MidTennFisher":2kb1ejxq said:
Did you make prior trips to scout the land or just pic spots based on research and looking at maps? It seems like a lot of effort to make trips that far away just to scout for a turkey.
I have hunted out West every for the past 6 years and have spent time hiking and camping out there as well. So basically I am familiar with the general areas and what the landscapes look like. That has helped me narrow down more specific areas to research for hunting. I then start attacking all research sources I can; local biologist, forest service, magazines, internet, etc. i have back up plans on top of back up plans. I scout via Google earth and use Onxmaps some too.
Western turkeys are very specific. Basically if you can find a very large public area (say minimum 2k acres) that has a lot of water and trees you will can bet it has animals. You then need to find out if that area has turkeys, thats when you call the biologist.
Some questions you need to ask are; population densities (are there enough turkeys to legitimately hunt), hunter pressure and to certain extent success rates (10% of hunters tend to kill 90% of animals).
I will say Nebraska is extremely friendly to the non resident hunter. Their game and fish department has a ton of resources to help you on a DIY public land hunt. Yes they want your money but they also want you to come back and spend more. This staye has both Merriam and Rio
Western SD has some of the most beautiful areas to hunt with ample amounts of public land. Bird numbers are ok. This is a Merriam area.
KS is tricky, very little public land but they do have walk in areas they lease. You can get a atlas from game and fish. Western and Central KS is your Rio areas and the further East the more eastern birds you find. Its not uncommon to have a eastern and rio hanging out in the same flock in some areas. So stay West if you want a Rio security.
Head further West to NM or AZ and you have larger amounts of National Forest for Merriams. Harder to get tags but can be some great hunting.
One thing to remember about Western turkeys. Them suckers will flat out travel during a day, like 10 + miles or more in some situations. So if they are not there one day doesnt mean they are not there the next.
If you do travel West for turkeys just make it a adventure and have fun. Tags are typically cheap and easy to get (all things considered) so filling one is less stressful. The scenery is amazing, beer is awesome and the humidity is practically void....what is not to like!
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