A few friends and I are talking about booking a hunt and from what I have heard MN is the place to go.If you have any info on a good guide service let me know.Also let me know where you would go if it weren't Mississippi
Alabama
If you're wanting plenty of big gobbler's in MN, check out anywhere near Bemidji or the Twin cities.
If I was looking to stack them up, Mississippi is on the list of the top 3 states Id avoid.
Southern birds tend to gobble a lot less, are subjected to intense pressure and they often carry a lot of hens. You can certainly go to Mississippi and have a good hunt.... But no southern hunt will ever compare to something like Nebraska or Kansas.....
Awesome,keep the suggestions coming!!!
machinist,
I can't help you on an outfitter in MS any more than a quick google search. I'm not sure where you hunt now, but if you are looking for a challenge, then MS is the place for ya. I wouldn't rule out Alabama either.
My advice is to get on the phone and start talking with these guys. I hunt a good bit in MS on private and public land and absolutely love it. I wish I could tell you to go ahead and hunt some public ground, but you may walk away hating the place... the pressure is high and the birds are as tough as any I've ever seen.
Keep me posted on where you might go and I may can help you out a little bit.
My son and I have killed several swamp gobblers on public land in Mississippi. They are extremely hard to hunt because of the hunting pressure. We have found some remote places that require a lot of walking and get on gobblers about everytime we go there. Some of our fondest turkey hunting memories were made in those swamps. Tough birds but you feel like you have done something when you get one.
For Easterns I would consider Missouri or southeast Kansas. For Rios I would look at Oklahoma and Kansas for outfitted hunts.
I have lived in Mississippi all my life and can tell you that yes we have birds. I can also tell you that there aren't any guides or outfitters here you can buy a hunt with. The reason being our terrain is so thick and our birds so educated they are probably the toughest to kill anywhere in the world. The majority of our hunts you hear and work a bird but you never see him. A lot of us natives limit every year but it is because we hunt hard and know our areas like the back of our hands. If an out fitter or anybody in Mississippi guarantees you will see or kill a bird on a 3-5 day hunt you better keep your money in your pocket. We go to Kansas and Nebraska because it is a slam dunk. I rarely see an out of state tag in Mississippi during turkey season. It is what it is.
Lots of good and true info here...I recall about 20 years ago (I'm in Arkansas) thinking to myself.....man looky here Mississippi opens a good few weeks before it does here at home it is time to take a trip....so take a trip we did, for a few years running we chased them on national forest stuff, we "caught" a few, camped out, ended up at a gravel bar/beer drinking/crawfish eating/where in the world did all the good looking girls come from/4 wheeler riding party one afternoon/ had a lot of good times over the years, only got threatened once for being on some ole boys "turkeys"....he didn't believe me when I told him "his" was gobbling good early as I could hear them when I was walking the way back to the ones I was hunting on in there a mile...they are hard, hard headed turkeys, as all have said it's not somewhere you go to watch them come a long way or listen to a bunch of gobbling usually, but to me a turkey hunter owes himself a big ole bait of southern gobblers every now and then.
As far as current info I haven't been since 2001, I have some buds that still go about every other year but I haven't lined my dates up right lately, it may be time to revisit and take a few lessons from em.
good luck
I have not talked to him in many years, but he may still be doing some hunts, Ronnie Foy used to run a guide service and I think he took a few turkey hunters.
Hey J. Adams,
I am from northeast Arkansas. What part are you in?
Quote from: hunter22 on May 27, 2014, 03:34:37 PM
Hey J. Adams,
I am from northeast Arkansas. What part are you in?
Hey Hunter22, I am in central, have a few ole buds in the ag business industry that live up your way.
Quote from: deadbuck on May 27, 2014, 01:29:13 PM
I have lived in Mississippi all my life and can tell you that yes we have birds. I can also tell you that there aren't any guides or outfitters here you can buy a hunt with. The reason being our terrain is so thick and our birds so educated they are probably the toughest to kill anywhere in the world. The majority of our hunts you hear and work a bird but you never see him. A lot of us natives limit every year but it is because we hunt hard and know our areas like the back of our hands. If an out fitter or anybody in Mississippi guarantees you will see or kill a bird on a 3-5 day hunt you better keep your money in your pocket. We go to Kansas and Nebraska because it is a slam dunk. I rarely see an out of state tag in Mississippi during turkey season. It is what it is.
Don't know what part of the state you are hunting in,but down my way when the season opens,the entire state of Arkansas shows up every year.
Lots of great info,Hows Illinois for birds,Greene county to be exact?I went there on a guided hunt in 2004 for deer and the outfitter has spring turkey hunts for a really good rate and you stay at his cabin.
Don't know what part of the state you are hunting in,but down my way when the season opens,the entire state of Arkansas shows up every year.
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:OGturkeyhead: Everyone I know in MS says the same thing...."these dang arkys are all over the place".....You want to see a sight? Come to Arky during duck season
Why don't you ask about hunting public land so you can get a lecture on where to park and how to avoid conflict with the locals :TooFunny:
Quote from: chcltlabz on May 28, 2014, 01:00:18 PM
Why don't you ask about hunting public land so you can get a lecture on where to park and how to avoid conflict with the locals :TooFunny:
Always block the road when you can, and bring plenty of beer and a spare cooler, they will steal the first cooler, but wise public land hunters always carry backup! :funnyturkey:
I used to see more Arkansas tags when they could apply for WMA draw hunts for no charge. Now a Non Resident has to buy an out of state license and enter the license number to submit an application for draw hunts. I think that has made non residents think twice about coming here.
