portions of it are clear of snow. Wind can blow areas clear or the sun will melt the south facing slopes sooner, so check those spots first. Even though turkeys could easily scratch through shallow snow, they seem to prefer clear ground or where the snow is almost gone.

DISADVANTAGES OF SNOW

The biggest disadvantage of a spring snowstorm may be the inability to get to the hunting area. Backcountry roads can be difficult to navigate at best. Many are just not plowed. Even when the storm is over and the snow is melting the roads can be very slippery. However if you happen to be camping in your hunting area when the storm hits, those same difficult roads could keep others from getting in, this turns a disadvantage into an advantage. Just make sure you are always prepared for the unexpected and have plenty of food, water and warmth.

Crunchy snow can be another major problem. Spring snows are almost always a wet snow. The daytime temperature may be close to, or above the freezing mark, but nighttime temps usually go below freezing. This means that slushy wet snow becomes hard and results in a very noisy, crunchy snow by morning. Consequently, it can be extremely difficult if not impossible to move in on a roosted gobbler. Not only can turkeys hear you moving from a great distance, they can see shadows against the snow in very low light. You lose the cover of darkness.

Although, you can see turkeys better in the snow, they can also see you better. For a turkey, their eyes are its greatest asset. It is especially challenging for a hunter to try to remain hidden on a carpet of white. A white sheet over your legs and partially up your waist can help you blend in while sitting up against a dark tree. The sheet can easily be carried in the back pouch of a turkey vest when moving.

As I mentioned previously, turkeys may flock up a bit and that means more areas without turkeys. This can mean a lot of leg work before you make any contact with birds. For Merriam’s this is especially the case because their density is less concentrated.  The inclement weather may also tone down the frequency of gobbling.

The cold and wet can make for some uncomfortable hunting. Waterproof outerwear is a must. Since I travel for most of my turkey hunting, I always pack extra clothes and even an old turkey vest as a spare. This allows me to hunt in very wet weather and not have to worry too much if something ends up totally soaked. I can go back out hunting with a spare item while the soaked one is drying. I like to wear Lacrosse rubber knee high boots in wet weather. Even in mountains the ankle fit boots will allow me to maneuver around without any problems and still keep my feet dry. I have an insulated pair I use if it is very cold. With the Lacrosse felt insoles, the boots are very comfortable and I can walk all day in them. A good seat or pad that keeps you dry can mean the difference between a pleasant hunt and a miserable one. Calls and other gear should also be protected or waterproof.

During snowfall, gun sights may become clogged or covered with snow. Even after it has stopped snowing this may occur as you move about and inadvertently brush snow off branches. This becomes a greater concern if you hunt with a scope or dot-type sight on your gun. I always check my sight frequently to be sure it is clear. A scope or dot sight can also fog up in cold wet weather.

Turkey hunting in the snow

Here If you find yourself in turkey country that is carpeted in white, get after them if you can. There are some added challenges, but some special memories can be made…and you might even end up with a “snowbird.”

Gary Meinke

Grand Slam Network.com    

Public Land Turkey Hunting, Turkey Calling Tips, Turkey Hunting Tips

Finding a Way

A Turkey Hunters Motto for Consistently Taking Turkeys

My turkey chasing days began in 1992 in a Flint River swamp in Georgia. Although I learned as much as I could by listening to cassettes, watching videos, and reading magazines, most of my lessons came through trial and error and time spent in the woods alone. Since I lived two and a half hours away from where I hunted, and had to spend the night, I chose to hunt until noon, eat lunch, and go back in for afternoon hunts. I believed it was a matter of putting your hours in and as long as I was in the woods there was a chance of killing a bird. Due to this committed effort and a good bird population, I was lucky enough to kill my share of gobblers.  In fact, aside from my first season I was somehow getting my limits every spring. Much had to do with luck and many were flukes, but somehow each season it came together and I kept taking birds.

Because of the flat and mostly open terrain that existed in the swamp, especially early in the season before it greened up, approaching and moving on birds was challenging. I’d be aggressive when I could but I often played it safe by limiting my charges towards a gobbler and setting up and staying with an area instead of moving. Part of the “playing it safe” part was due to the openness but some was due to a lack of confidence in just how to go about it and what I could get away with. And it worked often enough to keep me satisfied.

After hunting for a few years, I met and started sharing the woods with someone that had turkey hunted for much longer than I had. He was the first person I knew that could sound good on a mouth call and was a pure run and gun guy. When he put on his vest he turned into a Tasmanian devil turkey hunter and his game plan each and every day was one of pure aggression. He’d methodically move and cover lots of ground and on days birds gobbled, he would kill one or get close, but on days they didn’t, he became human and came back empty handed. We didn’t actually hunt together but shared the woods numerous times going our separate ways. But I listened to him when he talked about what he did especially on the “run and gun” stuff.  Even he admitted the swamp offered challenges compared to the hilly terrain he’d hunted previously when it came to flanking or moving on birds, but he killed his share with his style of hunting. Surprisingly, as aggressive as he was, he’d often be back at the truck by 9:30 a.m. or out eating breakfast, while I’d hunt until lunch. Prior to us hunting together, he didn’t hunt afternoons.

Grant Carmichael found a way to take a gobbler in NM while everyone else was eating lunch.
Grant Carmichael found a way to take a gobbler in NM while everyone else was eating lunch.

Three years after we met, he went to Texas with me and after I’d taken my third Rio Grande gobbler, he was still hunting hard for his second bird.  He seemed to be struggling and putting pressure on himself so to make him feel better and because I believed it was true, I commented that he was a better caller and hunter than me and that I just kept getting lucky, and must have been in better spots.

He turned around and said. “You can say what you want but no matter where we hunt or what the conditions are, you have an uncanny knack for finding a way to kill birds”.  Of course this was gratifying and made me feel good causing the rear snap to blow off my hat as my head swelled because these words coming from him meant something.

It made me stop and think about what I was doing and how I was killing birds. The truth was, I believed many of my birds came from the “Blind Squirrel Rule “because of the hours I put in, and often I really was lucky with a few fluke birds thrown in. But, when I stopped and thought about it, I realized I did put a lot of thought and effort into how I approached turkey hunting and was not set in my ways in terms of how to hunt them on any particular day. I wasn’t fixed in either camp when it came to “run and gun” or “deer hunting” them and was constantly racking my brain trying to figure out how to get a bird each time I was in the field.  If they gobbled I moved more. If they were quiet I slowed down and hung with a spot. More importantly, I didn’t give up easily and made myself hang with a hunt longer even when I was hungry and started thinking about how good lunch was going to be. Coming out for breakfast wasn’t even a consideration. I wanted and needed that next fix badly which drove me to hunt hard and to dig deep to figure out how to make it happen on each hunting session. I concluded that what I lacked in knowledge, I made up in with effort.

 A New Motto

His compliment helped my confidence and I decided to incorporate his “Finding a Way “comment as my new hunting motto. This would be a simple but driving clause that I’d insert into my turkey hunting psyche and repeat to myself on the days things were tough and I needed a push.

The reality is that at the end of the day, the pay off of actually killing a gobbler, or coming back empty handed, is the result and outcome of a combination of decisions that we make during our hunts.  How well we adapt to the hand we’re dealt on any given outing will be the determining factor. The “Decision Combination” aspect (See: “Good Decision Combinations Kill Turkeys”) is a constant that applies to any hunting or fishing outing, but applying the “Find a Way” attitude in my view is a magnifier of the drive. The focused effort of being patient, persistent to the point of being relentless , and constantly trying to find a way that will pay off enough times during a season to result in birds over the shoulder that might not have happened otherwise is the pay off.

For example: My thought process used to be that once I approached the end of deer or turkey season in the past, I would really push hard on that last weekend trying to make something happen knowing I was running out of time. A sense of desperation crept in causing me to try something different and really fast forward my thinking to be successful or the clock would run out on me. It’s the same way on travel hunts when you hit that last day and you still need a bird. The difference now is; I think and operate to a large degree like this all the time. I’m trying to push and find a way right now, today, to come up with a way to put myself or someone else in front of a bird. When you read things like “Texas Stampede” or “Chasing Montana Merriams” you get a sampling of outside the box efforts that are a result of the “find a way” thought process.

In reality we are always trying to “find a way” but for me this means digging deeper and avoiding giving up easily. It’s being stubborn when it comes to throwing in the towel. And as with many things in life it comes down to how bad you want it and how hard you’ll push to get it.

