Post by: one more on May 02, 2013, 12:10:38 PM
I believe that an accomplished turkey hunter with many WA Slams to his name should be able to get credit for another slam and pin if he takes someone else out to hunt Easterns and the other hunter shoots the bird. Also, if he likes to hunt alone, he should get credit for an Eastern tom if he takes a photograph of the bird during the hunting season. Most cameras now show when the photo was taken. This would have several benefits: more hunters would have a better chance to get an Eastern tom and the possibility of getting a WA Slam; if the experienced hunter chose photography it would disturb the birds less; more toms would be out there and might gobble more because of the competition between toms and other hunters would at least hear them.
In order to get our first WA Slam pin we should have to shoot all three subspecies ourselves.
Just throwing an idea out there.
Diane
Post by: Wacenturion on May 02, 2013, 09:24:49 PM
The Washington Slam Award Winners started in 1995 and in 1999 the list took up one row of names about four inches long, multi and single season. In 2013 the list of five columns takes up three quarters of the page. It is great that some names are on the list repeatedly. They certainly know where the wild turkeys are and how to hunt them in at least three areas of the state. I would love to hear any information from them as to how to find Eastern turkeys. Many of us can get Reos and Mirriams and can not find Eastern toms.
I believe that an accomplished turkey hunter with many WA Slams to his name should be able to get credit for another slam and pin if he takes someone else out to hunt Easterns and the other hunter shoots the bird. Also, if he likes to hunt alone, he should get credit for an Eastern tom if he takes a photograph of the bird during the hunting season. Most cameras now show when the photo was taken. This would have several benefits: more hunters would have a better chance to get an Eastern tom and the possibility of getting a WA Slam; if the experienced hunter chose photography it would disturb the birds less; more toms would be out there and might gobble more because of the competition between toms and other hunters would at least hear them.
In order to get our first WA Slam pin we should have to shoot all three subspecies ourselves.
Just throwing an idea out there.
Diane
Sorry, but disagree. The Washington Slam is what it is. Kill all three subspecies in one year....Single Season Slam. Kill all three subspecies in multiple years, Multiple Year Slam. Same pin, but single pin has the addition of a single turkey track on it, whereas the single track is absent on the multiple pin.
"Most cameras now show when the photo was taken. This would have several benefits: more hunters would have a better chance to get an Eastern tom and the possibility of getting a WA Slam; if the experienced hunter chose photography it would disturb the birds less; more toms would be out there and might gobble more because of the competition between toms and other hunters would at least hear them."
Would make absolutely no difference. The reason you don't hear them is you have to be fairly close to birds in typical western Washington habitat as the vegetation eats up the sound. Also you have to spend a great deal of time to locate the small groups as they have a very specific habitat type they seek out, which I might add changes evey 3-5 years based on western Washington vegetative growth rates. When that happens, they move looking for the preferred type habitat that just outgrew them.
If you search this forum you should be able to find a number of threads giving advice on hunting Easterns in western Washington.
Post by: yelp on May 02, 2013, 09:40:53 PM
Post by: Tom Tamer on May 03, 2013, 09:55:15 AM
Post by: packmule on May 04, 2013, 07:48:05 AM
Good luck, there's still plenty of season left for you to get one!
Post by: Wacenturion on May 04, 2013, 11:07:50 AM
Once you understand the drill and become somewhat efficienty at how to locate these birds, it can be some of the finest turkey hunting you'll ever experience in this county. Some of that is due to having no competetion for the most part. Just you and the birds. :tup:
I can honestly say that initially these birds are probably the hardest turkeys to hunt in North America. That is due to variables associated with these Easterns being born into and conditioned to western Washington itself, a habitat type unlike any other that they occupy, in their historical native range.
