Big Tom's need shot (Twisp)

[coonhunter]

  I'm a rancher in Twisp, Wa. and feed about 100 Eastern wild turkeys every winter.  I had a guide bringing folks occasionally in the past but decided to let folks come shoot a Big Tom for 250 each for the landowner access fee.  I had two guys come last weekend, bow hunters and a guy and his son come today.  They guys last weekend set up blinds but couldn't get the Toms to come closer than 50 yds..  they threw a  few arrows and even hit one real good but it got away.  The guy this morning got one big tom and his son got a jake in the first 10 min. of light and he went home.  I think we still got about 6 or 7 big toms and probably 25 or 30 jakes hangin around.  Both parties that came ask if they could come back next year.  They were impressed how many turkeys we have here on our place.  I have about 1,000 acres and border National Forest.  I don't have any more hunters comeing except the first two might come back in a couple weeks so if anybody is interested you can get in on this.  I'd like a 50 dollar deposit per person and that will be applied to your 250 dollar turkey if you get one.  If you don't get a turkey then you only lose the deposit but it you get one your up for the 250.   The first two that came saw about 50 birds a day in a  blind.  Also, have two other folks up the river that are willing to make the same deal with folks I'm making.  We are trying to recoup some of our winter feed costs for feeding these turkeys.
  I've got plenty of  places to park a camper or a tent if you don't want to rent one of the cheap motels in town.  No charge for your camping.  Give me a call    509-997-3252

[bobcat]

Are you sure they're Eastern's   Only Eastern's I know of are over here on the west side of the mountains.

[nitro]

Is the access for the property only for the day or does it apply for the season? If you get the whole season to hunt for only a 50 dollor deposit until you get your turkey and then have to pay the remaining 200 then I say this is a awesome deal!!!!!!!!!

[lionhunter]

Yep, I guarantee these are Easterns.  This is the only place in the eastern side of the mountains that has Easterns.  We do have some Meriams drifting over from Okanogan and they are starting to cross up with these Easterns a bit.  Although, these here at my place are full Easterns.  Had one shot about 10 yrs. ago that was 33 lbs.  which was the biggest in the state for the year and in fact was on the front page of some outdoor magazine.    To answer the other guy.  You wouldn't have to worry about hunting all season.   If you couldn't get a tom in 4 days you might as well quit hunting.  In fact if you couldn't get a bird in 1 hr. you are either a sorry shot or too pickey.   I call these big toms but I guess I haven't seen any beards dragging the ground yet and most of what I'm calling big toms are probably beards about 8 to maybe 10 inches long, maybe 2 yr old birds or 3 at the most.  Most of these are over at my sons place which is up the road about a mile which is still on my place.  I do have about a dozen roosting behind my house but watched them when they went to roost a bit ago and only saw a couple jakes.  I think the only big tom I had got shot by one of the hunters yesterday morning.    gotta git.    lionhunter    (I just got signed up for this site and used a friends username to post the ad to start with, found out I had to sign up to keep coming back, sorry)

[yelp]

Easterns...in the Methow..not wild birds.  They were released by some idiot.  Years ago WDFW destroyed several in this area.  Apparently they didn't get them all.  Even though they seem to be doing well they can harm wild stock vbrought in from other states..Disease tested stock that is.  These birds need to be exterminated.  I also believe an eastern shot in Okanogan County doesn't qualify for the Washington Slam.   

[dirty.dan4]

I definatley will be in touch.

[Wacenturion]

Yelp....you are absolutely right, and no they do not qualify for the Wa. Slam.  Just to quote what was said......

        "To answer the other guy.  You wouldn't have to worry about hunting all season.   If you couldn't get a tom in 4 days you might as well quit hunting.  In fact if you couldn't get a bird in 1 hr. you are either a sorry shot or too pickey."

Gee....a bird in 1 hr. huh......real wild trophy gobblers, and they get up to 33 lbs. to boot....they are game farm birds plain and simple, and not wild turkeys.   