It’s aggressive thinking although sometimes the selected approach may seem passive, but there’s always a built in sense of urgency.

For the most part I’m sure my approaches to turkey hunting are the same as most others in that I start out taking the traditional approaches to typical situations. Like any turkey hunter I am always paying attention to any turkey sign I see and compiling it with any other historical information associated with a particular spot. If I hear birds I go after them. If it’s new territory and I don’t hear them, I keep moving until I find birds or such good sign that I believe setting up and calling may be worthwhile. If its familiar ground that normally has birds, I may troll for a while trying to strike up a willing bird or I may decide that they’re just quiet and may implement a non aggressive fall back plan to deal with silent birds and go to the “area plan”.   

Aggressive patience was the key to finding a way for this Alabama gobbler in 2012
Aggressive patience was the key to finding a way for this Alabama gobbler in 2012

Learning from Others

As mentioned at the beginning of this piece, I was killing turkeys and getting my limits with what I had learned on my own.  But my aggressive “run and gun” approach game was improved from being around and listening to my friend who had years of experience doing it. This was especially useful  once  I started hunting areas outside the swamp with terrain that was more condusive to moving and flanking.

But he also benefitted in that he learned to slow down when birds were quiet, hunt an area, and to hunt later in the day and afternoons. It rounded us both out in a way that allowed us handle and kill more turkeys, and we killed them under a wider range of conditions and not just on days they gobbled.

A few of us found a way in South Georgia
A few of us found a way in South Georgia

We all have our own styles and preferences but any time you can spend with another hunter who has been successful, you’ll gain a new insight and learn new tricks to add to your existing arsenal and ways to kill turkeys. The key in my view is to vary your approach not be one dimensional. If you’ve got unlimited time to hunt, then you may have the luxury of hunting in a particular style and way that becomes a numbers game in that you’ll hunt enough days in which your approach will eventually cross with the conditions that allow it to work. In other words if you’re a run and gun guy and stay with it, even though you may be bumping birds left and right on quiet days, you’ll eventually get your birds on the gobbling days and it’s hard to argue with success. It goes the same for just setting up and hunting areas.  If you set anywhere long enough you’ll probably have a chance to kill a turkey. But, if you have a limited number of days to hunt, the more adaptable you can become, the better your chances will be if you can find the right way to attack that specific day.

Find a Way Mentality

There are many turkey hunters here at GSN that I believe think and operate this way. Several have impressive seasons year after year consistently taking their gobbler limits and helping others get birds as well. They appear gifted which they are, but I suspect if you look deeper you’ll find they’re turkey hunting mind is mounted on a one ton frame and they’re fueled with drive that causes them to constantly rotate thoughts and options through their minds, trying to find a way to take that next gobbler.

To operate under the “Find a Way” mentality requires stronger than average drive that includes, determination and persistence topped off with managed patience. It requires being relentless and putting your hours in. It means thinking outside the box when other approaches aren’t working. Adopting the motto may mean that you have to go over one more ridge, hunt one more hour, try one more flanking movement, or check out one more field before you leave to go home. It requires self discipline and pushing yourself harder and longer. It means you’ve really got to want it and be willing to put in that “driven mentality” effort and hunt smart to get it. But each time you bring a bird out over your shoulder that you know came from pushing yourself beyond what you may have done in the past or many other hunters are willing to do, you’ll know you worked hard and “Found the Way” on that particular day.

Bobby Parks
Grand Slam Network.com
Mossy Oak Pro Staff
Ol Tom

 Discuss this article on the forum

Member Articles, Public Land Turkey Hunting, Turkey Hunting Tips

New Mexico Turkey Hunting Tactics

Physical and Mental Preparation

Spring gobbler fever has really taken hold across the country. As such, more and more of us are making plans each spring to travel to far-away places to hunt our favorite game bird. Those of us that have been doing that for a while have discovered one important fact: conditions change from location to location, turkeys do not necessarily behave the same way in all places, and hunting tactics must be modified, at times, to maximize one’s chances of success in any given locale.

New Mexico turkey hunting offers a physically challenging hunt with Merriams turkey that are exciting to hunt.

Over the years, we have hosted many hunters from different parts of the country at our cabin in the Lincoln National Forest in the mountains of southern New Mexico. In that same time span, I have traveled to other parts of the country to hunt with many of those same folks in their turkey woods.

One thing I have found to be crystal clear, in almost every place, there are preparations needed that are of importance and specific tactics that work better than others. Not only that, but often the preparation and tactics that are a key component for success in one location are things that are rarely effective, and rarely used, in others.

One great thing about these hunting forums is that we all get to chat with, and glean information from, really good turkey hunters from all over the country. Not only are the individuals that hang out here mostly great turkey callers, they also know what is important and what works best in the places they hunt. The difference between success and failure on an out-of-state turkey hunt is often a function of how much attention we pay to the advice given by those that hunt there all of the time.

Here in New Mexico, hunting our high-altitude Merriams gobblers, there are some key ingredients to success. One of the very first ingredients, especially for those coming from around sea-level, is being fit for hunting here. Of course, there is no way of adjusting for the altitude difference, unless you have a handy 8,000 foot tall mountain in the neighborhood that you can go scurry up on occasion. However, it is somewhat important that you get yourself prepared for walking and climbing around at that elevation by doing what you can to get “in shape”.

Another pre-hunt attitude adjustment that is helpful here is to get rid of the “small woods” mindset that often comes from being confined to hunting small tracts of private ground that seems to be the case in many parts of the country. Out here, we have literally hundreds of thousands of acres to hunt, almost all of it public land, and the turkeys are, basically, scattered in varying densities throughout.

We have large areas that have high concentrations of birds and we have significant areas that have few or no birds. The key component here on whether there are turkeys around is most often the reliable availability of surface water. The second important component is the presence of roost trees, or other structures that turkeys will feel comfortable with roosting in.

The point to be made about this is that the first consideration when hunting this country is to find where the birds are before starting to hunt them. That sounds easy enough, but often, those that come here do not understand that they have to “think big” in order to do that. To some, thinking big means covering a few hundred or thousand acres looking for signs of turkeys to hunt, because that is what they are used to doing where they come from. You have to throw that mindset out the window when you come west and hunt the vast amounts of public lands that exist in many places here.

Having maps of the areas you are going to hunt is critically important when hunting these large public land areas, as well. Most of our public-lands turkeys are found on either Forest Service lands, Bureau of Land Management lands, or a combination of both of those. The “fly in the ointment” is that there are almost always private land holdings scattered about these public areas. Both the Forest Service and BLM produce maps of the areas they manage and you can normally order the maps of the areas you intend to hunt from the websites of these agencies.

Having maps that show you road systems and land status (public/private) is essential here. Often, the private land holdings are those areas that were homesteaded or otherwise privatized generations ago when settlers were picking and choosing the best locations for farming and ranching. Many of these areas are still being farmed and as we all know, turkeys like to help themselves to the various crops that farmers are growing. Hence, you will often find concentrations of birds close to these private areas.

Obviously, you cannot hunt private lands without permission and, quite often, it is difficult to obtain that permission. The good news for us turkey hunters out here is that our turkeys like to roost in tall pine trees, and usually those tall pine trees are found on the public Forest Service lands adjacent to these private holdings. And the other good news is that there are generally ways to get around the private holdings through public land routes. Land status maps will show you what those potential routes are, and therefore allow you to find ways to get to birds that you otherwise might think were off-limits to you. Once again land status maps are a critical tool.

Besides the land status, however, these maps can also provide you with a wealth of information on other stuff that is important to your hunt success. Often they will show topography, elevation, and locations of springs and water courses key elements out here.

And for those that are really serious about map use, you can go “all out” and order the detailed topo maps of the area you are hunting. In my opinion, these are of less importance than the agency maps with land status.

Finally, I won’t go into a detailed discussion about “personal affects” such as clothing or footwear. Suffice it to say that bringing clothing that can be layered on or off depending on the temperature and conditions is a good idea, and good hiking boots are advisable. Just so you know, snakes are not generally going to be a problem.

Finding Gobblers to Hunt…Roosting

So the obvious first question is,…”How do we go about finding those pockets of birds in those vast areas?” Well, fortunately, that is usually pretty easy to do. Our gobblers and are generally vocal and willing to gobble, not only in the morning on the roost like most gobblers everywhere, but also in the evening, right at dark, after they fly up to roost. Not only that, but they are very susceptible to shock gobbling tactics during those periods, and often even during the day.