I can also say that once you put in the time and become a veteran as described above, fully understanding what is necessary to locate and hunt these birds, that they can sometimes be relatively easy to kill. That is in many cases due to a lack of disturbance from people or hunters in the areas you find them. Again, you're hunting them by yourself. :tup:
That goes back to your original assumption that hunter disturbance makes it hard for others to harvest one of these birds. Quite the contrary. It a lack of dedication to doing what is required to be successful. One had better be starting to burn boot leather early in February and stay on it till the opener. Give yourself time to scout numerous areas. Once you locate sign, which for the most part are dropping, you need to stay tuned in as they may or may not be in that exact location when breeding starts. Where they were in February may be where they are in April, or they could be a 1/4 mile or more from that location somewhere out there in that 360 degree circle. You need to be aware of any shifts before the opener or you'll be disappointed. :bash:
There is a reason many refer to them as "Ghosts". :chuckle:
Post by: one more on May 04, 2013, 04:30:17 PM
I'm not able now to hike the hills as fast as I used to. I just think that if there were more gobblers out their they would gobble more.
Diane
Post by: mtnseth on May 04, 2013, 08:23:37 PM
I spent 21 days of the 2008 season hunting various spots in 667. I lived in Tacoma, so it made sense to stay close. I started by reading an article in the Fishing and Hunting News that gave three or four very general spots that were adjacent to original eastern release spots. No one put me on their honey hole. I took that information and started small, scouting just a mile behind a gate, finding sign, maybe spotting a hen every 3 or 4 trips. I hiked farther, climbed higher and found even more sign. I even picked up droppings and threw them off the logging road so no other hunter would see it. During those 21 days, I never heard a single gobble.
The next season karma came my way, and in an area I hunted many times and came up with nothing, I heard a gobbler fire off at 4:30 on opening morning. He was a nice young tom, and came strutting, gobbling and drumming all the way in. I never gave him more than a soft cluck. My theory - as I've had 4 years to replay that glorious morning in my mind - is that he was part of a flock and was pushed out and separated from the area by an older tom that loved to hang out safely on private land. He was lonely and vocal, and it cost him.
I knew I had gotten lucky. Starting in February of the next season, I pushed deeper behind the gates. I was rewarded with even greater amounts of sign and more frequent bird sightings. I entered the gate at 2:45 a.m. to journey the 6 miles in the dark to what I thought was the mother of all eastern honey holes. Tons of sign (hopefully meaning tons of birds) and privacy, because what fool is going to climb that high and far for a turkey? :)
I set up well before first light in an area with lots of fresh tom sign on a calm, clear opening morning, and listened to the deafening silence of no gobbles. I hunted hard for three straight days in near perfect gobbling conditions and never heard a bird. That's just the way eastern hunting is. Another theory of mine is that these birds are habitually less vocal through negative experiences. A noisy, yelping hen or a blow-hard gobbler is more likely to attract one of the numerous predators that share their dense habitat. True, their calls don't travel as far with the deep brush, but I truly believe they are, generally speaking, more tight-lipped than other subspecies. However, I think these easterns have different inclinations to vocalize based on where they hang out. In my experience, birds that have access to private property, especially farms, tend to do a lot more gobbling. Others may disagree, but that's what I've encountered.
Listen to what Wacenturian says about changing habitat. Today I hunted two fairly remote spots that had consistently held birds. One spot was known to have some pretty vocal gobblers, usually multiple toms and jakes. Despite a clear morning, geese honking, barred owls firing off, pileated woodpeckers singing - silent. The area was a ghost town and we couldn't find a drop of sign. The other spot had some sparse sign, mostly a week or so old. I hunted hard and set up in areas I knew the birds loved to cross but never heard or saw a thing in a full day hunt. As you probably gathered, I didn't put my scouting time in this year. I'm an 509er now, and just showed up cold to my old haunts to hunt. Things change in the eastern woods.
That said, the hunters who consistently harvest birds are NOT impacting your chances of getting the slam. If you've been undercut by another hunter, then hike farther, get in earlier. There are plenty of birds, they're just bloody hard to kill. There's nothing between you and them but miles of gravel and the determination to stay after it.