[lionhunter]

  I think your right in that these birds don't qualify for the grandslam.  I think that is geographically related since turkeys are now starting to bleed all over the place.  So do we have Easterns or Rio's or Meriams on Snoqualmie pass?  They are there you know.  These turkeys in the Methow probably wouldn't survive without being fed in the winter so many of us farmers and folks that live out of town feed them because we like them around.  This is what makes them hang around our places and true they are not as wild as wild birds way out in the woods because they become accustomed to us.  They get pretty wild in the summer when we stop feeding them.  This time of year one can usually find a small flock hanging around some where in my alfalfa field.  Don't forget I do have 980 acres so this is not like fishing in a barrel.   WDFW actually likes these turkeys here because they sell hunting licenses to hunt them and they never did try and shoot them off, that is the first I've heard that rumor.   The WDFW biologists don't like them here because they say this is sharttail grouse habitat even though we don't and haven't had sharptail grouse for probably 15 yrs. plus sharttail are an open country bird and turkeys are an "edge" bird so there is no conflict on habitat.  The wildlife biologists I know working for WDFW, DO NOT HUNT and even dislike hunters and don't realize that 75% of the WDFW revenue comes from selling hunting and fishing licenses so you can see where they are coming from.   Your right though.  This is not for everybody.  There is something said for the die hard guys that spend days searching for the wild, elusive big tom way out in the woods.  Gotta go milk.       lionhunter

[yelp]

Lionhunter...As far as for wild turkeys...They don't need to be fed.  People think they do..and if they do they aren't wild turkeys period.  If they are dependant on feeding they are game farm stock...some wild flocks have become habituated to winter feeding..they are opportunistic feeders.  But they do not need to be fed..The wild turkeys released by WDFW were released in habitat that will support them annually.  However in the winter wild turkeys can find easy pickings around feed lots, etc.. But they can survive on thier own. 

In the late 1990's WDFW released Merriam Strain wild turkeys throughout Okanogan County.  The birds were released by WDFW staff with regional approval. WDFW enforcement had a problem with turkeys being released in the Twisp Area years ago and they were eastern strain I saw them..Enforcement had them destroyed they were causing nuisance problems. 

Wild turkeys can carry and contract different diseases.  In feeding areas they will contract bacteria and fungal diseases by feeding in specific areas..your feeding these turkeys is more harmful than good. All of the wild turkeys brought in from out of state were disease tested..all came back negative..if they came back positive they were given back or destroyed.  This being said the Easterns you are talking about are game farm stock raised from and egg bought from a catalog...then released.  

If any turkeys are suspect to disease transference to the local sharp-tailed grouse populations, then the easterns you are talking about fit the bill.  They weren't tested and probably need to be exterminated for the sake of the disease free stocks roaming in neighboring Chiliwist, French Creek, Loup Loup Area, Conconally, Sinlahekin Areas.  Native flocks of merriam wild turkeys in South Dakota naturally coexist with Sharp-tailed grouse. 

The argument here is you are feeding turkeys that are game farm stock.  From your comments they just showed up on your acreage and you started feeding them.  Someone raised and released them.  I would hate to see a disease outbreak that caused a reduction in wild turkeys in Okanogan County.    You are doing more harm than good here.  Your original thread said you were charging $250.00 to try and recoop feeding costs via a trespass fee? But in your last response you say you like them around? I could buy a lot of plucked turkeys at the local supermarket for $250.00.

 And the birds around Snoqualmie Pass are Merriams  they were released by the WDFW years ago, natural production.

[Gutpile]

Hmmm.

I don't care what other folks do, but $250.00 for a tame bird?

Got any pics?

[yelp]

That's a YAR member for ya...

[boneaddict]

I've seen them enough and they aren't as tame as you'd think they might be.  OF course the local wolf population probably helps with that as well as the hounds and neighborhood dogs.   I had no idea they were easterns though.  Not that I could ever tell the difference, turkeys aren't my game.  There are some wild birds that manage the winter just fine on the other side of the hill from them.  Now I don't know if those are merriams or not.  I assumed they were ones that migrated  out of the Chiliwist, but I guess they could have easily been others released birds.  I honestly didn't know there were any easterns about in Twisp.     THere are certainly areas in the Methow that would support more birds and I wish we could get some more moved to those places.

[Gutpile]

I've seen them enough and they aren't as tame as you'd think they might be.  

If these birds are being fed to keep them around the ranch and it's as easy to shoot one as these posts lead us to believe then they are tame.

Again, I have NO PROBLEM with people shooting them, or paying to hunt them. I'd pay $50.00 for my daughter to pop one but I just couldn't spend $250.00 to shoot what I classify as a tame bird.

[bobcat]

Would it be legal to shoot these turkeys year 'round without a tag and license?

[mossback91]

What do you guys classify as tame? cause Im gettin real confused


Tame for me would be walking right up to the flock and almost petting them.........

I see all sorts of pics on here of ppl feeding deer and elk on game cameras.......are those animals tame or wild?