Using roost shock-gobbling tactics is an essential element in finding birds to hunt here. And not only is it important, it is one of the elements that make hunting here so enjoyable. There is nothing quite like the feeling of going to bed knowing where one or maybe even several gobblers are spending the night. That is part of the hunting strategy we face,…deciding which gobbler out of many that might have been located is going to be “the one” for the next morning’s duel.

The next question I hear asked often is. ”What is the best locator call to use out there?” The key to a good locator call in this country is one that is loud. Crow calls work well here, and most of our local guys rely on those more than any other. However, all crow calls, or other locators for that matter, are not created equal. Getting good volume out of whatever kind of locator you choose is a must. If you are not able to really “rip it” with your locator, then find one that you can. It rarely matters what the call sounds like as long as it is loud.

When is your locator work going to be most effective? Like I said, it could work any time, but the times when it will work most effectively are during the low-light periods of dusk and dawn. In the evening, that period of time starting at sundown until about a half hour to forty-five minutes after (or when it gets to be fully-dark) is the best. And what we call “prime time” is that period from when the light is just starting to fade and for about twenty minutes thereafter. Occasionally you will get a gobble out of a tom after full-darkness, but that is much less reliable than the period mentioned. It should be pointed out that the “evening gobble” is not as sure a bet as the “morning gobble”. Even under the best of conditions, there will be gobblers out there that are less enthusiastic about gobbling in the evening than they are in the morning. It is not unusual to hear several birds gobbling in the morning in a location where you only heard a bird or two the night before.

The morning roosting period is similar to the evening, but reversed. Our birds will, at times, gobble well before the first hint of daylight. In fact, when we are leaving our cabin in the morning in the dark, and everybody is banging around in their vehicles and such, our cabin gobblers that roost nearby will often start gobbling at the noise we make (It’s a good way to start the morning’s hunt!). It is more likely, however, that your locator use will be more effective when the eastern horizon is starting to show a bit of glow.and then up until sunrise, and sometimes even beyond for a while.

The strategy for efficient roost locating does not end there, though. The area we hunt is largely public land, which means that there are other hunters vying for the attention of the same gobblers you are. So it is not just a matter of finding a gobbling bird to hunt,…it is also important to find the “right” bird to hunt. Gobblers that are along and close to the roads are likely to get a serious workout during the season from an assortment of hunters. You can pretty much bet your patootie that a mid-season gobbler here that has set up shop close to a road is going to be a tough customer to sell any kind of calling to. Not only that, but there is also the chance that you will have competition from other hunters for the easy-to-get-to birds.

The trick in your roosting strategy then, is not only to find gobbling birds, but to find as many as possible so you can pick a likely responsive candidate for your hunt. Covering as much country as possible during prime roosting time in the evening can be an important tool in your bag of tricks. This is, of course, assumes that you have not already found a bird that you have chosen to focus on. If you have found a gobbler then your evening strategy may change.

Here is your basic method of roosting birds in the evening. Take your map and assess the area you want to cover and the road system within that area. Plot out a route that you think will give you the maximum ability to cover as much country as possible, taking into consideration that you want to be able to hear birds as far away as possible, as well. There are nuances to this strategy that we will touch on later.

Having established your roosting route, plan on being at the starting point when the sun goes down. Remember, gobblers are generally not as likely to gobble at sundown as they are fifteen minutes later, so don’t get in a hurry at this point. If you rush the evening roost, you may well miss birds that will gobble in a bit.

First of all, make sure your method is sound. Check your locator volume by giving it a test run at this point. Of course, you always want to minimize extraneous noises. The vehicle is obviously turned off, and all members of your party are advised to keep the talking and shuffling about to a minimum. It is really easy to miss a faint gobble from a bird a mile away because someone decides they want to carry on a conversation or shuffle around in the dirt right when it happens.

The second thing to remember is that these birds are not responding because you sound like a genuine crow, or owl, or whatever. They are shock-gobbling because of the sudden loud sound they are hearing. So don’t do what some of these guys you see on TV do with their locators and go to squawking like a banshee on the darn thing. These birds will gobble as soon as they hear the very first note of your call, so hit the call a couple of quick, loud notes and then listen intently. If you extend your locator noise beyond that, you will miss distant gobbles because of it.

After listening for about fifteen seconds for responses to the first call, hit the locator again with a couple of loud blasts and listen again. Most of the gobblers that are going to respond to your locator will do so on the first series. On occasion, you will get a response to the second series that did not come on the first but that is the exception rather than the rule.

Once again, don’t get in a big rush until you start seeing the light starting to fade. When things start to get a little blurry, this is the time to put ‘er in high gear. You absolutely do not want to fiddle-fart around now! You want to get from place to place as fast as you can. In this country, it is best to drive at least a half-mile, and no more than a mile, between locator uses, and you want to hit as much country as you can in that window of about thirty minutes of prime time.

This country is made up of large canyons with secondary smaller canyons that run into those, and with even smaller canyons that run into those. Good places to stop and try your locators are at those junctures of main and secondary canyons. So when roosting, always stop and try at these canyon intersections.

So here we go. The lights are starting to fade a bit. We’ve tried the locator at our initial starting spot. If it got a response, we have mentally marked where the bird or birds are at. We jump in the vehicle and quickly “fly” on down the road to the next spot that looks likely. We pull over, turn off the engine, and pile out of the vehicle quickly.

Everyone is quiet, and if they are not, they are summarily admonished for not being so.

The assigned locator guy gives two loud bursts on the call. Everybody listens quietly for a response. If a bird is heard, there is no need for a second round. We mark any birds heard, make the appropriate mental notes about the location and whether there is a likely candidate for a morning hunt here, and jump back in the vehicle. And down the road we go again.

Next stop: same scenario and again and again until it is full darkness, and we are not getting any more responses. At any stop, if there is not a response on the first series, we have waited fifteen seconds and blown the call a second time. Anything after a second attempt is almost invariably a waste of precious roosting time.

Early in the season here, it is not unusual for a roosting run to produce fifteen, twenty, or even more gobblers responding to your calls. Later in the season, the birds will have been picked over some, and some will have wised up a bit,….but it is still not unusual, even at the end of our season, to be able to roost multiple birds each evening by doing this.

One important consideration in choosing an area to try to roost birds is the weather situation at the time. More specifically, that “situation” is whether or not it is windy. Wind is our biggest enemy in hunting here, and it has some serious consequences in terms of affecting roosting. Like I said, this country consists of large canyons and ridges, and the altitude varies from around 7,000 ft. up to almost 10,000 ft. When it is windy, the higher up you get, the windier it usually is. What that means for locating birds is that you have to tailor your roosting strategy, or at least the areas you choose to try to roost gobblers in, according to the wind conditions of the day. We have all learned that if the wind does not start dying down as it gets close to sunset, or if it blows all night long, that roosting is going to be tough. The general attitude is,…if the wind is up, don’t bother trying to roost birds on the high ridges, and don’t expect a lot of gobbling anywhere.

Regardless, this roosting process allows you to pick and choose the birds you want to hunt, and gives you options for hunting our public lands Merriams that you would not otherwise have.

Public Land Turkey Hunting, Turkey Hunting Tips

5 Reasons to Turkey Hunt Public Land

Don’t get me wrong, I hunt private and public land during turkey season. Each has their pros and cons, but in this article, I intend on highlighting a few of the benefits of public land turkey hunting.

Cost

Hunting leases can be expensive and owning your own property is even more expensive. In Georgia, there are over 100 WMA hunting areas, which cover over 1 million acres of public turkey hunting opportunities. For the cost of a big game license and a WMA stamp, turkey hunters have access to public hunting areas within a 1 hour drive.

Opportunities

As mentioned above, Georgia has over 1 million acres of public hunting land. Residents should have public land to hunt within an hour drive. For me personally, I have at least 7 different areas [within an hour drive] that offer great turkey hunting opportunities.

Enjoy Hunting with Friends and Family

Many hunting clubs don’t allow visitors, and for the ones that do, [some] club members aren’t too happy when you bring in a group of visitors. Public hunting land provides an opportunity for experienced hunters to introduce new hunters to the sport and to bring along family and friends as they like.

Wide open spaces!

Private hunting leases can cost hunters $7/acre or more. So $700 would allow you to lease 100 acres. The WMAs I hunt, which are all near my home, are all over 10,000 acres. Even while sharing the area with other hunters, 10,000 acres is a lot of ground to cover and move on turkeys.