Yessir deadbuck, it sure kept me from applying to hunt the Mississippi WMAs this year. Hard to pay close to $180 for a 5 day license and WMA permits when there was no gurantee you would get a hunt. Us Arkansas boys are slow but that pretty much was a no brainer for me. I am sure that hurt the Mississippi hunting revenue. I had been down there for about 10 years running, staying in motels and eating in restaurants, but no more. I am not sure what you mean by applying for a WMA hunt for no charge. If a non-resident drew one of those hunts he still had to pay for the WMA permit and buy a liscense when he got there.
They changed it this year. In the past a non resident could put their name in the hat for the draw for a $5 fee, get drawn, not show up for whatever reason, and effectively bump somebody out of getting to hunt. Now, you must buy a hunting license to enter drawing but the $5 fee is waived.
Yes, you now pay clse to $180 for a 5 day spring turkey license so you can apply for a WMA hunt you may or may not draw. No guarantees and no refund if you do not draw the hunt. I think a lot of non-residents stopped applying this year. Maybe that was the intent all along. Next spring I will go back to Mississippi but just not apply to the WMAs and hunt them after the draw hunts.
Quote from: hunter22 on May 28, 2014, 03:56:05 PM
Yes, you now pay clse to $180 for a 5 day spring turkey license so you can apply for a WMA hunt you may or may not draw. No guarantees and no refund if you do not draw the hunt. I think a lot of non-residents stopped applying this year. Maybe that was the intent all along. Next spring I will go back to Mississippi but just not apply to the WMAs and hunt them after the draw hunts.
I like the fact that they made a license # a requirement this year. In the past, like deadbuck stated, any person from any state could apply whether they planned on attending the hunt or not (filling spots that others would have been thrilled to have been drawn for). From what I understand, the main reason they did this was to deter anti-hunters from applying for draws. At least if they do it now, they have to have purchased a license.
As for the draw, don't feel bad. I applied for ONE WMA this year and didn't get drawn. I am a lifelong resident of MS (34 yrs) and have bought a license + wma permit every year for 18 yrs now. I also know of a guy or two who were drawn for 6 or 7 and some were for the same days even though the WMA's were 100's of miles apart! Now that's ridiculous! It is what it is though...
Quote from: JBIRD22 on May 28, 2014, 05:19:39 PM
Quote from: hunter22 on May 28, 2014, 03:56:05 PM
Yes, you now pay clse to $180 for a 5 day spring turkey license so you can apply for a WMA hunt you may or may not draw. No guarantees and no refund if you do not draw the hunt. I think a lot of non-residents stopped applying this year. Maybe that was the intent all along. Next spring I will go back to Mississippi but just not apply to the WMAs and hunt them after the draw hunts.
I like the fact that they made a license # a requirement this year. In the past, like deadbuck stated, any person from any state could apply whether they planned on attending the hunt or not (filling spots that others would have been thrilled to have been drawn for). From what I understand, the main reason they did this was to deter anti-hunters from applying for draws. At least if they do it now, they have to have purchased a license.
As for the draw, don't feel bad. I applied for ONE WMA this year and didn't get drawn. I am a lifelong resident of MS (34 yrs) and have bought a license + wma permit every year for 18 yrs now. I also know of a guy or two who were drawn for 6 or 7 and some were for the same days even though the WMA's were 100's of miles apart! Now that's ridiculous! It is what it is though...
It's past RIDICULOUS !!!!!!!!! The draw hunts are putting less pressure on the WMA's for the first two weeks but, there is three times the pressure the rest of the season. Everybody runs to the WMA's because they think the birds haven't been hunted that hard.
Pressure means less gobbling and less gobbling means more folks tromping through the woods and driving the roads with there yelping,cutting and blowing peckerwood calls. It has turned into a circus in the WMA'S in Mississippi.
I have been turkey hunting in or around WMA'S for over forty years in Ms and we have turkeys. They are here, but, i have heard less gobbling since the draw hunts started than in the lean years where we didn't have many gobblers. sorry for the rant but, this strikes a nerve with me!!!!!
Quote from: chcltlabz on May 28, 2014, 01:00:18 PM
Why don't you ask about hunting public land so you can get a lecture on where to park and how to avoid conflict with the locals :TooFunny:
Knew that was comin' !! :TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny: :TooFunny:
Mississippi gobblers are tough as all get out. They hatch with a crook in their necks. I wouldn't have it any other way.
Check out the www.calyxstarranch.com you can also ask Mike Miller on here about it can't remember his name on here, let me know if ya need any more info on it.... It's in MS...Hands down best southern hunt you will go on!
Quote from: MACHINIST on May 27, 2014, 09:04:00 PM
Lots of great info,Hows Illinois for birds,Greene county to be exact?I went there on a guided hunt in 2004 for deer and the outfitter has spring turkey hunts for a really good rate and you stay at his cabin.
Not sure how Greene county is but IL is a sleeper state. I've had some awesome hunts here and have had more birds around me than on hunts in NE, KS, OK, MO, and WI. I personally would look elsewhere than Greene county but then again some of the counties I hunt aren't big and don't have huge numbers, but just the right properties. Your outfitter might have a good property or two and be loaded with birds. He might also have just an average population of birds but little or no hunters which makes for a great hunt as well. My biggest complaint about IL is the draw and their seasons. Makes planning for a hunt a pita.
I hunt in MS and love it. Just started hunting turkeys 3 years ago. I killed my first 3 turkeys this year. I want to hunt other states but saying another state is easier to hunt isn't much of a turn on for me. I enjoy chasing a bird for hours and just being in the woods. I'm sure having a quick hunt is fun but I like the challenge. If it was that easy, I'm not sure I would be addicted to it like I am now. March 15, 2015 can't get here fast enough.