Some of you shared some info with me about hunting WA, so I thought I'd share my MT opening weekend bird.
I killed this bird on public ground in Eastern Montana that we had never seen before Friday except for satelite photos. Our access was limited because the weather had turned the roads to slop, but we got really lucky Friday eveninga and roosted three birds. I missed the first that came to us within 20 minutes of flydown after he scared us to death when he gobbled at 15 yards, popped out at 10 yards, then bolted because he didn't like the two big lumps next to that little pine. I sent one over his head as he bolted. We found this bird at 1:30 PM after hiking for several hours trying to locate a bird in the wind and killed him at 2:15 PM.
I tried to get my son the shot, but the darn thing managed to offer me the only shot when he stopped one last time while leaving. Don't feel too bad for him though, he's almost 14 and already has 7 birds to his credit (2 Easterns, 4 Merriams, and 1 Rio). In 2011 he killed 3/4's of the grand slam after he drew a Limited Plains tag for a Rio when we were in CO. Its about time he starts calling in birds for me instead of it always working the other way around.
The shot was 35 yards. He had 9" beard, 7/8" spurs, and I guessed him at 20 lbs. He was as good or better than most Merriam's I've killed in similar country. We'll continue to hunt MT, but still hoping to make it to Northeast WA in late May. Good Luck to all!
He was stiff by the time we hiked 1 1/2 to 2 hours to the truck, so I had a hard time displaying him well.
My son holding the bird:
Not much in the way of spurs, but not bad for these birds:
Tailgate shot:
Snow on Sunday morning:
Spoils from the hunt:
