Pics to follow at end of week. No access to card reader yet. Until then the story will have to do!
Added a couple days to the front end of a work trip to Denver to meet up with an old turkey hunting buddy for a quick hunt for a Merriam's. He hadn't hunted this spot for 3 years but figured the birds would be there. He had already tagged out, but would hunt with me Thurs and then turn me loose. Flew in Thurs am, met him at lunch time near Ft. Carson and an hour drive later we were at the spot in the National Forest. We left the car and climbed a few hundred feet straight up it seems. He said that hill cuts out most of the wannabes in this spot. I did not answer, I was too busy gasping. He explained that there were not a lot of birds in the area, and that they really covered a lot of ground in a day. He pointed to a 'dome' off in the distance and said that was Friday's destination. Thurs pm we did a big loop, constantly climbing it seems, calling occasionally with no reponses. Saw a few hens, lots of elk and mule deer sign and even a half dozen big piles of bear crap. Thurs evening we pulled out the maps for a strategy session now that I had some idea of what the area looked like. He showed me a pair of domes where I should spend most of the day.
Friday morning we headed in again. He was going to get me back to a ridge where he could point out a tricky spot and how to navigate it. Only problem was there was a dense fog in the low areas and we were above the fog. He pointed in the general direction of landmarks we had discussed the night before, said good luck and headed off to work at 7 am. I headed off in the direction of the knob, in tall pines covered in fog hoping I stayed close to where I needed to be. After awhile I got on top of a ridge to see what I could see and before me I saw the dome peaking out of the fog, which was finally rolling out. I headed off for it and finally got on top at ~9. The pines were not as dense here and there was a lot of short grass in a few openings. I set up on a small field and called for awhile and thought I heard a way distant gobble. I headed in that direction which put me on the second dome. Sat down and again I heard a faint gobble. Eased 100 yds down toward that and called. Two gobbles followed by a hen yelping. It was 10am. The hen was much closer, but the gobblers were still quite aways off in the direction of private land. I was almost to the end of a ridge and the birds were below me. I sat down with a couple of small pines in front of me as cover. I waited awhile and called again. Nothing. Called again a few minutes later and got 2 gobbles and a hen cutting, and close! One gobbler was on the left of the point and the other to the right. White caught my eye through the pine tree. It was the bird to the left, 40 yds out in full strut and the white was the tips of his tail. The pine was too thick to shoot through so I had to wait til he moved to my right and hit my lane. He was slowly angling in when I caught movement to the right. Here comes the second bird coming straight to the lane. He hit the lane at 25 yds and straightened up as pretty as can be. Bang! Shot at 1030 am, back to car at 1:30. I think I have some good pics, the display on my field camera ia broken. My buddy took the contest pics so as soon as he can get them downloaded I will post them up. Not a great bird for the contest, but a rewarding hunt and a true trophy in my mind.
Stats 14# 6 oz, 8.5" beard, 10/16" spurs.
Still have a couple days in MD when I get home, maybe I can upgrade! Will get the pics up as soon as I can.
Still don't have all the pics, but here are a couple I have downloaded.... Will post more when I have time.
