Greetings

[trkykilr]

Guys, I wanted to introduce myself and enlist any help that you are willing to provide.  A couple of friends and I will be coming your way to hunt turkeys 5/17-24 and look forward to the challenge.  We are from SC and travel somewhere in the US to hunt public land each May, and we are all looking forward to your beautiful state. 

We will be flying into Spokane and heading toward Colville.  We have no specific plans, as of yet, outside of finding turkeys and trying our best to figure out how to kill them.  We have found over the years that most birds are killed with legwork done before we ever leave SC, so any help you are willing to give is greatly appreciated.  Also, if you ever decide to travel to hunt, we have access to tons of birds in bot SC and FL, and tons of info for public around the country.  We also bring a cooler full of fresh SC shrimp, which are usually very appreciated.

Thanks for having me on the forum and I look forward to talking turkey with you boys.

Michael

[Woodchuck]

Are you gonna use an outfitter or go it on your own? Lots of private ground around Colville. 

[MtnMuley]

A lot of public ground around Colville as well.

[Skillet]

Welcome, and thought I'd just let you know how we do it around here to increase your success.

Find the birds in the evening and roost them.  If you can get to them before shooting hours are over, blast them out of the tree.  If you can't, be there before light and as soon as it is legal, blast them out of the tree.







KIDDING!  There's lots of birds in the NE corner, most of them I've seen on private ground down low but the public land in the hills contain a good number of birds too.

Just curious, why travel cross country to kill a turkey?  You specifically looking for a Merriam's or something?

[Yelper Guy]

I've got some relatives down south in NC & Florida, but never have got the chance to chase those southern birds. Like others have said, Colville is good. Kettle Falls area, pretty much anywhere north of Newport - west to Davenport. The NE corner of the state holds the majority of the birds in the state.
Good luck!

[trkykilr]

Welcome, and thought I'd just let you know how we do it around here to increase your success.

Find the birds in the evening and roost them.  If you can get to them before shooting hours are over, blast them out of the tree.  If you can't, be there before light and as soon as it is legal, blast them out of the tree.


That's a good question.  Some people travel to lay on a beach, some to snow ski. I prefer to see the country with a shotgun in my hand and a mouth call in my mouth.  The pacific NW has always intrigued me and the turkey population is mighty inviting as well. 

I have killed merriams, and to be honest, I'm tired of the subspecies talk.  I like hunting gobbling turkeys in pretty places and Washington has both.  I look forward to meeting some good people, seeing some pretty sunrises and sunsets, and a cold beer at the end of the day.

So far, y'all have been a very welcoming group, and I really appreciate that.  We try to leave things better than we found them.  We will not be with an outfitter but would like the map from bear paw to support a local guy. It would give us a starting point.

We certainly look forward to meeting some of you folks



KIDDING!  There's lots of birds in the NE corner, most of them I've seen on private ground down low but the public land in the hills contain a good number of birds too.

Just curious, why travel cross country to kill a turkey?  You specifically looking for a Merriam's or something?

[Skillet]

Didn't realize we'd been talking subspecies enough for you to get tired of it already 

Good luck to you all, probably get lots of help on here.  Good group of guys here.

[trkykilr]

Didn't realize we'd been talking subspecies enough for you to get tired of it already 

Good luck to you all, probably get lots of help on here.  Good group of guys here.

Oh no. I'm not referring to y'all talking subspecies.  I have done a lot of hunting in NE, which leads to grown men standing over a dead turkey trying to figure out who had sex with who 3 generations prior.  The bottom line is that a fun hunt is fun hunt.  A full fanned adult gobble is just that.  His ancestors origin means nothing to me.

I enjoy shooting mature gobbling turkeys, and will do so regardless of the colors of the tips of their feathers

[Dan-o]

Best tip I can give you is to get the Washington land ownership chip for your GPS.

Lots of the land is chopped up.   There's plenty of public to hunt, and plenty of birds on the public land, but it sure helps to know EXACTLY where the borders are (and many are not marked.

You should have a blast.

Let us know how it goes.     

[Skillet]

 
This is most excellent advice.

[turkeydancer]

 
Visit the WDFW hunting website ... they have a program where you can sign up with landowners willing to let people hunt (and it's free) ... the sooner the better as these do fill up.  I always tell people that even a blind man can find turkeys in NE Washington, and the people (especially those away from the main roads) usually are pretty good about letting people hunt (I took a good buddy of mine out on his first turkey hunt, and we drove NE, SE, SW, & NW of town for an hour and I showed him approx 300 turkeys in that hour).   Also the sponsor of this website (BearPaw Outfitters may be able to help you out and point you to some good public land.  I have taken many a bird off both public and private land all over the area.  I usually go earlier in the season than you plan, but the birds can still be had at that time.

[trkykilr]

I want to thank you guys again for being so welcoming.  As I have said, thorough prep work has served us incredibly well in the past.  We got cocky because we had always been so successful, which led to a fairly poor trip to CO last year.  That will not happen again.

A couple more questions, if I may?

1) There are tons of campgrounds with cabins in that area>  Where would you focus or set up camp to have the most birds/access within an hour drive?

2) Would it be worth getting a bear permit and bringing a rifle?  None of us have ever killed a bear before, and that prospect is mighty enticing. 

[Woodchuck]

Spring bear is by draw only in WA. I believe that window has closed.

[Ridgeratt]

I want to thank you guys again for being so welcoming.  As I have said, thorough prep work has served us incredibly well in the past.  We got cocky because we had always been so successful, which led to a fairly poor trip to CO last year.  That will not happen again.

A couple more questions, if I may?

1) There are tons of campgrounds with cabins in that area>  Where would you focus or set up camp to have the most birds/access within an hour drive?