Many public hunting lands are loaded with turkeys

There is a perception that public land hunting isn’t as good as private land. While some areas get more pressure than others, I remember telling my brother, “I’m not sure we could have paid for a better hunt,” as we carried out two long beards after a morning hunt full of vocal birds. The key to having a successful public land turkey hunt is to scout, scout, and then scout some more. Be sure to cover lots of ground late fall and early spring to learn where the birds are. Look for scratching, dirt roads with tracks after a good rain, and listen for birds in the evening as they fly up to roost. Learn the area and then move on to learn more areas. When hunting public land, you’ll always need a good plan B if someone else is in that spot before you get there.

Turkey hunt public land this spring!

Public Land Turkey Hunting, Turkey Hunting Gear and Equipment, Turkey Hunting Tips

Turkey Hunting – Travel Hunting Tips

Planning for a travel hunt this spring or fall? It pays to adopt the old Boy Scout slogan of “Be Prepared”.  Follow these travel hunting tips for a successful turkey hunting trip.  Even what’s considered routine vacation or business airline travel can sometimes be more interesting than it needs to be if you don’t know the updated rules, how to navigate through the security gates, or what security measures are in place. Traveling with guns and gear creates additional considerations that must be allowed for. Knowing how and what to pack and how to plan your flights will make a difference. And although there’s never a good time to have your luggage lost or miss a connecting flight, you definitely don’t want to experience this kind of problem when traveling for a hunt. Getting into camp on time with your gun and all the essentials is crucial. The key is to know the basics involved, what to watch for, and do everything you can from a planning and packing standpoint to avoid issues.

Booking Flights

When airline travel is planned it usually involves a day of travel for each leg with a limited number of days for the hunt in between. Booking online is easy but it’s important that you follow a few basic practices.
Avoid connecting flights if possible but if you do have to connect make sure both legs are with the same airline. Changing planes increases the chance of lost baggage and changing actual airlines not only adds to the effect but can make for a more challenging recovery effort if they’re lost.

Try to have no less than an hour layover built in for connecting flights. Quick connects may sound good at first but if you experience any delays at all the stress begins and you increase the chances that you or your gear won’t be on the second leg. I prefer an hour at a minimum but an hour and a half is safer. Delays occur for all kinds of reasons including weather, waiting for a flight crew, mechanical issues, and even having to wait for a plane to back away from your arrival gate so yours can pull up. Even if you are running tight and can literally run to get on the next plane, your gun and gear can’t do the same.

Leave early. I always book early morning departures on the outward flight. I try to arrive in camp early enough that I can get to the hunting spot and do some scouting and get settled in. And this way if I do have delays I can still get in at a decent time even if I spend hours in an airport. I do just the opposite on the return leg to allow for a morning hunt if needed and accept that I’ll get home late.

Invest in Quality Luggage and Gun Case

Once you see how baggage is handled you’ll understand why you need to invest in good quality cases and luggage. Baggage gets thrown around, falls off conveyer belts, and goes through the equivalent of abuse. A good gun case is a must. For shotguns I prefer the shorter ones that allow you to break down your gun. The shorter case makes it easier to pack in a rented SUV and carry around at the airport. Double gun cases can save a bag fee if you’ve got a partner but again, invest in a good one because you’ll look like you’ve been doing this for years after just one trip as this stuff gets banged around.

Put an identification tag on all bags. Also mark your bags with something that makes it stand out. You can paint stencil GSN on your case or use a colored strap, duct tape, or anything that makes it easily recognizable when it hits the carrousel. Not only does this help you find it but it helps to keep others from mistakenly grabbing your bag. You’d be surprised at how many bags look alike.

Take photos of your baggage with your phone just in case they are lost. This will help when filing the claim at the office you hope you never have to visit.

If you have a gun case with separate locks…keep an extra set in your “carry on” just in case….Gun cases must be locked and they have to be TSA approved locks.

At smaller airports guns are dumped onto the regular baggage carousel so I advise making a beeline for it to make sure you’re the one that snags it. At larger airports it may be directed to a specialty type claim station and you present your baggage claim ticket. Ask an airport attendant as soon as you get off the plane if you don’t know the routine so you don’t waste time finding the location.

Pack Efficiently and with Weight in Mind

Aside from the gun case I travel with one carry on bag and a large piece of luggage. The checked bag can’t weight more than 50 lbs. unless you’re a frequent flyer or you’re some privileged member etc. It’s tricky to pack boots vest and all the gear you “might” need and stay below that. Tripods for video cameras make this even more challenging. Hunting in warmer areas like Texas and Oklahoma often don’t require the same clothing considerations that upper western states require due to colder temperatures. I’ve been snowed on more than once during May turkey hunts in the latter locations. The key is to just think it through in terms of gear so you stay at 50 lbs. or below. An option if you have a partner is to have him carry a second checked bag that you can both pack in and use the double gun case. This way you both pay for two checked bags but you get everything packed that you think you’ll need for the hunt.

I check my bag at home by weighing myself and then picking the bag up and weighing me holding it on bathroom scales. Just know that most airlines will charge you a premium if you go over. You should also know that based on previous field travel test I’ve performed that trying to fudge the scales by letting your bag hang over the edge while the attendant is weighing doesn’t work.

Packing the Vitals

Shotgun shells must be in the factory box. If not you’ll likely have to give them up. Believe me; I have donated several rounds of Hevi Shot to an airport because I left them in my vest. As far as actual packing goes, I arrange everything so that any thing that could get crunched is padded and protected from all sides. Vest is on the bottom, boots on the end, tripod in the middle with clothing packed all around. I use a small box that I put the shotgun shell box and other misc. gear in that keeps these items protected.

I carry a small backpack that I keep the video camera, regular camera, Ipad, and my best turkey calls in. Often this is placed in my carry on the flight out and removed and replaced with turkey capes on the way back. If you don’t use the backpack, pack GPS, cameras, and anything of real value…in your carry on both to protect from damage and risk of loss. You should also be aware that many connecting flights to smaller airports will not accommodate full size carry on in the overhead compartment and you’ll have to check it at the gate. It’s another reason I use the back pack.

At one point packing Therma cell cartridges was a problem. I’m not sure currently how that’s looked at.

Plan Ahead

Plan ahead when ever possible. Buying your license online saves time once you are on the ground. Research or call the state DNR so you’re sure what you’ll need to be legal. Look for deals on vehicle rentals as well as airfares online. SUVs don’t have to cost a fortune but they can if you wait until you’re off the plane.

I know some that prefer to ship some items ahead of time. If you’re planning to mount a bird go on line and know what you’ll need to have to pack and ship the bird or capes to your taxidermist.

Positive Experiences

In the 10 years I’ve traveled and numerous trips I’ve made, I’ve only had my gear lost twice and both were on the return trips. I have had two others with me that had their gear lost for the better part of a day but statistically the percentages are very good. My experience with airports especially smaller ones in regards to attendants and TSA has been good.

Air travel is the preferred way for me because I have limited time and can’t take the hours and effort to drive out west for 20-30 hours. And often when you factor in the real expense for driving, meals, and expenses, the savings may not be what you thought they’d be. Travel hunts planned properly do not have to be expensive or problematic. It comes down to air-fare, licenses, ground transportation, and food expense. It also involves planning and knowing the ropes.

By Bobby Parks
Grand Slam Network
Mossy Oak Pro Staff

Member Articles, Public Land Turkey Hunting, Turkey Hunting Tips

Turkey Hunting – Backwoods Campsites

I love the smell of Ponderosa Pine, wood smoke, and canvas. Backwoods camping adds a whole other element to turkey hunting. Living in the outdoors for several days helps me become more in tune with the woods. I can forget about the “real world” and just concentrate on my turkey hunting and enjoying the entire experience. The ability to just walk out the door and go hunting is more than a convenience; it is an engagement with in nature.…

When I first started traveling for my turkey hunting I slept in the back of my pickup truck fitted with a topper. Then I towed a camper trailer for several years. Now I finally have settled on a canvas wall tent as my main camp lodge. I’ve been hunting with one for 7 years now. The wall tent is roomy enough to easily stand up in and it has a woodstove for a source of heat. That heat is what makes the difference between just staying in a tent and having a comfortable abode. I can fit my whole camping outfit in my truck without having to tow a trailer. Not having to tow anything improves gas mileage and also allows me to get into areas I might not be able to get to otherwise. Over the years there have been a number of hunting areas I could not have reached due to muddy and snowy roads, had I been towing a trailer. Another advantage I like about a tent is when the weather gets hot a well ventilated tent set up in the shade can be cooler than a camper.

