2/3rds done need an Eastern bad!

[wormfood]

A good friend I work with has spent every spare minute on the east side and has got his Rio and his Meriam out of the way and is havin a hell of a time findin some Easterns on this side.He's got next Wed. and Thurs. to hunt and thats it! Hard to see a guy get so close to a slam and not make it. If anyone has a heads up on some Easterns he would really appreciate it. He will travel any where on the West side for it.

[Elkpiss]

Good luck!!... THis is usually the case every year!! unless he has alot of $$$ to kick down its going to be quit the challenge!! Good luck to that Hunter though!!.. The Phantom is always the hard one to get.. He should have went for the eastern first then go for the two eastside birds.. 

[mtnseth]

Good luck to your buddy.  I can assure you that getting a Rio and a Merriam is not 2/3 of the work!  Sadly, it's about 1/8.  Or maybe less.  Like Elkpiss said, it's best to luck out in the first week and bag an eastern.  If you're that lucky, then you can knock the other two out pretty easily.  This time of the year can be really tough...but you gotta try.  Again, good luck.  I had one close call this year (couldn't close the deal) and spotted one tom, but that's it.  And I started scouting in February!

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

  Easterns are the reason the "Slam" is special.
I almost got suckered into giving away my spot, the guys that have worked their boots off finding them are not going to tell you where they worked so hard to get.
A single season pin is probably not going to happen for him, if he starts scouting now, he might get an eastern in a few years...

[turkeydancer]

 
Just going to say that more Easterns are harvested in the area of the Skookumchuck Reservoir. However if he hasn't even scouted he will be spending a lot of time and energy just trying to locate sign and would be extremely lucky to connect with a bird.  Merriams and Rios are easy birds compared to the "Wetside Phantoms" ... as said even if he had been scouting a lot, located, and even patterned these birds, he would still be extremely lucky to get one at this point.  That doesn't mean he shouldn't come get a real education, but he should be aware that it is highly probable he won't even see or hear one ....
 

[Wacenturion]

Hey Seth................you said.......

"Like Elkpiss said, it's best to luck out in the first week and bag an eastern.  If you're that lucky, then you can knock the other two out pretty easily."

I would watch what you say in regards to knocking out the other two pretty easy as the turkey gods are listening and that potentially could be bad juju for you in the future. 

If I recall your narrative from 09'................."But once I called up and killed my eastern tom on opening day, I had to give the slam a shot.  Then I became obsessed.  I bagged the Merriam the next week, then it took me another 8-10 days of hard hunting (spread over three weeks) to get my Rio.  That's a lot of driving from Tacoma.  I don't think my wife (who had to look after my new gsp pup in my absence) has forgiven me yet!

The Rios were a real challenge.  Until the moment it all came together I was pretty convinced I would have to settle for the multiple season pin.  Quiet woods and bad weather were making for some tough hunting, plus the last weeks of May were filling up fast." 

Funny how time heals turkey wounds and warps the mind..........sorry Seth....just could not resist . 

[Wacenturion]

Friend of mine shot an Eastern jake last Sunday.  Had his small daughter out with him, essentially called in two jakes and a hen with several others still out of range.  Hen went putt, putt....friend went boom.  Big boys were not going to come in at that point.

Still doable if one can find birds as those birds responded Sunday without hesitation.  Of course he's a good Eastern hunter and spends a ton of time finding birds well before the season.

[carpsniperg2]

good luck

[wormfood]

He is a big time hunter, turkey,bear, elk,deer,cats-pretty much hunts what ever is open.He lives by Orting and his daughter passed hunters ed this year so his first couple trips were to the east side so she would have a good chance of getting a bird her first year and she did bag a jake merriam. He usually puts alot of time in for easterns but this year was different cuz of his daughter. Slam was never really in his head until he got his second bird and he has spent a couple afternoons down by Skookumchuuck but not able to get on the birds.I know its along shot to ask for help on here but we all know the old saying " quiet mouth don't get fed."

[Tom Tamer]

Hey Seth................you said.......

"Like Elkpiss said, it's best to luck out in the first week and bag an eastern.  If you're that lucky, then you can knock the other two out pretty easily."

I would watch what you say in regards to knocking out the other two pretty easy as the turkey gods are listening and that potentially could be bad juju for you in the future. 

