capital forest turkeys

[bow4elk]

Easterns are a better fit for Western WA.  They seem to take the precip better than other subspecies.  There once was a idea floating around....  to get some florida "Osceola" strain and release around Port Angeles area...were temps were a little more "tropical" ...I think we need to concentrate efforts to manage what we have. 

And easterns just love the thick crap a lot more than Merriams and Rios...

[Wacenturion]

Easterns are a better fit for Western WA.  They seem to take the precip better than other subspecies.  There once was a idea floating around....  to get some florida "Osceola" strain and release around Port Angeles area...were temps were a little more "tropical" ...I think we need to concentrate efforts to manage what we have. 

And easterns just love the thick crap a lot more than Merriams and Rios...

The eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris)........ L.J.P. Vieillot first described and named the eastern subspecies in
1817 using the word silvestris,
meaning "forest" turkey



This subspecies spends most of it's time in the woods as compared to the other two subspecies...Merriam's a more open forest bird and the Rio, more open county habitat with roosting tree areas.

[Turkeyman]

 

[Houndhunter]

well i plan to do a lil scouting where i saw them maybe i can find a pattern . also gonna look into the ones a kennedy creek, i know exactly where there at

[Wacenturion]

well i plan to do a lil scouting where i saw them maybe i can find a pattern . also gonna look into the ones a kennedy creek, i know exactly where there at

Plan on scouting from Feb. up to opener if you want to increase you chances of finding birds.  Focus on sign, especially droppings.....as unless you get lucky and catch em in the open it likely all you might see.  Don't be discouraged if you don't hear them.  Unless you close with the dense woods....you won't.  Droppings are your best friend....believe me.  When you find sign, stay with it ...it will likely move somewhat the closer to the opener.  Won't be far, but you got 360 to deal with as far as direction and dense cover.

Oh.....do not.....I repeat, do not  use turkey calls while scouting or patterning these easterns prior to the opener.  Use locator calls like owl, crow, woodpecker etc.  If you do and can't resist yelping and using all the other unneccessary turkey calls people use prior to opener.......you loose with these guys.....not always....but most the time.  

These are the hardest turkeys in the state to kill.....and they are also the easiest turkey in the state to kill.  Only successful westside eastern hunters will actually understand what I just said.  Hopefully you to will in time.  GOOD LUCK! 

[Houndhunter]

well i plan to do a lil scouting where i saw them maybe i can find a pattern . also gonna look into the ones a kennedy creek, i know exactly where there at

Plan on scouting from Feb. up to opener if you want to increase you chances of finding birds.  Focus on sign, especially droppings.....as unless you get lucky and catch em in the open it likely all you might see.  Don't be discouraged if you don't hear them.  Unless you close with the dense woods....you won't.  Droppings are your best friend....believe me.  When you find sign, stay with it ...it will likely move somewhat the closer to the opener.  Won't be far, but you got 360 to deal with as far as direction and dense cover.

Oh.....do not.....I repeat, do not  use turkey calls while scouting or patterning these easterns prior to the opener.  Use locator calls like owl, crow, woodpecker etc.  If you do and can't resist yelping and using all the other unneccessary turkey calls people use prior to opener.......you loose with these guys.....not always....but most the time.  

These are the hardest turkeys in the state to kill.....and they are also the easiest turkey in the state to kill.  Only successful westside eastern hunters will actually understand what I just said.  Hopefully you to will in time.  GOOD LUCK! 

thanks for the advice, i am by no means a turkey hunter but might get into it since theres a few close by

[NWTFhunter]

Here is a word of caution..  If you dont want to see 100 guys chasin the same turkeys do not give location names out on the web... that creek will be hit as hard as if wa hunting and fishing news published it.

[coastalghost]

well i plan to do a lil scouting where i saw them maybe i can find a pattern . also gonna look into the ones a kennedy creek, i know exactly where there at

Plan on scouting from Feb. up to opener if you want to increase you chances of finding birds.  Focus on sign, especially droppings.....as unless you get lucky and catch em in the open it likely all you might see.  Don't be discouraged if you don't hear them.  Unless you close with the dense woods....you won't.  Droppings are your best friend....believe me.  When you find sign, stay with it ...it will likely move somewhat the closer to the opener.  Won't be far, but you got 360 to deal with as far as direction and dense cover.

Oh.....do not.....I repeat, do not  use turkey calls while scouting or patterning these easterns prior to the opener.  Use locator calls like owl, crow, woodpecker etc.  If you do and can't resist yelping and using all the other unneccessary turkey calls people use prior to opener.......you loose with these guys.....not always....but most the time.  

These are the hardest turkeys in the state to kill.....and they are also the easiest turkey in the state to kill.  Only successful westside eastern hunters will actually understand what I just said.  Hopefully you to will in time.  GOOD LUCK! 

thanks for the advice, i am by no means a turkey hunter but might get into it since theres a few close by

I tried looking into past forums but couldnt find any pics of some of these western eastern birds that you guys have taken.  Would love to see em.... 

[Aneoakleaf]

Heres Smokey's , I haven't caught up with one yet

[coastalghost]

Nice...and with a bow no less.  Thanks for the pic

[Aneoakleaf]

Thanks, there's actualy a bear in the back ground that walked up the grade while he was taking the photo. This bird was 22 lbs with a 9.5 inch . He had quite a hunt. This was on Easter several years back.

[yelp]

Aneoaklef...Smokey smoked a smoker.  Wow nice eastern...how long ago?

[BrushChimp]

If these Eastern's are doing so great on this side of the state why haven't they increased their populations in the last 20 years? I personally hope they shut down turkey hunting on this side of the state and plant more turkeys until huntable populations are established.

Something was mentioned about turkeys out near Pe Ell and how one day poof they were gone. Yes, there WERE turkeys out here. I watched my buddy kill the last one 'round here about 4 years ago. I was sitting right beside him with my shotgun shouldered and had hunted this turkey for a couple years. It was the first day of turkey season and he had never hunted turkey before. So another friend and I decided to let him have the first crack. We had hunted this bird before and knew he was not like the easy-to-kill Merriam types. Well, we were wrong that morning. That tom gobbled his head off at every call and flew across a draw from his roost and jogged into our setup. I was tempted to shoot the bird out from underneath my friend. I resisted the temptation and he blasted the old bird. If I would've shot, I would've had a Washington Slam that year as I ended up killing and Merriam and Rio at the age of 16. After that I haven't heard, seen, or seen sign of a turkey around here.

Worst part about hunting the west side of the state is you can scout one area all spring. Listen to the bird gobble, find where he roosts, and not see another soul. But on the first day of turkey season so SOB is out right at your spot at 3:30 in the morning and you never hear that turkey gobble the rest of the season.

Good luck. You'll need it.

[Turkeyman]

 

[Turkeyman]

Have you tried getting back away from all those farm fields by the road where every body and there brother See's those birds? There was allot of poaching out there around PE ELL the birds hung out in the fields next to the road for all to see. The birds where i hunt are doing just fine, maybe you need to find a new area if your serious about taken one. Shutting down the session because there not in your back yard is a crazy thing to say. Or you can just keep thinking that there isn't many birds more for a few of use that take one every year we like for people to thank that way.