Backwoods camping in the area I hunt is an advantage because there is no driving time. Some motels can be a half hour or even an hour drive from a hunting area. This saves time at both ends of the day, not to mention money. During turkey season the more sleep I can get, the better. I also don’t have to fight sloppy difficult to navigate roads if the weather happens to be bad or turn bad while I’m out hunting. I might not have to “quit early” in order to “get out”.

I have refined my tent camping over the years and thought there may be some ideas that could be useful should you decide to try a tent camp for turkey hunting. My wall tent is 10’x12’ and has a frame made from conduit. The canvas is waterproof, mildew resistant and has a fire retardant on it. This type of canvas can be stored wet for a few days, but does need to be dried out before long term storage. There is no other maintenance involved other than storing the tent in a dry place. I keep my tent canvas in a large plastic container to prevent mice or other pests from accessing it. I also have a waterproof tarp specially fitted from the manufacturer to go over the tent. The tarp helps shed a hard rain or snow and also insulates the tent during cold weather. There is no floor in my tent; the woodstove quickly dries out any wet ground. If I happen to expect snow on the ground when I arrive, I bring a scoop shovel to clear the area where the tent will be set up.

backcountry-campsites-gary-turkey

The woodstove is sized to the tent. Having a stove too large can easily overheat your living space, and too small of a stove may not provide enough heat if the weather turns cold and windy. Most of the wood I use to burn I bring with me, but in some areas you may be able to cut or collect your wood right there. Just be sure it is legal beforehand. Kindling is also brought along to ease the starting or restarting of a fire. Wood ash must be dealt with so I have a small ash shovel and I use a metal bucket to hold the ashes until they are cooled enough for disposal. The ash bucket also carries the tent stakes during transport. A spark arrester on top of the stovepipe is needed to keep sparks from flying out and landing on the ground, nearby trees or the roof of the tent. The woodstove is also used to do a lot of cooking.

backcountry-campsites-stove

I have a couple of Roll-A-Cots® for beds. They get you off the ground for a good nights rest, are light, and pack up fairly small. A pad for the cot will help insulate you from cool air underneath and provide additional padding for comfort. My tent is designed for two hunters, but three hunters can be accommodated. I made a cloth and conduit shelf to go across the back of the tent to keep clothes and other clutter out of the way and off the ground. The shelf is supported by the tent frame and folds up for transport.

backcountry-campsites-cots

I built food and kitchen boxes to organize the food and cooking utensils. Most of the items in these boxes are never unpacked. I use the items directly from the storage boxes. To get ready for a trip I just have to resupply some food. A hinged board that stores inside one box goes across the top and locks the two boxes together to make a handy countertop. For transport, the boxes each have a lid and they can be hauled in a horizontal position without disturbing things inside (Fig. 5). Most of the food in the grub box is kept in sealed plastic containers to keep any critters from helping themselves. I also built a box that holds all the woodstove parts (stovepipe, fire grate, etc), except the stove body itself. This box then converts into a table for use inside the tent.

backcountry-campsites-setup

Below are the grub and kitchen boxes with lids on and ready to transport. The woodstove is on top of the stove parts box/table. A water jug with a spigot is a handy source of running water. I usually carry two of these 7-gallon water containers with me. A Coleman® lantern is used to supply the light at night. The lantern is hung form the center support in the tent and I always have an extra set of mantles on hand. A two burner Coleman® stove is used for cooking if the weather is too hot to have a fire going. A single burner stove can replace the bigger two burner if I don’t expect to do much cooking on it.

Camp slippers are very convenient. Mine are just a pair of rubber overshoes with some felt boot liners in them. The liners are cut short so they don’t stick up to far. It’s always nice to get out of the hunting boots, and these slippers are warm, comfy, and easy to get on and off. The rubber allows you to walk around outside if the ground is wet or there is some snow. An axe is always a handy item around camp. The scoop shovel is brought along to clear the ground of snow where the tent will be set up if that is necessary.

I use an Igloo® 5-day cooler to store any perishable food. Most of my hunts are about five days and there is usually still some ice left in the cooler on the fifth day, even in hot weather. Since I would rather hunt than cook, I make up three or four days worth of sandwiches already wrapped in cellophane. These are nice to just throw in your vest in the early morning, or have ready to eat when you get back to camp after a hunt. I also freeze some home-cooked dinners (e.g. lasagna, turkey and stuffing) in a vacuum -seal bag and drop them into boiling water to heat them up before unsealing.. The sealed bag dinners really cut down on dirty dishes since I can place the bag in a bowl or pan and cut the top open and eat directly from the open bag.

backcountry-campsites-truck

If you think you might want to consider backwoods camping for turkeys, and happen by a wall tent in your travels…well come on in! It’s warm inside and there is a fresh pot of coffee on the woodstove.

Public Land Turkey Hunting, Turkey Calling Tips, Turkey Hunting Tips

Roosting Turkey in New Mexico

Use this method for roosting turkey in New Mexico and kill more turkeys this Spring!  New Mexico is an awesome state to harvest your Merriams turkey for your grand slam! There is lots of public land to hunt turkey, elk and other game. One of the most effective ways to locate merriams turkey in New Mexico is to use a high pitched crow call when roosting them in the evening. You can literally drive the roads boarding public land, stop every 1/4 mile and locate birds for the mornings hunt. Watch this video to see how one of New Mexico’s finest turkey hunters, Ryan Bates, roosts his merriams!

Public Land Turkey Hunting

New Mexico Turkey Hunting

The Grand Slam Network crew represented us Georgia turkey hunters with some New Mexico turkey hunting for the 2012 season opener! What a BLAST! We left out of Atlanta, scouted the day before turkey season opened, and started killing merriams opening day! The hunt continued for a few days until we were chased out of NM and back to reality!

The first few days were cold – and WINDY [I’m guessing 30-40mph winds]. The 25 degree mornings started somewhere around 4 or 5am. After downing coffee, packing a water and snacks, groups would start to pull out of camp to the birds roosted the night before. On the windy mornings, it was hard to hear birds on the roost, and success came from skirting the NM mountain ranges calling into cuts before dropping down and over to the next ridge. Birds would seek cover from the wind in the deep cuts with steep banks.

My first bird came from one of these cuts – he came strutting up the cut to the sound of a raspy box call. After they’d gobble, and I knew they were still a little ways out, I’d stick one hand under my backside to provide some relief from the cold – my hands were freezing! Our strategy payed off! The Benelli smoked him and had to chase him down the hill as he flopped. Ryan and I later slid down the slope on our rear [it was too steep to walk down on some parts]. We were able to get most of the footage on film, but unfortunately didn’t get the kill shot!

By the time lunch came around, we had usually walked for miles up and down mountains, shedded camo layers, and were ready to make our way back to camp for food and a nap. BUT of course, we had to stop on the way back to camp and glass the stutters seeking attention from the ladies in the canyons. At least once, several of us made the hour round trip to a cell signal to call back home and provide updates to our families. One day I opted to hunt, what Ryan called the kill’n hour (2pm), which apparently had some truth to it because I landed my second Merriam! I glassed him up a road strutting for some hens, and around the kill’n hour, the hens left Mr. Tom, and he responded to some soft yelps and purrs and came in on a string!

After lunch and a nap, groups would start to talk over the evenings plans, run a few calls, and on some days make some mouth calls from Jim’s stash of latex, frames, and hole tape. By this time, it would be 70 degrees and dropping. We’d make our way back to our evening spots. Bobby came back with an evening bird – a NICE one at that!

For Ryan and I, we’d hunt our evening spots and then break away to roost birds before it got too late. By this time herds of elk piled out of the hills into the pastures. Dinner consisted wild game cooked in a BBQ pit. As the evening progressed, every one would start gearing down by swapping stories of how their day unfolded.

What a blast! We met some great turkey hunters – both LEGENDS – and the newly addicted. I really appreciate everyone’s hospitality! I lucked out by getting to hunt with one of NM’s finest turkey killers, Ryan Bates. The dude flat knows the land, knows how the birds work and where they hangout.

