Colorado

[jgard]

Just starting my research to hunting there. Looking at spots a couple hours around Raton nm as we have a trip planned there first and if successful may jump the border.   Would appreciate any help to narrow my search. No actually spots but narrowing hunting units or any other advice would be tremendously helpful. Please pm me the information. We are going 2022. Thanks

[Hobbes]

Trinidad to Canon City has birds.  Look for public land and talk to local GWs.  If you want to drive farther, Pagosa and Durango.

[jgard]

Thank you

[GobbleNut]

I would definitely look first at the areas north of Raton first before heading towards the Pagosa Springs and Durango area.  Having hunted the PG/Durango area a few times, I can tell you that 1) there are few and scattered birds there, and 2) the country is rugged and a lot of it is inaccessible except on foot.  In addition, it is my impression that the birds on public land there that are reasonably accessible really get hammered.

You can kill a gobbler there if you have time, really work at it, and/or get lucky.  Getting some "insider information" from someone on where you might find turkeys would be advisable, as well.  There is a heck of a lot of country in that area that, from what I can tell, has no turkeys in it,...and the ones that are around either get killed or wise up very quickly.

....Just my two cents based on my personal experience there.

[Hobbes]

I think that is standard Colorado turkey hunting. 

Big mountains, rough terrain, scattered pockets of birds, easily accessible birds have plenty of pressure (at least by Western turkey pressure standards), and lots of country that you can't find a feather

[GobbleNut]

I think that is standard Colorado turkey hunting. 

Big mountains, rough terrain, scattered pockets of birds, easily accessible birds have plenty of pressure (at least by Western turkey pressure standards), and lots of country that you can't find a feather

Makes you wonder why that is?  After much discussion (and conjecture) about it with others, our only conclusion is that the winters are severe enough on occasion to cause large die-offs in some years.  Personally, I find that difficult to believe, knowing (or assuming) that turkey populations much further north seem to be able survive some pretty harsh winters. 

In addition, it seems like those birds would be able to migrate to lower elevations even if the winters were severe.  ...I just don't get it.  To me, there should be many more turkeys in that habitat than there are.

[Hobbes]

I don't get it either.  I've crawled all over great looking habitat in both CO and MT and not found a bird, then hi to the next drainage tgat seems identical and there they are.

[GobbleNut]

I don't get it either.  I've crawled all over great looking habitat in both CO and MT and not found a bird, then hi to the next drainage tgat seems identical and there they are.

When I see what looks like great habitat like that (with few or no birds), my first reaction is to ask why,...and what, if anything, is being done by wildlife managers to identify why the birds are not there, and what are they doing about it?  Having lived there, Hobbes, do you have any idea if the Colorado Game and Fish folks have any proactive turkey management program going on?

[jgard]

It feels like this is this situation in most states right now. Declining turkey populations with nothing but speculation as to why

[GobbleNut]

It feels like this is this situation in most states right now. Declining turkey populations with nothing but speculation as to why

Exactly,...lots of speculation but what appears to be little action.  That needs to change.  Us sportsmen are partially to blame in that, for the most part, we are not organized in any significant effort to put pressure to do something on those folks that need to hear it. 

[Hobbes]

I don't get it either.  I've crawled all over great looking habitat in both CO and MT and not found a bird, then hi to the next drainage tgat seems identical and there they are.

When I see what looks like great habitat like that (with few or no birds), my first reaction is to ask why,...and what, if anything, is being done by wildlife managers to identify why the birds are not there, and what are they doing about it?  Having lived there, Hobbes, do you have any idea if the Colorado Game and Fish folks have any proactive turkey management program going on?

I don't think CO is declining, but I've not lived there since 2011, there just aren't birds in some locations.  I'm not sure how proactive they are about managing turkeys.  I do think that when I called folks at CO DOW they had more turkey knowledge than those in MT.

I've talked to a few wildlife officers and biologists in MT that appeared to have a lot less knowledge about turkeys than I would like.  Managers here are more concerned with big game from what I've seen, but I can't necessarily fault them for that.    Turkeys are not native to Montana and most Montanans are not interested in the "big dumb birds".  I also don't think MT is declining but instead it's fluctuating based on hard winter's vs mild winters and cold wet springs vs a nice spring.  Three years ago we had a crazy dry summer that hammered the upland birds in a portion of the state.  I'm sure the turkeys there took a hit too.

I don't like jumping on the bandwagon of "let's blame the fish and game dept".  They have limited resources to spread over a huge state (in my case).  They also have to deal with the interest of landowners, hunters, and motorists, etc.  They don't have the option of just using biology to manage game.  Their priorities are often forced upon them through politics that they have no control over, they just take the cussing for it.

[GobbleNut]

I agree that in the western states where big game rules the roost, there is little interest (or apparent incentive) for G&F Departments to focus much effort on wild turkey management.  Quite honestly, in a lot of places it is not needed,...the turkeys are doing fine. 

There are too few of us really serious turkey hunters out here and our numbers are not enough to be taken seriously.  As they say, "the squeaky wheels get the grease" and western turkey hunters are apparently not squeaking loud enough.