I have had issues for the last couple years making this trip happen but it finally did.
Drive from WV to ND and hunted two days, due to state limitations I was required to hunt a desert, to me anyway.
Did a little driving around the evening I arrived and decided where I would start in the morning. Next morning I overslept by two hours! I was not happy with myself!!!
Driving to my location I seen multiple Toms, all of course in places I could not hunt. Finally, I crest the hill to my location, on the left four Jakes strutting with hens. On the right a Tom with hens.
I obviously choose to go right. 20 minutes later a Rio was down. I did not get good pics of the first at all, ain't sure why but it is what it is.
I scouting another area the rest of the day, first light while getting out of the truck and loaded up I hear a gobble in the direction that I plan to go. And yes, I was plenty early this morning, it was dark.
Got into these turkeys and they were a blast, awesome to witness and be a part of. Once set up the action heated up real quick. A Jake came in first with a Tom in hot pursuit. I did take the first Tom. Then two more Toms and three more Jakes came in. The first Tom was on the side of a hill, they rolled him 25 yards down the hill in the course of an hour. Gobbling, strutting, fighting and more gobbling. Fun to witness.
Packed up and headed to WY. I am now one day ahead of schedule so got to scouting as soon as I got there. Next morning 300 yards from where I parked I hear my first Turkey. He was across some private and probably a mile away. Then I hear another without the interference of the private land. To make a long story short, I played with these turkeys for a couple hours until they just shut down. Didn't make it three hundred yards and ran into another. I believe a hen spotted me and was slightly spooked. She seems to intervene every time I would make any progress with the Tom.
Day two I changed my location from the top of the ridge to the bottom.....Thinking I would save myself a lot of walking. I get right back on the group of turkeys, BUT if you have any turkey hunting humor you should already know they took me right back to the top of the ridge to the private. Yup, I should have seen that coming!
So discussed with myself i trudged back to the truck and had deemed it necessary to find new turkeys.
I get into a canyon "Driving" and note a doser had pushed in a fire line. Where the brush had been piled in a small clearing it had been burned. It looked like a great place for a turkey to hang out. I get deep into this canyon and decide it's not for me! Stay away from anything that says Canyon or Gulch, they will be rough!
Coming out at the brush pile there is a strutter with 3-4 hens. Seriously.
I go up the road a quarter mile and bail out hitting the fire line. Get about 125 from the clearing and set up. This got very interesting. Two hens came down the fire line right to me. Tom is gobbling the whole time "Canyon" hard to tell where he is. 4 hens come down the road and come out of the road and cross ten feet in front of me. I can not see this Tom! I know now he is in the road? I hear him at 5 o'clock, in the road strutting and drumming, maybe 15' behind me. Car #1 comes along, the gobbler goes across the road and hens on my side of the road, perfect! Hens are calling, Tom is gobbling, I'm calling... Hens go across the road to the Tom! Not good.
I keep after him calling and he works back down to some brush just across the road, I can't seem him. Car #2 comes along. As soon as it passes the Tom runs across the road to my side. Ok, back in business.
The Tom goes through the brush up on top of the hill above me. I work around the tree and keep calling. He would not show himself! I am guessing 45 minutes of this and I stop calling, I hear him drifting up the hill higher and I take pursuit. I finally make it to the top and call, he answered and I set down. Five minutes later he was mine, nice Tom. Heavy bird, 1 1/16" sharp spurs. "I set at this one tree for over an hour and had worked 300 degrees around the tree".
The next day I left WY and headed to SD. Now I am two days ahead of schedule and waiting as season doesn't start until the 27th. Did take a couple hours to site see and enjoyed that as well.
Made it to SD and while obtaining my tag I got some local info. He put me right on some birds. I scouted these birds for two days, heard multiple. First morning they had moved across the road and of course on the other side of a strip of private! I just went deeper where I was. Didn't take long I heard a gobble, I moved in and waited. Nothing. Set there for half an hour and he gobbled 150 yards out. I popped the top of the ridge and laid down beside some rocks. I call and hens are calling back. I see the Tom, their coming. He gets behind some low evergreen shrub and struts and gobbles, when he came out I ended that.
Upon retrieval I was very disappointed at myself. I had ID'ed the turkey. I shot the turkey I intended to shoot! The turkey was a Jake, very disappointed in myself that I ended the hunt in this manner 1st day and hour and half into season. But it's not catch and release.
Seen a bunch of birds, Pheasants, Hunns, Turkeys, prairie dogs, mule deer, white tail, elk. Very cool to me.
Meet guys from KY and AL. Enjoyed everyone I met and the hunters I encountered "Which was almost none" showed respect to other hunters.
If you ever entertain going on a hunt like this, Do It! I had a great time and would not have changed a thing except for the Jake. And that was my fault.
Sent from my S62 Pro using Tapatalk