GA GSN boys! [thats just how we roll!] 😀

What a bunch of rough looking dudes…

Member Articles, Public Land Turkey Hunting, Turkey Hunting Interviews

Jim Bates: Holder of NWTF’s World Record Goulds Turkey

Jim Bates resides in Las Cruces New Mexico and has been involved with the NWTF and with the state of New Mexico’s conservation efforts for many years. I met Jim 3 years ago and I can tell you he is as unselfish and humble as the day is long and it took me a year of knowing him before I even found out about this bird. The Grand Slam Network asked Jim Bates to share his story about the hunt involving his taking of the World Record Goulds turkey. It took some prying on our part as Jim is one of those guys who never wants to appear as though he’s bragging about anything. Well this is something to brag about and fortunately for us, Jim is a very good writer as well as turkey hunter. The following is his story regarding this once in a lifetime hunt.

Bobby Parks

Ocho Barvas by Jim Bates

“Shoot him, Dennis!” I whispered to my hunting companion who sat next to me under the scraggly juniper tree we had chosen for our blind.

“No…you shoot him!”

“Dennis, shoot him…he’s got at least three beards!” I emphasized as the big gobbler walked casually by us five yards away.

“No…he’s your bird, shoot him! Dennis retorted as the distance between us and the bird gradually widened.

“It’s your turn; I shot the last bird yesterday!” I hissed.

“He’s walkin’ off, you better shoot him!” Dennis responded, matter-of-factly.

Such was our animated exchange as we slowly watched the Goulds gobbler walk out of sight up the canyon, and presumably, out of our lives forever.

“I can’t believe you didn’t shoot that bird! Did you see how big he was!…how many beards he had!” I scolded Dennis as we both sat there in utter disbelief, recognizing that we had just bickered our way out of the bird of a lifetime for one of us. Disbelief soon turned to laughter as we both shook our heads and chided each other over what we had just done.

That whole episode and what had transpired on this morning and the two days before, were a result of a series of events caused by our association with the National Wild Turkey Federation. Until five years prior to this adventure, Dennis Daniel and I had never laid eyes on one another, had never spoken, and likely never would have except for our respective positions with the NWTF. You see, at the time Dennis was working out of the NWTF headquarters in Edgefield as the Making Tracks coordinator with the Forest Service, and I was serving an extended term as the New Mexico State chapter president.

The two of us had become acquainted when we met at a NWTF regional biologist’s meeting held in New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest several years prior. As is generally the case in these situations, our initial conversations had eventually turned to hunting as Dennis and I, along with other attendees at the meeting, discussed the possibilities to be found in the mountains and forests of New Mexico, as well as the respective locales from which each of us had come. In the next several years, Dennis and I would run into each other at NWTF meetings and events on occasion, or find ourselves chatting about NWTF or Forest Service issues via e-mail.

Ultimately, our conversations would invariably lead back to hunting. Dennis and I found we shared common hunting interests, not only with wild turkeys, but also with elk, and soon we found ourselves contemplating hunts for both. The spring of 2005 found us hunting together in Florida for the Osceola subspecies, and again in the fall, when we got together for an elk hunt in New Mexico. During that hunt, we discussed the possibilities of an excursion into Mexico to hunt Gould’s gobblers. I had mentioned to Dennis previously that I had been attempting to make contacts in Mexico to set up some spring hunts, and that a hunt for the spring of ’06 was beginning to look promising.

“Count me in if it comes together”, Dennis said.

“Okay, you’re on my short list” I assured him.

As time went by, the possibilities of a Gould’s hunt became more promising. Numerous obstacles that had looked almost insurmountable at one time or another slowly began to fall by the wayside. One by one, issues and concerns were addressed. Arrangements were made with my contacts to procure the necessary licenses and permits. Access to a property that had Goulds turkeys was obtained. Shotguns for the hunt were gathered up by our Mexican contacts so that we would not have to deal with trying to jump through all of the hoops needed to take our own shotguns. Insurance and registration concerns about taking vehicles into Mexico were explored. By the end of March, I felt fairly confident that our “do it yourself” Goulds hunt was going to come together. From that point forward, Dennis and I referred to our hunt as “the great adventure”.

And so, on May 3rd, I picked up Dennis at the El Paso International Airport, both of us anxious to see how things were going to work out. After gathering up food and provisions for our journey south, and confirming plans with the other two individuals who were to be part of our group, we went to bed that evening believing that we had covered all the bases and were ready to go.

At dawn on May 4th, the four of us departed Las Cruces, Dennis and I in my 4X4 pickup and the others in theirs. The first bump in the road occurred when we tried to cross the border. Dennis and I had all of our paperwork in order, and had no problem getting the necessary permits for ourselves and my vehicle. However, our companions, it turned out, did not have all of their “ducks in a row” in terms of paperwork on their truck, even though we had discussed and cussed the details “ad nauseum” for weeks before the hunt. To make a long story short, the two of us were allowed into Mexico, and the other two were turned back. I insisted that they try to get things straightened out and try to come down to meet us later but after all was said and done, they could not.

We were scheduled to meet our Mexican contacts before noon, so Dennis and I headed south toward Chihuahua City. After a three-hour drive, we met Jeremy, the owner of the property we were to hunt, at an intersection of two highways, and after waiting for the arrival of our two assigned guides, Pedro and Carlos, we headed west towards the Sierra Madres. By mid-afternoon, we had made our way through one mountain range, across a high plain, and into the next mountain range, which comprised the ranch we were to hunt, and which supposedly held an abundance of our quarry.

Upon arrival at our destination, a neat little Mexican ranch nestled in a small canyon at the base of the mountain range, we were shown our quarters and given a brief rundown on the facility and the hunt. I had been told, in my initial contacts with the outfitter, that the ranch was about 9800 acres in size. After questioning Jeremy about the size of the property, his first response was “who told you that?” Expecting “ranch shrinkage” to occur at this point in time, imagine our delight when he informed us that his place was almost 50,000 acres! And not only that, but the turkeys, of which he assured us there were many, had not been hunted in at least five years that he knew of!

So here we were, the two of us, hunting a huge Mexican ranch on which the current generation of Gould’s turkeys had never been harassed by hunters! We looked at each other with sly smiles which essentially conveyed the meaning: “What a Deal!!” Needless to say, our optimism for the possibilities for “our adventure” was sky-high!

That afternoon, that optimism was rewarded when our hosts drove us higher into the rugged mountains to a rock dam on the edge of a high mesa. We parked the truck and eased our way to within a couple hundred yards of the dam, and there, in a sun-drenched clearing, were perhaps two dozen Gould’s turkeys, gobblers and hens, going about their business. As we sat and watched the birds—we had chosen not to take guns on this first afternoon reconnaissance mission—-we marveled at the size of the strutting gobblers and their glistening white fans and rump feathers. There were at least eight mature toms in this procession, and even though it was late afternoon when gobblers are generally prone to be somewhat hush-mouthed, these birds were whoopin’ it up. Gobbles rang out with regularity, and Dennis and I just looked at each other and gleamed. It was beginning to look more and more like this adventure was going to be a doozy!

That evening, over a mesquite-grilled steak dinner, we discussed our plans for the next morning with our hosts. We would return to the rock dam on the mesa before daylight and head for the first gobbles, wherever they might be. After inspecting the five shotguns that our hosts had rounded up, all 12 gauges of various persuasions and chokes, we settled on a Beretta semi-auto and a Remington pump as our weapons of choice for the next morning.

At first light, we found ourselves standing in the pre-dawn darkness in the clearing next to the dam. We were somewhat surprised when it was nearly full daylight before the first gobbler sounded off in a deep canyon immediately to the south of the dam. We hiked to the edge of the canyon, and soon we could see him strutting on a shale rockslide near the canyon bottom 500 yards away. We briefly contemplated attempting to find a way off of the precipice and into the chasm, but eventually came to our senses and decided instead to bide our time in the vicinity of the dam. Finally, after another half-hour, we were rewarded with distant gobbling on the mesa a few hundred yards to the west. Our entourage of four moved quickly in the direction of the gobbler, which, we were fairly certain, was now on the ground and readying himself for the morning’s courtships.

We moved through the scattered oaks, junipers, pinons, and manzanita until we thought we were within striking distance. Dennis and our two assistants crawled up under the low branches of a small juniper tree while I hurriedly looked for a suitable spot to try to film the action with my video camera. After all of us were satisfied with the set-up, Dennis enticed the bird with a soft series of yelps. From that direction came a responding gobble. All was well. A couple minutes later Dennis once again called to the gobbler but this time received no response in return.

