Chadron Crawford NE

[wvhoyt19]

Plans are made! Headed to NE in May. Any advice, tips, past experiences, pictures...anything? Please share. The excitement is building!!


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[USMC0331]

Where I was at, the  birds were  very talkative all day. Not a lot of trees where I hunted  and  when they fly down there are on the move  at a pretty good pace. The flock sizes are pretty large so you make have to call the hens to you and several Tom's will follow. It's a great place to hunt and I hope you get some nice ones.

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[wvhoyt19]

Where I was at, the  birds were  very talkative all day. Not a lot of trees where I hunted  and  when they fly down there are on the move  at a pretty good pace. The flock sizes are pretty large so you make have to call the hens to you and several Tom's will follow. It's a great place to hunt and I hope you get some nice ones.

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Great pics! Thanks!!


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[Sir-diealot]

Congratulations and good luck.

[Spring Creek Calls]

2016

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[deerhunt1988]

Got birds but nothing like it used to be thanks to social media. Pressure has increased substantially the past decade. I imagine next spring the pressure will be outright crazy due to:

1.) Folks wanting to get a piece of the gobbler carryover resulting from Nebraska's decision to quit selling non-resident permits this most recent spring.
2.) Antsy turkey hunters who had their plans canceled this spring due to COVID

Beautiful place though!

[turkeyfool]

Was it you who asked about the Black Hills earlier? If so, I personally would
definitely hunt the black hills over the pine ridge any day. I think the Pine Ridge is a lot neater of terrain. But, there's a lot more ground to roam in the BH and I think the birds are probably less pressured. If you have the time, hit them both

[wvhoyt19]

Thanks turkeyfool! Yea since we will be in that general area we will need to hunt both. I'm sure we will be going back after this spring from what I've read.

[High plains drifter]

Got birds but nothing like it used to be thanks to social media. Pressure has increased substantially the past decade. I imagine next spring the pressure will be outright crazy due to:

1.) Folks wanting to get a piece of the gobbler carryover resulting from Nebraska's decision to quit selling non-resident permits this most recent spring.
2.) Antsy turkey hunters who had their plans canceled this spring due to COVID

Beautiful place though!that's a huge bird

[nebgoosehunter]

Pics?  Why yes I have pics from there!  Only one of my birds was on public, rest were on private.  I will say what everyone else says and get off the roads and get back in.  However, my public land bird was right off the road with another gobbler on my way back home from work.  Don't be afraid to go later in May, you will likely see less people.
2012

2014

2017


2019

[guesswho]

When I went in 04 it was like shooting chickens.   I hear it's changed a little bit.   The birds will respond and travel a great distance.   Locals told me to find "live" water and you would find turkeys.  Good luck.

[MK M GOBL]

Have killed a few birds there, we found some "open" ground with 'valleys' running down them, maybe only 10-15ft drop into them but they held timber. We found our birds working near these, we could move through the open ground with out getting busted, called from them and killed from them. Getting in front of where they are going was key, spotted birds from a distance (binos) and then would move in. Fun hunts, way different then from home state.

MK M GOBL

[USMC0331]

Very nice.

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[nebgoosehunter]

That is a good point I should have brought up.  If you are calling and they aren't coming and start moving away, don't be afraid to get aggressive and try and circle out in front of them.  If you can get close enough out in front of them you can usually call them right to you then.  That is a tried and true method in the Pine Ridge with the topography working in your favor.  It's usually a lot of walking and sneaking though.  A lot of times you may go down one draw and pop up thinking they are going to be coming only for them to be in the next draw over and you then have to circle around and try again.  Good luck on your trip! 

[310 gauge]

A friend of mine just returned from there on a Whitetail hunt last week. Took a 130 class buck, but came back with stories of turkeys everywhere and everyday! Plenty of shooters too. Over 25 hour drive, almost to SD border.