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.