I was busily trying to pan the area to get some set-up footage for the hunt. As I panned to the left and out in front of us, something looked out of place. Closer inspection revealed a lone mature gobbler, standing at the base of a pinon tree forty yards distant. The bird had quietly moved in and was now surveying the situation. Soon he ballooned into full strut, and began what would turn out to be an excruciatingly long performance within a five yard radius of that pinon tree. Not knowing how the Beretta would perform at that distance, Dennis chose to bide his time and hope that the big gobbler would eventually venture closer. Such was not the case however, as the bird had set up shop and was not about to sully his reputation by advancing further toward this apparently irreverent hen.

As time slowly slipped by, I was beginning to wonder if we had reached an impasse with the bird. He would not take a step closer than about forty yards, and try as we might, we could not entice him to come further. At about the forty-five minute mark of what was now turning into quite an ordeal, since both of my legs had fallen asleep and my back was screaming for some Doan’s pills, I thought I heard faint drumming from behind us. As the sound grew closer and more distinct, it soon was apparent that another gobbler was approaching from our backside.

This gobbler’s approach was slow and calculated as well, but soon I could see the bird swinging around the far side of the tree under which Dennis and our two amigos sat, and I swung the camera around just as the bird passed by them at about ten yards. As I filmed, the tom headed directly toward the other gobbler, and at fifteen yards, Dennis raised his gun and ended the suspense of this opening act of our hunt.

His first Gould’s gobbler under his belt, which incidentally completed his royal slam, Dennis was all smiles as we admired the beautiful tom. After the obligatory back-slapping, picture-taking, and story re-hashing, we continued on with the hunt in an effort to find another bird for me, and although we heard a few more gobblers and tried a couple of set-ups, the big birds were content to go about their morning without indulging us.

Later that afternoon, after eating a late breakfast at the ranch and taking care of the processing of Dennis’ gobbler, we decided to once again head back to the rock dam to try to find me a bird. It was basically a repeat of the first afternoon in that we approached the dam and found several turkeys, including at least four adult toms, hanging out there. Moving as close as we could without being detected, I got out in front of our quartet and called to the birds.

The brush was fairly thick in the area of our set-up, which ultimately led to me not noticing the first pair of gobblers that eased by to our left at about forty yards. As they moved away from us, I chastised myself for not being attentive enough. However, Dennis motioned to me that another gobbler was approaching on the far side of a juniper tree that obscured my vision. I scooted slightly to my left to see around the tree, and immediately could see not one, but two gobblers slinking through the brush at twenty yards, skirting to my left.

They were not aware of our presence, and a couple of soft yelps on a mouth call, brought them out into the open at fifteen yards. Both were good, mature gobblers, and I shouldered the same Beretta that Dennis had used to dispatch his bird that morning and placed the bead on the head of what I thought was the larger of the two. At the shot, the birds (yes, that’s right… birds) startled and began running for cover. In a momentary state of shock over having missed the tom at no more than fifteen yards, I barely recovered in time to roll him with a second shot before he could dart into the brush.

I was relieved that I had managed to cleanly kill the bird with the second shot, which had I not done would surely have meant an endless barrage of needling from Dennis, not to mention the two guides. Any such badgering, I’m sure, would have continued non-stop for the remainder of the trip (and in Dennis’ case, for the remainder of our association). We gathered up the bird and proceeded with another round of congratulations, pictures, and hunt summaries.

Needless to say, Dennis and I were in good spirits that evening, especially after our successful negotiation of an agreement with our compadres to hunt for a second bird apiece. With a plan in place to hunt a new area of the ranch on the second day, we enjoyed the evening, along with our new friends, over grilled country ribs and a number of cold beverages.

The next morning found us in the situation described at the beginning of this article. Pedro and Carlos had taken us to another known roosting area in the bottom of one of the major canyons on the ranch and at daybreak we had several gobblers within earshot. The first bird to come to our calls was the big old boy that we inexplicably, and apparently with a full dose of turkey hunter’s irrationality, let walk away unscathed.

After mutual admonishment for what we had done, we continued to call from the same location for another hour. Two other mature gobblers came to investigate during that time, but neither was exceptional, or at least not in the same class as the first bird. We could hear hens yelping, and occasional gobbling, up the canyon bottom we were in, so after concluding that we had milked our stand for as much action as it was going to give us, we got up and gathered up Pedro and Carlos from the brush behind us. By this time, we had made the two of them the designated hunt videographers, and they were enjoying trying to get good video footage of these two American buffoons who had just let “guajolote macho grande” (REALLY big gobbler) walk off.

Easing up the canyon bottom toward the still-very-vocal group of Gould’s turkeys, we approached as closely as we thought we should. There were two good-sized Chihuahuan pine trees nearby, and we agreed that we would just stand against the two of them and call to the birds to see what developed. Our two movie-makers ducked into the brush behind us as we sent forth a few inquiring yelps. Immediately, at least two hens on the slope above us responded, and soon we were in a four-way conversation with them. They would respond to every call we made, although the gobblers that were presumably with them would not, and we were finding ourselves quite entertained by the whole exchange, so much so that we failed to notice a big lone gobbler coming down the canyon bottom toward us. Fortunately, Carlos saw him, and whispered to let us know of his approach.

By the time Dennis and I noticed the bird, he was forty yards out and on a steady march to locate these two new noisy hens. As he closed the distance, I heard Dennis whisper, “Jim, I think it’s that same gobbler!”

“Are you sure?” I asked, not yet being able to see the bird’s chest well.

“Yeah, it’s him….shoot him!”

“YOU shoot him!” I whispered emphatically, while at the same time thinking to myself, “Oh no, here we go again”.

“No, I want YOU to shoot him!”

“Dennis, we’re not going to let that bird walk away again…SHOOT HIM!” I demanded, the gobbler by now walking past us at fifteen yards, and obviously becoming concerned about the two talking tree trunks.

“I don’t have a shell in my gun!” Dennis whispered with a smirk, content that this probably intentional oversight would finally settle the issue. “YOU are going to have to shoot him!”

Realizing that Dennis had played the final trump card, and that it was time to throw in the towel, I raised the shotgun, brought it up and around the tree I was behind in one motion, settled on the gobbler’s head, and ended the discussion once and for all.

Whoops and hollers followed, as the four of us ran to the gobbler, all anxious to see just what this grand bird had to show us. When things had finally settled down, I gently turned the bird over and fumbled through his breast feathers to sort out the assortment of “modified feathers” which adorned his chest. The first count was five beards, the second came up with seven, and the final tally, after I had settled down enough to actually think rationally and do a systematic inspection, was eight.

“Ocho barvas!! Ocho barvas!!” Pedro and Carlos exclaimed in unison, recounting the total in Spanish. Before us lay the granddaddy of all Gould’s gobblers. Looking down at his legs, we were equally delighted that he had good spurs, by Gould’s standards, on both legs, somewhat of a rarity in itself. All in all, he was, without a doubt, the bird of a lifetime…. and to think that the two of us had almost let him walk off TWICE!!

That evening, two hours before dark, we again returned to the rock dam in an attempt to fill Dennis’ second tag. As was the case the previous two afternoons, there were several gobblers in the area, and Dennis tagged his second gobbler, another exceptional bird, if only having ONE ten-inch beard, after a classic calling session that brought the bird, and another, in strutting and gobbling.

All told, the two of us had taken four outstanding Gould’s gobblers in two days, had an absolute blast, and had made a number of new friends from a different nation in the process. For two would-be strangers from opposite ends of the country, who had only met as a result of a mutual association with the National Wild Turkey Federation, the adventure did indeed turn out to be BIG!!

FOOTNOTE: After all was said and done, I was curious to see just how well Ocho Barvas would stand up against other Gould’s gobblers in the NWTF record book. After reviewing the record book and the scoring system, I was surprised to find that he is the new atypical record for Gould’s scoring 139.00 and besting the old record by somewhere in the vicinity of 23 points! He has eight beards with 52.5” of total beard length (longest 11 1/8”), has spurs measuring an average of ¾” each, and weighed an even 19 lbs.

If you go…

As turkey hunting increases in popularity across the country, more and more hunters are becoming interested in traveling to Mexico to hunt the fifth of the North American subspecies, the Gould’s, in an effort to complete their “royal slam”. Although we went to great lengths to try to avoid any pitfalls with our trip, we did encounter some stumbling blocks along the way. From my experience, it appears that the rules and regulations are subject to interpretation, depending on what port of entry is used to cross back and forth into Mexico. Hunters who plan hunting trips into Mexico should be aware of the following:

1) Make sure you have acquired a passport (a birth certificate and drivers license or I.D. will no longer be acceptable beginning in 2008), and make sure you get your passport properly stamped when entering and exiting Mexico. Not getting the proper stamps on your passport when you depart Mexico could result in complications if you were to try to re-enter at a later time. There will generally be a nominal fee associated with your entry into Mexico for your hunt.

