I am heading to hunt the black hills of South Dakota for the first time ever May 16th. I know this is pretty late in the season does anybody know what to expect as far as how the birds are likely to be acting? Any other advice will be appreciated too as I'm new to hunting merriams
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They don't act like Easterns. They travel far.
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Good luck with your hunt and safe travels ..
Sounds fun, let us know how it goes! I hope to one day make it out there sometime and chase Merriams
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Depending on how long your hunt will last, you should be beyond the henned up all day stage which can be very productive. Be prepared to cover some ground and stay out as long as possible, especially late morning. Be safe and let us know how you do.
Following....headed out the 16th also.....hunting the 19th through 22nd.
Cover ground calling and don't give up. If a tom isn't interested early morning, he will likely change his mind mid to late morning if you can keep track of him. Call to the hens if he's got them.
I like late season unless the weather gets hot. It seems to slow them down. Cool mornings and mild afternoons are my preference. I may find less gobbling, but those that do are killable birds.
Thanks for the help guys I can't wait. Been looking forward to hunting the black hills for several years
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Good luck on your trip and be safe.
Let us know how you do
I'm heading out Wednesday unless weather looks like crap- rain is forecasted everyday from Sunday thru Friday so that's always nice. Camping in my truck so if it's a wash out I'll go crazy sitting in the truck.
First get On-X maps on your phone. Try to get as far from the road as you can. AND take warm clothes I have hit more then one big snow in the hills while turkey hunting!
Quote from: longbeards on May 10, 2020, 10:06:45 AM
First get On-X maps on your phone. Try to get as far from the road as you can. AND take warm clothes I have hit more then one big snow in the hills while turkey hunting!
From looking at OnX, getting 'away' from roads is easier said then done. The entire area is a giant maze of forest roads - looks like you are never more then a 1/2 mile in any direction from some kind of road.
I may be wrong, but wouldn't expect them all to be open to drive on. Look for the Blackhills Travel Management Plan. It should show you what trails are open to vehicles.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=22263
Quote from: Hobbes on May 11, 2020, 01:00:05 PM
I may be wrong, but wouldn't expect them all to be open to drive on. Look for the Blackhills Travel Management Plan. It should show you what trails are open to vehicles.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=22263
OnX has a toggle to show you which ones are open to motorized use. It highlights them in purple
Good luck........
Good luck. Cover ground till you find turkey sign.
I cancelled my trip for this week.
Quote from: fallhnt on May 08, 2020, 07:03:23 PM
They don't act like Easterns. They travel far.
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Very true!! Roost them right before dark. Merriams just LOVE to hear themselves talk. Then crowd the roost in the AM. If they skirt you off the roost, they move out and are on a mission.
Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.
I almost hesitate to share this..but roads arent as big of an issue as you think...these arent hard pressured easterns you are dealing with.
Quote from: RutnNStrutn on May 11, 2020, 08:26:28 PM
Quote from: fallhnt on May 08, 2020, 07:03:23 PM
They don't act like Easterns. They travel far.
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Very true!! Roost them right before dark. Merriams just LOVE to hear themselves talk. Then crowd the roost in the AM. If they skirt you off the roost, they move out and are on a mission.
Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.
Biggest mistake I made while there was out one evening listening for gobbles. One fired up a few hundred yards behind us so we made tracks toward him, he was moving fast but would gobble to my locator every time. At one point we got really close, probably withing 50-75 yards of him trying to lock down his exact location for fly up. It was getting pretty late so we just waited. We were already high fiving because we were on top of a ridge and the last time he had gobbled was just of the edge of a steep drop off from where we were. Before walking out i hit the locator again and heard a distant gobble across the ravine up top the next ridge about a mile away. That sucker had covered that much ground in less than 10 minutes. Literally had to be running. Needless to say we didn't even go for that bird the next morning because we were already a few miles in and he was another mile deeper. Hind site, I would have called at him when we were right above him but was hedging on the next mornings hunt. They are definitely not easterns!! I also noticed that you can't chase these birds and be very successful. if they are moving away, they tend to do it quick. We had good luck firing up different birds, just got to make yourself leave a gobbling bird if he's not coming. If you chase em they will tote you all over them hills (mountains) it's a blast if you can find birds. They like to talk. We didn't go out one single morning without hearing multiple toms. Good luck and enjoy!! Hope to get back one day.
Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm getting pretty fired up to head out there. It'll be a totally new experience for me
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First day came to an end in sd we drove 18 hours through the night to get here and hunt this morning. It was raining all day so after checking a few spots we went and caught up on some sleep. Made it out this evening and had a bird gobbling but couldn't keep up with him. We know he's roosted on public but don't have an exact location by any means. Weather looks perfect for tomorrow so hopefully we can find some more birds but I'm pretty happy with our first day especially with the bad weather
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Awesome man! Good luck and keep us posted!
Just got back from a hunt on the Wyoming side. Killed my bird on the third morning.
First two days were miserable, rained constantly! For me it took getting away from other hunters and hunting sign despite not hearing birds to get it done. tbowers is right, it's tough to get away from roads, but finding less used roads that dead end into larger tracts of timber is doable. I wouldn't worry about birds being too educated around roads, but I would worry about other hunters coming in if you're hunting high-traffic areas. I roosted a bird the first night, knowing exactly what tree he was in and where he flew up from, but he gobbled lots in the morning and drew attention from hunters on the road who got under him and got a shot when he pitched down right under his tree. Neither of us knew the other hunter was there so I don't fault them for it, just the way public goes.
Birds were very quiet! I saw fresh turkey sign most places, but the only other bird I heard in 3 days was the one I killed and he didn't gobble at all in the morning despite me hearing him the night before and knowing roughly where he was roosted. I knew he was in the area and worked my way along slowly. Eventually called all his hens in and then he got fired up and followed along.
Keep at it, you'll get it done!
Quote from: Hobbes on May 11, 2020, 01:00:05 PM
I may be wrong, but wouldn't expect them all to be open to drive on. Look for the Blackhills Travel Management Plan. It should show you what trails are open to vehicles.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=22263
Great information, Hobbes. I'm not sure about the National Forests elsewhere, but down this way, each NF produces a "motor vehicle use" map that shows the open roads and trails. They are free at the local NF offices in the forest. They are also the "gospel" on where you can legally drive or otherwise use a motor vehicle.
Down this way, illegal off-road use of a motor vehicle can result in some pretty stiff penalties if they choose to enforce their regulations. However, from what I have seen, they are pretty lax in actually following through with those penalties, especially with folks that inadvertently end up somewhere they are not supposed to be.
DO NOT rely on the mapping apps! They very often show outdated information on roads. If you are hunting a national forest, get the motor vehicle use map, if available.
Quote from: tbowers on May 09, 2020, 10:28:17 PM
I'm heading out Wednesday unless weather looks like crap- rain is forecasted everyday from Sunday thru Friday so that's always nice. Camping in my truck so if it's a wash out I'll go crazy sitting in the truck.
I just got back, the weather guys were actually right- the weather sucked except for one day. I cut my trip 4 days short and made the 10 hr drive back home because i didnt want to sit in my truck for two days and wait for the weather to break. I did manage to kill one inbetween rain and then went to WY to try and get one there but only got one day in before bailing out.
Couple things i learned- dispite most people saying Merriams love to gobble on the roost at night- i never had ONE gobble from the roost in the evening in 4 nights- this was after even hearing them fly up. The mornings they would gobble a bit better so I mainly located them that way.
There was a decent amount of hunting pressure but there is so much country that you arent willing to work if you are next to other hunters. I never saw another hunter in the woods, just the odd truck parked here and there. There also was quite a few ATV/side by side folks out hitting the trails and this was prior to them all opening up on May 15th- there are a ton of trails that are open year round. I had side by sides drive by and ten minutes later a bird would gobble so certainly doesnt seem to bother them.
Cell service is non existant unless you get up really high- to be expected but just keep in mind if you are hunting solo like I was. There was a few places i was so far out if something happened i would have been a woods bride. I also almost got my truck stuck WAY back on a two track that suddenly had a ton of snow on it, luckily i turned around in time or i would probably still be out there
Sorry to hear about the weather not cooperating, but glad to hear you managed to find a way to kill a gobbler anyway. A bit surprised that they wouldn't gobble in the evening, although that is not unheard of under certain conditions. As for getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere,...been there, done that,...not a good feeling!
