Opening day was yesterday. Any reports? I'll be hunting the Lincoln the 25th-29th and will post updates during my trip.
Had a great opening day hunt with this gobbler and three of his buddies in the Lincoln. Four came,...three left. :D
(https://i.imgur.com/d5r2ViOm.jpg)
Quote from: GobbleNut on April 16, 2018, 02:49:32 PM
Had a great opening day hunt with this gobbler and three of his buddies in the Lincoln. Four came,...three left. :D
(https://i.imgur.com/d5r2ViOm.jpg)
Nice! Much easier trekking in that cedar country.
Congrats GobbleNut!
Quote from: GobbleNut on April 16, 2018, 02:49:32 PM
Had a great opening day hunt with this gobbler and three of his buddies in the Lincoln. Four came,...three left. :D
(https://i.imgur.com/d5r2ViOm.jpg)
I was wondering if you tipped one over. Nice job.
Great way to start the season. Congratulations!
Jim
Quote from: GobbleNut on April 16, 2018, 02:49:32 PM
Had a great opening day hunt with this gobbler and three of his buddies in the Lincoln. Four came,...three left. :D
(https://i.imgur.com/d5r2ViOm.jpg)
Very nice. Congrats
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This one came down a steep ridge and crossed a draw to find the hen in my Hudson hen box.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/865/41465406972_4f5ed24902_o_d.jpg)
Nice!! Congrats guys!!
Well done!
I am envious of the birds and the country you hunt...
Congrats!
Quote from: Rapscallion Vermilion on April 16, 2018, 09:03:07 PM
This one came down a steep ridge and crossed a draw to find the hen in my Hudson hen box.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/865/41465406972_4f5ed24902_o_d.jpg)
Very nice! What part of the state were you hunting?
Quote from: quackaddict on April 17, 2018, 12:24:24 PM
Quote from: Rapscallion Vermilion on April 16, 2018, 09:03:07 PM
This one came down a steep ridge and crossed a draw to find the hen in my Hudson hen box.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/865/41465406972_4f5ed24902_o_d.jpg)
Very nice! What part of the state were you hunting?
That was in the Lincoln. We found the number of gobbling birds to be down from the opener last few years. Can't say that is actual numbers or some of the toms just aren't that hot yet.
Quote from: Rapscallion Vermilion on April 17, 2018, 12:29:51 PM
That was in the Lincoln. We found the number of gobbling birds to be down from the opener last few years. Can't say that is actual numbers or some of the toms just aren't that hot yet.
Gotcha. I'm headed into the Gila Thursday night to hunt for a few days...hopefully I'll have a good report from that part of the world when I get back.
Congrats.
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Only a few more hours before the camper gets hooked up and the truck is headed NW to go chase some Gila birds. Good luck to the rest of you enchilada eaters this weekend!
Quote from: quackaddict on April 19, 2018, 12:46:05 PM
Only a few more hours before the camper gets hooked up and the truck is headed NW to go chase some Gila birds. Good luck to the rest of you enchilada eaters this weekend!
Good luck! Let us know how it goes. Heading there myself in another week.
Congrats! Nice birds.
Quote from: Rapscallion Vermilion on April 19, 2018, 01:23:43 PM
Quote from: quackaddict on April 19, 2018, 12:46:05 PM
Only a few more hours before the camper gets hooked up and the truck is headed NW to go chase some Gila birds. Good luck to the rest of you enchilada eaters this weekend!
Good luck! Let us know how it goes. Heading there myself in another week.
Worst turkey hunt I've been on out there. Very little sign anywhere. Didn't hear a gobble in 3 days. I did see about 4 or 5 birds coming out one morning at a tank... best I could tell from a long ways off in a quick glance, there were a couple of gobblers and a couple of hens.
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Quote from: quackaddict on April 23, 2018, 10:35:22 AM
Quote from: Rapscallion Vermilion on April 19, 2018, 01:23:43 PM
Quote from: quackaddict on April 19, 2018, 12:46:05 PM
Only a few more hours before the camper gets hooked up and the truck is headed NW to go chase some Gila birds. Good luck to the rest of you enchilada eaters this weekend!
Good luck! Let us know how it goes. Heading there myself in another week.
Worst turkey hunt I've been on out there. Very little sign anywhere. Didn't hear a gobble in 3 days. I did see about 4 or 5 birds coming out one morning at a tank... best I could tell from a long ways off in a quick glance, there were a couple of gobblers and a couple of hens.
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That's a bummer. I've had hunts like that down there.
Hopefully I can make it up to the Lincoln for the last weekend. Maybe I'll at least get to hear a bird gobble on the limb up there!
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Congrats. My buddy and I each tagged one a piece in the Gila. I saw several birds the two days prior to the hunt, but in my 20years down there I've never had them so unresponsive. Not sure why, but I'm thinking of heading back down I'm a couple of days.
Three hens and two jakes this AM. Back at it after lunch and an hour nap.