If I recall your narrative from 09'................."But once I called up and killed my eastern tom on opening day, I had to give the slam a shot.  Then I became obsessed.  I bagged the Merriam the next week, then it took me another 8-10 days of hard hunting (spread over three weeks) to get my Rio.  That's a lot of driving from Tacoma.  I don't think my wife (who had to look after my new gsp pup in my absence) has forgiven me yet!

The Rios were a real challenge.  Until the moment it all came together I was pretty convinced I would have to settle for the multiple season pin.  Quiet woods and bad weather were making for some tough hunting, plus the last weeks of May were filling up fast." 

Funny how time heals turkey wounds and warps the mind..........sorry Seth....just could not resist . 

I agree, I've seen more Eastern's this year than those " Easy"Merriam's but my Shotgun still doesn't need a cleaning

[mtnseth]

I guess I should have chosen my words more carefully.  I should have said "relatively" easy, not "pretty" easy.  Believe me, I have not forgotten the pain of my Rio hunt last year: Sore ass from 6 hours of driving, sleeping in my car, snow, hail, lightning, torrential downpours.  I'm glad it's over. 

By no means am I trying to belittle the accomplishment of a Rio and Merriam in one season.  That's quite a feat for any hunter.  Congrats to your buddy.  Heck, I finally killed a bird on Sunday in the NE (after two trips!) and I feel like I lucked out.  It was tough to seal the deal, especially now that I've been forced into becoming a weekend hunter. 

But I think we all agree that the eastern is on another plane entirely.  Even a bad Merriam hunt involves some gobbling on the roost or spotting a hen or two.  It's exciting even if you can't get one to come in...Hearing them, seeing them, are part of the appeal of hunting (at least for me).  If all turkey hunting was like hunting an eastern, hardly anyone would do it.  Just finding fresh hen poop is a total thrill; hearing a gobble from an eastern would probably make me pass out from excitement.  But most of the time it's just walking around in the rain and mud and not seeing a dang thing, staring at areal photographs and scratching my head.

Back to the original question:  If your buddy is spending time around the reservoir, then that's about the best advice anyone around here can give.  Specifics aside, I don't think anyone who hunts publicly-accessible land in that area could point you to a "sure thing" spot, even if they wanted to. It's not necessarily that eastern hunters are tight lipped (which we are) it's just that even with lots of scouting and miles of hiking and biking, most of us end up empty handed on June 1.  That's just the nature of the bird. 

My best advice would be to find a farmer who has them on his/her place, or a pay-to-hunt place on the west side with turkeys (don't know of any, personally).  There's got to be private land somewhere over here that has plenty of easterns if the goal is to get the slam this year.

[Wacenturion]

 

[Elkpiss]

Bottom line is your not going to get your Eastern this late in the Game dude.. I had to say it...  ..  Ive hit the Easterns Hard this Year and came close alot, Tried to $hit but only Farted... Hunting Easterns Makes you hate Turkey Hunting...  But i find myself out every year chasing turkey tirds.. All & All it was a pretty good year, i was in Birds every time i went out just couldnt seal the deal.. & thats a successful year hunting Easterns being in Birds everytime..  This is the first year i havent been to the Eastside to get my confidence up... Tag Soup!!  .. Oh well!! Next Year i will Get that Dam Eastern Turkey!! 

This is my last Turkey Post!! Till next Year! 

[Tom Tamer]

I found myself cussing out turkey hunting on Sunday....when the area I'd seen three Eastern Toms the day before might as well beeen the dark side of the moon. they do make you curse this sport, but like Elkpiss I was in them everyday i hunted them....except Sunday, but I'll be cback again. Those chocolate tail fans make a great contrast to the buff tips next to it.

 And don't sell the eastside birds short....ya if you have a great spot where a couple hundred live, it can be easy, but 8 days of hunting Merriam's this year I saw two hens, had one Tom at 60 yards run off and heard about 4 more. In 8 days of Easterns I heard at least 8, saw five Toms, one who sports about a foot long paint brush and saw eight hens. So all these thunderchickens can be hard at times. Oh and of all those birds I saw the only thing my shotgun did was weigh me down

[Phantom Gobbler]

The end of the season is tough for sure unless all your tags are filled.  Good luck to everyone getting out this last weekend to give er the ole Hail Mary!!  

[Tom Tamer]

The last two years Memorial day weekend has been great for me albeit it's a week later on the calendar. But both times I was back to camp by 6 AM once with my biggest Merriam's to date. But last weekend the bird would respond in a hafl hearted gobble then would just mill about. I'll give it a try at least for one day this weekend. But even I'm getting a little weary of the Turkey season