After two years of covid reschedules finally said "go for it" and jumped in with both feet. Airlines, rental cars, motels etc etc. Spent the first week of May chasing the Merriams and wasn't disappointed. Results pictured. BTW - flying in and out of Tampa and Denver had zero problems with TSA and my firearm. All of these forums seem to make a big deal out of this and again, for me, it has never been a problem. Ammo was in the gun case. Again no problem.
Bumped into many turkey hunters on the trip. Another secret out so I'm not even mentioning the state involved although I was close to three that were available to hunt. Good luck to all. My bucket list just got a check mark.
Beautiful bird and scenery, congratulations sir.
Congrats. Fine gobbler
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Congrats a great trip, glad it worked out for you and you finally got to make it! They're beautiful birds and I think they're one of my favorites to hunt just because they're so different in every way than what I've grown up hunting down here.
Did he put on a show for you and did the funky jake make the trip?
Congrats on awesome gobbler and trip....
Funky stayed home and is still pouting about it. I had to pack light so no decoys, no chair, no camo netting. Strictly a run and gun solo hunt. A mouthy hen was behind me and simply mimicking her brought the deceased and two others down a small hill. Lots of strutting but no gobbles. They had hens in view so no surprise.
Nice job. Congrats
Beauty of a bird
Congrats on that gorgeous bird brother. Al Baker
Fantastic!! Thanks for sharing.
Way to go Joe!
Congratulations on some fine birds
Congrats, Beautiful bird.
wow!
awesome bird, congratulations Sir!!!
Very nice ,glad you got to make the trip.
Congratulations!
Good work.. I'm guessing you flew direct with Southwest. I never have issues.. but in the more liberal states it may take some extra time to check gun, some of them look at it with you and you have to wait. But if you have it packed right with lock, etc.. should have no issues.
Yes -Southwest. Never had a problem after having done this at least a dozen times. Does take extra time since the firearm case is now walked over to a TSA area set up for this and x rayed in your presence. At destination gun is retrieved from the baggage office and doesn't spin around on the belt. Nobody looked worried or wet their pants at the thought of handling a gun case. When I returned there were six firearm cases being screened. Colorado is a blue state but the process went flawlessly. The process in Tampa was identical. :turkey2:
Congrats on a fine Tom and notching off another bucket list item.
Good for you Sir! Happy that you had a good, successful trip.
Awesome, Congrats Mr. Joey.
Congratulations sir!! That is on my bucket list as well!! Beautiful bird there!!
BEAUTIFUL snowtip !!!!!!!!!!!
CONGRATS !!!!!!!!!
Way to go!!! Your posts are always worth reading. I'm proud you had a great trip!
Beautiful Tom. Congrats.
Congrats, I know Merriam's tails have the white, but has that got more white than normal? That bird would make a beautiful mount!
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This bird pretty typical for the area. Amazing to see them go into full strut while coming at you. Nice experience. Fan set up and drying now. Will make a great wall hanging.
That`s going to be a beautiful fan mount! Joey could you add a little more to the story? What firearm did you use? Load? I see you used a bead sight. You got it done! Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations. Beautiful bird.
Quote from: Old Timer on May 18, 2022, 10:04:33 AM
That`s going to be a beautiful fan mount! Joey could you add a little more to the story? What firearm did you use? Load? I see you used a bead sight. You got it done! Thanks for sharing.
Sure - for the last few seasons been alternating between my old standby 12 ga 870 and a new .410 Stevens. Since the gun on this trip was going on an airliner I opted for the bead sighted 870 with Apex Ninja TSS and a Carlson .690 choke. The .410 has a red dot and the chance it would get jarred out of wack was on my mind. Tried to leave little to chance.
Congrats on a successful hunt!!
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beautiful bird. where were u hunting if i missed it?
Locations now a big secret on this forum. LOL.
Picture a hint. Took me about 20 minutes to get there from where I was hunting. They won't show in the picture but there are three groups of climbers actively ascending. They lose a few every year. Oh well. RIP.
Wow, beautiful gobbler. Glad that you could do that. Sounds exciting.
Congrats nice gobbler.
Congratulations