I've gotten a couple of birds to answer calls, but can't get any to work to me.
It's like these turkeys have some place to be. I was able to get one to slow down, but wouldn't work to me. I may have to ambush one on a travel corridor. I was out in front of them, and they still wouldn't deviate from their path.
That's is why I always tell folks from other parts of the country to make sure to allot enough time for their hunt when they come here. Sometimes it takes a while to figure these birds out. A lot of people think that if a bird keeps gobbling at every call you make that he is eventually going to come. Around here, it ain't necessarily so. I'm sure you'll get 'em....
Running out of time unfortunately. I've gotta head home on Sunday. I forgot how frustrating these Lincoln birds are. Every area I've scouted/hunted has birds, but I'm having a hard time getting more than a courtesy gobble in the afternoons. When I do get more than that, they walk in the opposite direction gobbling.
I hunted the Lincoln last year. Makes me want to go back.
One down!
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180428/af8f38747569aba785805e325f98a3ec.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180428/aa3ddc97eddecb85727df650cdf16f77.jpg)
Story to come this evening.
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Congrats!
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Congrats
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I'm off to bed. I'll recap tomorrow morning or perhaps tomorrow evening. Going to sleep in and head back to the spot I got my bird this afternoon before heading home. There were two others with him and I don't think I spooked them too bad.
Congrats to all the lucky hunters. Would love to hunt that country someday.
My daughter tagged out opening day of youth season. This is her second year turkey hunting and she has gotten both her birds opening day from the same location. And both of them flopped into the pond, so they are a little worse for wear.
Birds were shot in north central New Mexico at about 8000 feet.
Wow, these pics are huge. Not sure how to resize.
(https://i.imgur.com/mZLXaOs.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/PHWaP0D.jpg)
Last years bird.
(https://i.imgur.com/g1E8Z1x.jpg)
^Nice spur!
That's awesome. Congrats to that young lady
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Nice, Congrats everyone!!
So as anyone that has ever hunted the Lincoln knows, it can be pretty darn tough unless you luck out on the right bird early in the season that wants to die. I spent time in a couple of areas I had seen and heard birds the last two years, but also encountered hunters at those spots. From what I saw, they were typically out of the areas when the birds stopped gobbling, a couple hours after fly down at the latest. So I did some internet scouting and found what I hope will be a sweet little honey hole somewhat off the beaten path for years to come, in some less rugged country to boot! I struck a bird at this new spot midday Friday, but wasn't aggressive enough with him/didn't move on him quick enough. He continued to gobble while walking away from me. I came back Saturday an hour before I struck him Friday, and eventually heard a distant gobble on the ridge above me. As I worked up the ridge and got out in front of them, one gobble became what sounded like multiple birds sounding off. So, I get on their level and in front of them by a couple hundred yards and set up. I work the ceramic pot call giving off quiet clucks and yelps. The birds are pretty hot and sound off several times, but take their time working to me. I eventually put the call down until I hear them working closer, and only give a few clucks as they continue their approach. Eventually I hear a gobble super close. I see the heads of two birds peering my direction cautiously. I'm not sure why I didn't take the shot at one of the first two birds when I had the chance. They were behind some pretty dense scrub oak at 35 yards and I guess I just didn't feel comfortable with the shot. The lead bird clucks nervously (I left my hen decoy at the bottom of the canyon wanting to be fast/mobile as possible) and eventually both birds work to my right out of sight. I was a little down on myself, but there was one other opening I thought they may pass through to the right. I give a serious of yelps with my mouth call and a third bird that I hadn't seen fired off just short of the scrubby oak that I saw the first two birds in. As soon as he cleared a large juniper, I put the red dot on the base of his neck and fired away. The other two birds shock gobbled immediately after the shot. I wasn't concerned about tying to work the two remaining birds at that point. I was just elated to have bagged a hard earned public land Merriam after the last few days of striking out. And I thought I'd possibly be able to return Sunday and go after the two remaining birds, but the wind really picked up, and I missed on my opportunity when I struck one up earlier before the wind started gusting by not setting up where he wanted to be going (a common theme with these NM birds).
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180430/906dc4f0f741a285e91cd4960685ad42.jpg)
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Congrats JMalin and Allen.
Just got back from the Gila. Wish I could say the birds are all fired up now, but that wasn't the case.
We found gobblers every day, but the amount of gobbling was way down from the same week last year,
and the toms did not want to work. But camping out there is good for the soul.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/904/27925309778_69dbbb17b2_z_d.jpg)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/979/40894594255_dd0e60be13_z_d.jpg)
Had two surprises in store for me this morning. On my way back out from a long hike in on a logging road,
found fresh bear tracks following mine going in. Have to wonder how far behind me he was.
Got back to my truck in the middle of nowhere, miles from anything, and just as I put my gear away
and was ready to close my rear door a tri-color border collie crawled out from under my truck.
