Tough Turkeys

[nwhuntinman]

Well we are half way done with Spring turkey. I've been after it since it opened (weekends) and it has been a little different this year. Not as verbal unless I get in there zone. I don't have any private to hunt so I hunt the national forest. So hike all day looking and listening.. I have killed my two birds as well as called in several in for buddies this year. Just wondering if I was the only one that had to work extra hard this year. There is a good even mix of Easterns and Miriam's where I hunt and I got all Easterns and buddies killed Miriam's.

[birddogdad]

hangin with the ladies this year much more.. early and late best bets to find a lonely boy...

[baldopepper]

Last weekend most of the toms around me were still hanging with the hens. Had two different lone toms come in the backyard but neither one had any interest in the calls. Just scratched around a bit and went back down the canyon.

[Dan-o]

I hunted the last 2 days.
Birds were VERY quiet.

Saw a group of 5 Toms/Jakes in someone's field.
They were completely disinterested in any calls, and thy were silent.

My son went up to an area we know roosts some birds.
Birds came down pretty quiet, and then went silent on the ground.
He bumped a couple, but got no audible responses or other interest.

[CaNINE]

This was my 23rd consecutive year hunting turkeys. It was definitely a tough year. Spent 6 days in the woods and covered a lot of ground. Birds not very vocal and non-responsive to my calls. Still had a great time, found an elk shed and learned a few things. The mystery of spring turkey hunting continues.

[hunter399]

I agree
Tough year ,no vocals makes it a very hard hunt.
Kid still hasn't filled his tag.

[nwwanderer]

Thought this was going to be a cooking thread!!  Tough here too, mighty quiet

[hughjorgan]

Hunted every weekend since the opener. Birds were real quiet opening weekend; seen lots of gobblers but never connected. Second weekend tried a new spot and the turkeys were gobbling like crazy but they were all henned up. I was able to call in a group of 7 or 8 Jake’s that came in silent behind my setup and was able to swing around and make a kill. Hoping to find some gobblers that want to talk tomorrow.

[mboyle0828]

Last weekend I sat in my blind (for way too many hours) and the only tom that came in, came in silently.

I missed the shot with my bow and he ran off. It was late in the evening and the lighting was terrible.

Then went run-n-gun with the 12ga and got a smaller tom.

[Wanttohuntmore]

Definitely harder this year.   28 years of hunting them and not seeing as much.   Curious where you have Easterns and Merriams?  I thought Easterns were only on the west side of the state and Merriams over the crest?  Or is there a mixing in the Klick?  Been trying to get the slam after meeting a few that have done it.

[nwhuntinman]

Thought this was going to be a cooking thread!!  Tough here too, mighty quiet

Funny I guess I might have thought that too.

[nwhuntinman]

Definitely harder this year.   28 years of hunting them and not seeing as much.   Curious where you have Easterns and Merriam's?  I thought Easterns were only on the west side of the state and Merriam's over the crest?  Or is there a mixing in the Klick?  Been trying to get the slam after meeting a few that have done it.

I hunt the north central part of state. They are defiantly different. I have hunted the Easterns in Missouri and their colors are different as you can see on the tips. Here is the Merriam in this pic. The pic I put up at the start of this story is Eastern. Now I could be wrong because I have never asked, but there is no doubt these are different birds as far as color variations.

[nwwanderer]

There you go!!!  Thanks

[baldopepper]

Well we are half way done with Spring turkey. I've been after it since it opened (weekends) and it has been a little different this year. Not as verbal unless I get in there zone. I don't have any private to hunt so I hunt the national forest. So hike all day looking and listening.. I have killed my two birds as well as called in several in for buddies this year. Just wondering if I was the only one that had to work extra hard this year. There is a good even mix of Easterns and Miriam's where I hunt and I got all Easterns and buddies killed Miriam's.

Showed the pic to a hard core bird guy and he says first bird is a rio. I'm no expert, but he even knows the scientific name of all the birds he sees so I tend to believe him.(He's also an avid turkey hunter, goes all over chasing em)

[brokentrail]

Just back from a week over in the Northeast corner with my oldest son.  We were able to fill two tags a piece but it definitely took a lot of time/work/effort to do so.  Was still a great trip, even if we hadn't been successful, I just love to hear those birds gobble...  If I found a pocket of birds on the west side, I wouldn't even hunt them, I would just go there to drink coffee in the morning and listen to them do their thing.