2) If you take your own vehicle into Mexico, make sure you arrange for supplemental insurance on it for the time you will be down there (you can contact your insurance agent for information on this—the cost for five days of full coverage for my pick-up was about $75.00 American). You also must have the vehicle registration (current) with you and proof of insurance coverage on the vehicle. You will be issued a vehicle permit at the Mexican port of entry. (The cost for this permit for our five day stay was about $30.00). You must relinquish this permit when you leave the country.

3) If your vehicle has a lien holder, you should contact them and ask for a letter of permission to take the vehicle into Mexico. Although I was not asked to present this document, I have been told that it is best to have it available just in case, as you may be denied entry if you don’t have one and are asked to show it.

4) While in Mexico, you most likely will be able to pay for things with American dollars, and in many cases this will be preferred. Make sure you take small denominations with you to pay for incidentals like food, gas, and tolls and become familiar with the currency exchange rate between Mexican pesos and American dollars. Many vendors/stores will take American credit cards, as well, but don’t depend on paying for things with them.

5) Make sure the Mexican outfitter you deal with can provide you with all of the licenses, permits, and documents that you will need (and don’t assume that he knows about everything you are supposed to have—make sure you review the documentation needed and go over it with him). You must have a signed contract with the outfitter that outlines the details of the hunt and the ranch you are hunting. You also must have an official certificate with state seal (UMA hunting permit) from the Mexican state you are hunting that verifies you are hunting on a property that has filed for and met all of the hunt management criteria as required by the state. The outfitter should provide you with a numbered tag for each bird you kill (cintillo) and the tag number should be recorded on the contract. You must attach a validated, numbered tag to each bird you harvest. We were told by the field officers at U.S. Customs that it is a common problem to have hunters coming back from Mexico without all of the licensing and proper documentation that is needed.

6) Unless you have gone through all of the registration and licensing process to take your own guns for your hunt, make sure you do not have any firearms or ammunition with you when you enter Mexico. Having any kind of firearm or ammunition that is not properly licensed and registered will most likely bring a sudden and unpleasant end to your Mexican adventure and will probably result in you and your hunting party ending up in a Mexican jail. If you are relying on your Mexican outfitter to provide shotguns for your hunt, be certain that you and he have ironed-out all of those details.

7) At this time, you may bring the meat and of the turkeys you harvest back into the U.S. if you desire (We gave all of the meat from our birds to the ranch hands and our guides). Also, you may bring the capes of the birds and they should be packaged in a sealable container or bag (we put ours inside heavy duty trash bags and then put the bags in an ice chest. All capes are required to be sent to a certified taxidermist to go through a fumigation/delousing process before the bird can be mounted. You should obtain a list of the certified taxidermists from U.S. Customs (or your hunt booking agent, if you have one) prior to your trip, contact that taxidermist to confirm your intent to use his services for the process, and obtain the required form (Report of Entry/Shipment of Restricted Animal Products) for this. This document, which indicates where the birds will be sent to be processed, must be presented to U.S. Customs when you cross back into the United States.

8) Along with the above, a declaration form (Declaration of Importation of Wildlife) must be filled out and presented to Customs, as well. This document lists the numbers and the species that you are declaring to bring back across the border.

Also, regarding taking your own vehicle down for your hunt, you should be prepared for extremely rough travel on terrible roads through very rugged country. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is advised, preferably with high clearance, and don’t go down there without at least two spare tires, some “flat fix” cans, and a plug kit. And make sure your vehicle is in good running condition!

Finally, the people down in Mexico in general are very friendly, even though you may not be able to communicate fully with them. If you go down there with the proper attitude of respect for the Mexican culture and the people, you will undoubtedly have a wonderful experience and come back having made some very good friends.

By Jim Bates

Public Land Turkey Hunting, Turkey Hunting Tips

Good Decision Combinations Kill Turkeys

Successful turkey hunters are good decision makers and to an extent gamblers. In fact it’s the element of managing each and every decision and the totality of the combinations you make that ultimately affects the outcome of each hunt you undertake. At the end of the day, it is your overall ability as a hunter to plan, observe, process, and react to what is going on around you. Think for a minute just how many decisions are involved with every hunting session, how often you’re making them at different stages of the game, how many took nerve and were a gamble because they seemed risky, and how many you have to get right to kill a bird.

This decision making process begins before you even enter the turkey woods. For example: The “night before” pre hunt decisions begin with: What do you carry in your vest, where will you start in the morning, and what time do you need to get up and leave to not be late?

Merriams Wild Turkey
Merriams Wild Turkey

The early morning decisions begin with your final choice of an area to begin the hunt, where you’ll park to avoid any possible bird disruptions, how you‘ll approach an area, and where you’ll stop and listen.

Let’s say you’ve arrived at your listening spot. Do you owl hoot or just let things unfold naturally? You hear an early gobble before good light. Do you take off after him now or wait a little longer in case one is closer? Now you hear other birds gobbling and you’ve got to make a decision on which one to go after. One’s gobbling a lot and is further away while the other is gobbling less but is closer. Which one will you go to? You’ve decided go after the bird that’s gobbles the most so you take off full speed with hopes of getting set up on him before he flies down off the roost. About halfway to the bird you second guess yourself. Was this the right call? Was the bird gobbling his head off already with a bunch of hens? Was the bird that gobbled just a few times alone and a better choice? Too late now, your committed and almost to the other bird.

Do you owl hoot to keep up with his location as you get closer or just keep heading towards him and trust your estimated distance? How close will you try and get and what type of terrain factors are there to consider? Now you’ve gotten within 150 yards. Do you gamble and try to get just a little closer? Could there be hens in the trees this side of him that you’re about to bump? Where will you set up? Do you put out decoys or not?

He gobbles from the limb so you know the games still on. Do you want to call to let him know you’re there and what call are you going to use? You throw out a soft tree yelp and he cuts you off with his gobble. Do you call again or wait until he’s on the ground? Or, he ignores you so do you call a little louder? You just heard hens so do you now call more or hold back and see what they’re going to do on their own?

He fly’s down off the roost and is gobbling but not moving towards you. Do you play hard to get or get aggressive and fire him up? Maybe you should try and talk soft and sweet and coax the hens over and hope he’ll come with them? Maybe you should try and make the boss hen mad and accomplish the same thing? Now he appears to be slowly moving in your direction. Do you call again or stay quiet? Maybe you should scratch the leaves? Now he’s gotten quieter and if he does gobble there’s a delay between your call and his gobble. Has he cooled down? Maybe you should swap calls? Maybe just change strikers? Maybe you should just be patient and give things time to unfold?

Bobby Parks New Mexico Merriams
Bobby Parks New Mexico Merriams

Now it appears the hens are taking him away. Do you gamble and attempt to swing around and flank them? Will the terrain allow you to move and what do you know about the ground you’re on? Are there other birds around that you don’t know about? Maybe it’s time to try fighting purrs or a gobble shaker? Is to too late in the season for fighting purrs to work? How many times has gobbling helped you kill a bird?

Wait….something you’ve done has gotten his attention again and it looks like he’s coming in. Do you put your slate call down or wait until he’s a little closer? Do you raise your gun now or wait until he’s in tighter and walks behind a tree? Are you going to hyperventilate or will you settle down? Will you get busted?

The truth is this is just a sampling of the thoughts that go through our minds and the challenges we face on any given day in the turkey woods. And although this piece really is a statement of the obvious, if you stop and think about each and every decision and move you made on a particular encounter that resulted in a dead bird, and changed any one decision, certainly any two or three, and it’s likely that bird is still walking after you leave the scene. Being willing to gamble at times has paid off while at other times it hasn’t, but that’s why it’s called a gamble. Most successful turkey hunters put forth a beyond average effort to develop their woodsman- ship and calling skills and just as importantly they learn to become good mobile hunting decision managers that are willing to take chances.

The basic and general approaches involved with turkey hunting often seem simple, but when you think about all the decisions that play into it, you understand just how much you have to do right to consistently kill gobblers. The key is to think on the fly, be adaptable, persistent, patient, and not be afraid to gamble and get it wrong. There’s always another day and a chance to implement brand new combinations. The good news is you only have to get it right a few times a season to get your limits.

By Bobby Parks
The Grand Slam Network
Mossy Oak Pro Staff
O’l Tom Field Expert