Trembling scared, but obviously looking for help. He was injured, wouldn't put weight on one hind leg.
Took all the water I could give him and a roast beef sandwich. Being a border collie figured it was a rancher's dog.
Took some time but found his home. Turned out he had taken a spill out of the back of the rancher's pickup
at speed and ran off scared. Lucky the coyotes didn't get him.
Good job rap, that was a cool thing to do. I bet they were happy to see their pup.
Quote from: codym on April 30, 2018, 01:10:50 PM
Good job rap, that was a cool thing to do. I bet they were happy to see their pup.
Yeah, I was glad to see he was dearly missed and the rancher and his three young boys had been actively looking for him.
Quote from: Rapscallion Vermilion on April 30, 2018, 08:54:33 PM
Quote from: codym on April 30, 2018, 01:10:50 PM
Good job rap, that was a cool thing to do. I bet they were happy to see their pup.
Yeah, I was glad to see he was dearly missed and the rancher and his three young boys had been actively looking for him.
That honestly would have made my trip, moreso than killing a bird.
Any updates from this weekend? I'm wondering if birds at 6500' will still be receptive the call or if I should target birds higher up.
I hunted Friday evening in an area loaded with fresh sign up high (9400' in the Lincoln) in an area I know birds roost regularly. Not a peep during the evening or after fly-up time.
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Racing from Odessa to get setup in my spot for the afternoon hunt. Hoping I can get one talking. Will be tent camping overnight (unless I get on one today) and will try to get setup on a bird well before daylight tomorrow.
Good luck to all of you still hunting. :icon_thumright:
Two what I believe to be jakes and one hen late. No roost gobbling. Hopefully they gobble in the morning. Lots of sign, so I know where I'll be setting up if they aren't talking.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180508/e0ac0cfff9aae4327bd70ba41fd0fb2e.jpg)
Pulled the trigger on my second New Mexico bird at 11:00 AM local time, just as I was about to pack it in for the drive back to Texas. Story to come this evening.
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:icon_thumright: :icon_thumright: Great feeling when it all comes together at the last minute.
The story with today's bird started yesterday, when my scheduled allowed me to make a spur of the moment trip back into New Mexico. I went back into the area where I had bagged my first bird. I got in around 4:00 PM, setup my tent, and went hunting. I was probing with my box call, covering ground, and trying to strike a bird, and about the forth place I stopped to call, I had what I thought were two jakes come in very quickly. I can't be positive as they were 50-60 yards away when I first saw them and really only got a look at their heads and before I could glass them, they were moving off, back down into a finger for cover. I got caught with my pants down so to speak. I had my gun and hen decoy propped up on a pinon pine behind me, and I was standing out in the relative open, not expecting have birds on top of me so quickly.
The rest of the evening was uneventful other than observing lots of fresh tracks from toms and hens and seeing a hen drinking from a cattle trough around sunset. No gobbles at all that afternoon/evening. I was a tad late getting going in the morning and hadn't even dropped back down into the canyon yet when I heard a bird fire off from the roost. He gobbled a few more times, and I took a conservative approach and stayed a couple hundred yards away as flydown was fast approaching, opting to setup in an area that the birds like to travel through on their way to water. No luck and not much gobbling after the bird came down. I hear one other bird in the distance, so I'm confident that there are at least two in the area. I make a couple other unsuccessful sets as I was unable to strike a bird walking and calling.
After going a couple of hours without hearing anything, the wind starting to pick up, and the temperature rising, I decide to drop back down into the canyon and call. At this point of the day, I was going to give it no more than another hour before breaking camp and getting back on the road. I drop down and work south for a little ways with no luck, then turn around and walk north. About where I dropped down from the west facing slope I was camped on, I strike a distant gobble. I couldn't even pinpoint the direction it came from. At first it sounded like it was further to the south from the area I just walked away from. I setup accordingly, give a few more calls, and then realize he is actually a little above me and on the west facing slope (not where I expected to find him, as the habitat is poorer) and to my north. I get turned around and setup appropriately, call again, and realize he has closed the distance substantially, likely within 100 yards. Then it gets quiet. I'm straining to make him out coming through the brush. A few minutes pass, and finally I can't help but call to him. A mourning dove takes flight and I think I catch a little movement dropping down the bottom of the west face, but I still can't make him. Another minute passes and then I finally catch a glimpse of a head and tail fan. The bird was in full strut at 20 yards, no doubt eyeing my hen decoy facing away from him, placed to my left and behind me a few yards. I couldn't believe how close he had gotten before I saw him. I ease my gun up slowly as he is partially obscured by brush. I can tell that he saw me, but couldn't quite make what I was. He breaks strut, clears into a good shooting window, and starts to walk away slowly when I put it on him at around 10 yards.
Two year old bird. Spurs are probably a 1/2-5/8 inch. Beard around 8 inches. Didn't weigh him yet, but would guess around 18 pounds.
Way to stick with it!!! Awesome job!