The illegal off-road vehicle use is unfortunately rampant in a lot of our public lands out west,...at least in this area. Unfortunately, the agencies often just seem to turn a blind eye to it. As is generally the case, it is just us "legal" guys that obey the rules while the outlaws just do what they want and never seem to be brought to justice over it.
We have lobbied for years for "confiscation' laws. If someone is caught off-road illegally, take their damn ATV or vehicle away from them! That would stop that crap in a heartbeat,...but the agencies just let it slide and we continue to have to deal with it.
its fun country to walk around in- I had antelope feeding next to my truck where I camped for a night. I also like that you can camp pretty much anywhere- I slept in a different location each night . Saw about 500 deer although oddly one 1 mule deer. Ton of elk . I would apply for elk in WY if it didnt take about ten years to draw a tag!
Quote from: Kygobblergetter on May 17, 2020, 12:06:54 AM
First day came to an end in sd we drove 18 hours through the night to get here and hunt this morning. It was raining all day so after checking a few spots we went and caught up on some sleep. Made it out this evening and had a bird gobbling but couldn't keep up with him. We know he's roosted on public but don't have an exact location by any means. Weather looks perfect for tomorrow so hopefully we can find some more birds but I'm pretty happy with our first day especially with the bad weather
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Did you have any luck?
One other thing was the day I hunted in WY, i chased probably 12 different birds but nothing would play ball but I did find those suckers arent worried about going up the steepest dang hill(mt) around- i had one cross a road and go up a slope that i would never be able to scale without rock climbing equipment!
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Finally got it done on the 5th morning of the hunt. Roosted him last night and got in on him tight. Finally found a couple other birds this morning but my brother was sick of the crappy hunting so we are about half way through our 18 hour drive home now. It was way tougher than I expected but a blast and as beautiful of an area as I have ever hunted
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Congrats on a really nice gobbler...
Nice gobbler, looks like you peppered him pretty good.
Quote from: Crghss on May 20, 2020, 08:49:12 PM
Nice gobbler, looks like you peppered him pretty good.
Thank ya. 20 yards with tss 9s put him down hard
Congrats on a nice Tom!
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Congratulations
Congrats on a great gobbler.
Congrats on your gobbler!!
Sent from deep in the woods where the critters roam.
Congrats on a great looking bird sound like a blast and hoping to do this some day.
Congrats on a good looking bird.
This is mine from last week. Shot about 3/4 mile from the truck- they start to get awful heavy after a while.
I made my first trip after a merriams a couple weeks ago to WY. Weather SUCKED the 3.5 days I was there. It was either super windy, and raining, or dumping snow. Got close the one morning with decent weather but had a group of deer get between me and the bird when he was at 90ish yards. The deer winded me and ran off towards the gobbler and pushed him off. Didn't have a ton of gobbling. Roads got sloppy with all the rain and snow - some of the slickest mud I've been in. Had one hill in particular that I didn't think I'd make it up, or be able to turn around to come back down, and it was a longggg ways from cell service. It was still an awesome experience, I'll definitely be making a trip there again next year but hopefully for a longer period of time!
Nice man congrats!
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Be prepared to cover many miles, those birds do! They tend to roast in same area has also been my experience! You will need light clothing and lots of water,,,with the clothing being said I have hit 20 inches of snow in the first week! Best of luck and wish I was going as my hunting ended yesterday!
Cheers!
I've been in the Black Hills since Thursday. Didn't hear a lot of gobbling, mostly because the weather has been bad. In between wind and rain events, I managed to call in and kill a nice two-year old yesterday at around 3:00 PM. It happened pretty fast, but that's the way it often is with these Merriam's.
I used a Jeff McKamey walnut over Honduran mahogany short box and a Shannon push-pin in Macassar ebony to lure him in. I shot him with a Steven's 555 28 gauge firing 1 3/8 oz. of 9.5 TSS Apex ammo.