There are not many campgrounds with cabins, several campgrounds but it would be run what you brought.
There is this place but my guess is it fills up fast. https://www.google.com/gws_rd=ssl#q=blue+moose+cabins+kettle+falls
or several places in Kettle Falls or Colville. 
For places to hunt the Little Pend Orielle game range is a place alot of folks hit, Also there is the Sherman Creek Wild life area. Lots of National Forest as well. A lot of the folks on here also seem to camp at the Fair Grounds in Colville as well.
Just a word of caution since you are from SC many turkey hunters here are more of ambush hunters and will try to stalk/sneek  them.

2) Would it be worth getting a bear permit and bringing a rifle?  None of us have ever killed a bear before, and that prospect is mighty enticing.

[trophyhunt]

Spring bear is by draw only in WA. I believe that window has closed.

Spring bear deadline is the 28th of this month, you still have time.  And yes, spring bear is worth it.

[trkykilr]

I think it would be worth it.  We will obviously be chasing turkeys, but I assume we will see some bears??  Also, it appears the tags are regional, so I really have no clue what area to apply for.  Not only that, I would have to figure out what in the world to do with a big ass dead bear.  It would be nice if he was near a road. Hahaha

[trophyhunt]

When you find out the unit you are hunting in for turkey, you should be able to figure out which bear unit to apply for. If not, just ask us.  As far as what to do with a bear, lots of choices to make.  I already have a full mount, half mount and so the rest of the bears I kill I just do a hair on tan with the hide.  Beatle or euro the scull.  I give most my meat to my dad, he will eat anything!  I have had really good bear meat but that was an October kill, he was eating berries. Not sure what the spring bears taste like?  Just like all game meat, cool it down asap.

[Tom Tamer]

Camping, if you guys have tent gear and such, most of our Public lands, just find a flat spot and it's free lodging. good luck the fun can be out here is the Merriam's can at times really love to hear themselves talk. Almost to the point where you think" Just Shut up and come on in". Good luck, hope to be able to travel after Turkeys some day. Once the Kids are gone I suppose.

[Birdguy]

You are getting late enough in the year that a good tent would work but you may see a good rain shower or two. While in Colville stop at Benny's Inn and check out the taxidermy. Might not be a bad place to stay if you end up going the motel route. You can find turkeys within a half hour of there.

[turkeydancer]

    When it's just me I stay (with Andy and Theresa) at Benny's, but if going with several friends I pull the RV trailer into the Colville Fairgrounds.  There is plenty of turkeys in all directions within a few minutes of either place.   As far as bear, the only ones I have ran into is along a creek out of Northport 2 years ago. Of course you may want to make friends with the sites host BearPaw Outfitters for that one. 

[Seatown5]

You can get a motel in colville for around sixty bucks a night. Shouldn't be hard to get a room at that point in the season. There is a ton of hunting within an hour of there. Quite frankly there is plenty just out of town. I imagine you're not wanting to fly with camping gear.  Also that is a bit late in the season. The birds seem to start to get quiet by then, but that's just my experience.  The ones that do gobble are usually killable. You should also be warned that whole valley is absolutely beautiful and you are going to love hunting turkeys there. It might just be my favorite thing to do.  Never seen a bear over there. Lots of coyotes, deer and a moose or two.  Oh yeah. lookout for the really really big coyotes.

[kevinlisa06]

Good luck to ya guys! We will be over in those woods May 2-9 we will try to leave a few for ya

[Elkpiss]

Dont forget your Tick spray..... thats a biggie...

[trkykilr]

Alright guys, we are still a few weeks away from visiting, but I wanted to say hello. Our SC season is winding down and we have had one of our best years ever. Birds have really been on fire. Hope yall are having a good season and I look forward to meeting a few of you.

[Machias]

Nice job.  I was in SC last month for a hog hunt.

[oneshot12]

  nice work

[Yelper Guy]

Good work Turkykilr! Love the look of those Easterns.
With the mild winter/ warm spring we've had here, the birds are ahead of the "Normal" schedule.
The hens are on nests & the gobblers are looking high for new girls.
The birds my brother & I hunt are true "Mountain Birds". Last week we spooked 3 cow elk going into an area, & got busted by a whitetail on one of our set-ups. The wind swirled & Mr. Whitey let the entire area know we were there. Get up off the beaten path a bit and you will be rewarded with a true mountain bird and good memories.
Good Luck!

[GreyIC]

Hello Yelper Guy!  What does "looking high" mean here?  What altitude?

Thanks!

[Yelper Guy]

GreyIC, we hunt north of Mt. Spokane and are hunting around 2500-3500 feet.
When the hens aren't interested (nesting), the gobblers need something to keep them busy.
They roost lower, and climb as the day goes on. By late afternoon they start coming back down to the roost area. These aren't farm birds, they have all sorts of critters trying to eat them constantly.
Big old gobblers get old for a reason, and I'm amazed where some of them hang-out.

[GreyIC]

Yelper Guy - I was under the impression the birds roosted up high, came down the hill, and then went back up at the end of the day.  Is this not the case?  Is this only when the hens are on the nest, so the toms need to go into the woods some?  Or is this a regional thing.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Yelper Guy]

GreyIC, from my experience the birds always start lower and work up-hill as the day goes on.
I don't think it's a regional thing, but I've only hunted the NE.
Get away from the "lower" field edges and start climbing up to any clearings.
Those clearings surrounded by timber are potential strut zones, or places where bachelor birds can spend the day wishing the hens were still receptive.

[GreyIC]

Awesome.  Thanks again Yelper!

[trkykilr]

One week until we land in WA.  I know you boys have all tagged out.  Hook us up with some spots