Colorado

[Dtrkyman]

I had also found myself hestant on a couple birds in the past, beards had them looking like jakes, both were toms. If you can get a look at the wing patch it would help.

[JMalin]

Well, I can't sit with my back against a tree for more than two hours without going stir crazy.  No gobbles heard at all this morning while sitting in position for an ambush.  None after I called a few times after an hour of silence.  I was pretty cold on the shady side of the mountain, so I got up and left maybe a bit sooner than I should have.  Did strike a bird around 10:30 this morning that was hitting the call well, but was a good 150 feet below me on private and 300 yards away in a straight line with thick stuff between me and him, which I'm sure was why he didn't work up.  Or perhaps me calling too much as I was trying to find the thinnest stuff he may move up through was where I screwed up.  Anywho, he's pinned for later.  Will probably just sit where three hens roosted last night (I think the wimpy gobbler was already in the tree when I sat down at 7:30 to wait them out).  I had been sitting for a good 20 minutes when the first hen showed up.  Then a bird took flight from one tree to another further down the canyon and it looked bigger than a hen.  Two additional hens showed up a few minutes later and the three hens pitched up around 8 PM with their take off spot being well within shotgun range. 

I think Utah is out of the cards at this point.  I'll stick it out here and I think will get a bird eventually, even through deer hunting means if need be, but this is draining and costly with the amount of gas I've burned through checking different areas.  Everything looks closer on the map than it actually is when you're out west.

[Dtrkyman]

Sounds like your around some birds, one will make a mistake sooner or later!

They sure like that oak brush to sneak around in.

[JMalin]

Not roosted, but heard two birds gobble on the ground at 7:30 where I struck them this morning and found the best access to get down as close to them as I can.  Hopefully the light it up on the limb tomorrow to help me get set up as close as I can.  Thinking about packing the Jake decoy since I'm sure it's two gobblers running together and on the edge of a large meadow.

[JMalin]

A lot of feeding and not a lot of strutting going on.  On a flock of 11.  3 hens, 3 toms, and a wad of jakes.  Know exactly where two of the toms were roosted and their direction of travel this morning.  Going to give them a little time to break up and hopefully one will act like a Turkey.  If not, I know where I'll be camping this evening.

[Dtrkyman]

My fist Colorado tom was a bushwhack, late season actually the last day.  Zero gobbling and strutting and I killed him at a water hole, a little lame but better than tag soup!

My next two were called in and hot!

Get you one!

[JMalin]

Flock fed a mile deep into private meadow.  I'll drop back down to where they were roosted around 6 this evening and will go light with just a bottle of water, Turkey sling, pot call, and shotgun.  Maybe further north they're still acting right, but for anyone planning to hunt this state in the future, you probably want to be here late April/early May.