Scouting and Shooting in CO

[hobbes]

We went scouting/driving this morning and did a little shooting afterwards.  I located another access to NF on my maps that is approximately 5 miles north of where I killed last year's CO bird, so we decided to drive to it early this morning and listen for birds.  We drove the roads for the most part, stopping and listening, because we had never been there and wanted to get an overview of the area.  We did walk the roads a little looking for tracks but elk tracks were all we found.  We didn't hear any birds, but the area looks good and I'm sure there are birds there.  If we had the time we would have hiked some and spent more of the day looking for birds.

Sunrise




Elk Tracks


Isaac squinting into the sun and still cold


I positioned the camera on the hood of my truck and set the timer.  Since I had to zoom out over the hood, I had to run to beat the timer.  We barely overcame the laughter for the photo.


There are some good open areas here that just look like there should be strutting turkeys in them, but these are next to the road.






When we were almost back on the pavement we spotted 9 cow elk standing around.  They weren't terribly alarmed, but started to slowly move away after a few moments.















Afterwards we stopped to shoot our guns.  The weather was actually nice today, upper 50's, so it was a good day to shoot.   I needed to sight in the red dot on the little 870 20 ga Jr. for my daughter, and Isaac needed to practice shooting my old 870 Turkey Special that he shot last year.  This was the first chance we've had for him to practice with just the twin beads.  I thought we were going to shoot at a state shooting range, but I couldn't find it, so we went to our usual spot.
Here is a short video of Isaac shooting the gun up close to make sure his POI was where it should be.  I have a hard time seeing the two beads because of the Knoxx stock set up and was considering adding fiber optic sights to it.  It looks like I don't need to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6BA9Y9bUVE

After that I had him randomly shoot three plastic bottles that were around 25 yards.  They are never hard to come by here since so many people do not know how to pick up after themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnCtWSXVC0w

[jake slayer]

Awesome pics!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

[apollo11]

Great pictures.  We are going 30 miles north of Trinidad, CO the end of April.  Its been really warm down there, hopefully there is still some gobbling going on.  Good luck to you guys!

[Hognutz]

Nice pictures, Hobbes. Good luck to you and your son when the season rolls around..Mike

[hobbes]

The end of April through the end of season is a good time to be hunting the mountains.

[catdaddy]

Very Nice!!!

[WyoHunter]

Nice pics! Looks like an area where I killed a couple of gobblers back in the early 90's when I lived in CO. 

[bowhunter84]

 

[TrackeySauresRex]

   Beautiful Photo's

[LX_Trkyhntr]

Great photo's!!  Sounds like a great spring day spent outdoors!!

[TurkeyRookie]

Did the same thing as you but on Saturday and Sunday. New to Turkey but not hunting so we stopped and talked to some people down around Beaver Creek and got a few people's info and permission to hunt on their property. Then Sunday drove 24 to Woodland Park then took 67 up towards the Hayman burn, stopped and talked to the lady at the crossroads general store and she pointed us to some campgrounds. Said when she goes walking in the morning she has to wait for the Turkeys to cross the path. Just goes to show, the more people you talk to the more info you get. Be respectful and give the rest of us hunters a good name!

Since I am new, do you have any tips about hunting gobblers out here in CO? Myself, my fiancee, and my buddy are going to be trying it for the first time this year. Hoping to put some game in the freezer, been since small game closed since  we have had any game at home (rabbit and ring necks).

[hobbes]

TurkeyRookie, I've been chasing turkeys for a while, but only the last four years here in CO.  I don't believe I'm qualified to give too much advice on these mountain birds and their habits.   

Finding them has been the biggest deal for me here.  Once you find them, they are no different than any other turkey.  I did hunt Pagosa for a couple days last year and their numbers are higher there, so finding them there isn't as tough.  These birds can and will cover lots of ground.  They are usually quite vocal, but that doesn't mean they'll run you over everytime you call to them.  Regardless of what you hear, these birds that get pressured hard can be just as stubborn as any Eastern.  The darn things will hang up, shut up, run the other way with hens, sneak in, and pull off a number of disappearing acts just like any other turkey. However, there are those birds that will run at you like fools...........I like those a lot.

The small pockets of birds that are on public land and well known get plenty of pressure during the early season then it dies off later.  I prefer the later season here anyway.

Good Luck!  If you get on some gobbling birds you'll love it.  Then you'll be burning gas like the rest of us to hunt them in as many places as you can afford.  After listening to these wimpy sounding Merriams for a while, an Eastern in the hardwoods will knock your socks off.