Colorado High

[hunter22]

I just got home from turkey hunting in Colorado. I have to say it may have been my favorite turkey hunt I have been on. My wife went with me but is a non-hunter and went for the sightseeing. We went to a small town, Idalia, near the Kansas state line to hunt Rios with a limited license I drew. We got there last Saturday and it started snowing/sleeting that night. When I got up Sunday morning there were a few inches of snow on the ground, 25 degrees, and the wind blowing 30 mph. I decided to not hunt that morning. I did go that afternoon and got close to a nice gobbler. So I continued to hunt that area Monday and Tuesday morning and was able to harvest a bird. The wind blew all three days in the 30 mph range with the temps in the 30s each morning. Tough conditions to hunt.

We drove to The San Isabel National Forest on Wednesday. I bought an over the counter license and found a cabin in the mountains. I also looked around that afternoon and found an area I thought I would hunt a couple days. I climbed a mountain before light Thursday morning and immediately heard a mountain gobbler. I hunted him hard a couple days and saw him both days but could not get him away from a hen. He was a true monarch. The last day I had an opportunity to harvest a smaller gobbler and took it. Still a trophy in my eyes. I was hunting around 8500 ft elevation. I will definitely be going back to the area. I believe the area has more elk than anywhere I have ever been. The last morning I had ten come by me within 100 yards with three of them already having branched antlers. One afternoon my wife and I drove within 15 miles of the cabin and counted over 300 elk in the meadows. One herd had at least 80 animals. Everywhere I went in the area I saw elk. I also found a young bull elk dead and half eaten on the mountain I was hunting. It was covered with grass. The next morning it had been moved about 50 yards. With the puncture marks in his neck I think it was probably killed by a mountain lion.   

Rio





Mountain gobbler



High country early one morning

[spaightlabs]

Glad you had a great trip!  Those mountains birds are earned with sweat and boot leather for sure.

racing around at 8500 is tough work - RESPECT!

[hunter22]

The mountains did not bother me much when I was 40. I can honestly say at 65 they are pretty tough though. I am just thankful to have been blessed with my good health. 

[packmule]

Congratulations and thanks for the great photos.  Sounds like a great trip.

[Jbird22]

Congrats!! Sounds like an awesome hunt. The scenery sure is nice too!

[kyturkeyhunter4]

Congrats! Nice turkey, that's some beautiful country out there.

[cramerhunts]

Congratulations on a sweet trip and nice birds.

[alloutdoors]

Congrats!

[jordanz7935]

Congrats! Looks like you had an awesome trip. Sure is some beautiful country out there!

[mgm1955]

Great pics. Congrats!!

[hobbes]

Congrats on the CO birds! 
I need to start applying for their limited tags again and do a similar hunt.  The San Isabelle NF is where I hunted most while we lived there.

[hunter22]

Hobbes,

Not sure if it was the time I went to Bonnie this year, the weather, or what but I sure did not see the numbers of birds I saw the first time I went a few years ago. I had to hunt hard to kill a gobbler this year. The Reservoir is dried up since Colorado had to release the water to the state of Kansas. What once was a beautiful lake with camping, boating, and fishing recreation is a grown up mess. Looks like the whitetails are doing really well though. I have several deer preference points and may go back deer hunting someday. I deer hunted there once and took a really nice buck.

I have never seen as much game as I saw in San Isabel National Forest. The elk herd blew me away. There are several large private ranches in the area I stayed that do outfitted elk hunts. I got some of their phone numbers and plan on calling some of them to see if they sell trespass permits for turkeys. Most of the locals do not consider a turkey as a game animal. I plan on going back there next year and hopefully hunt the huge mountain gobbler that beat me this year. Not sure if it is normal but that Merriam's roosted in the same place three straight nights. I had him patterned and really thought I had him killed the last day I hunted. I think if I could have hunted him a couple more days I would have got him but I sure cannot complain about the gobbler I harvested.     

[spaightlabs]

You hit it on the head - old Bonny, she ain't what she used to be since we had to send the water to KS - a true shame, as that was a true gem on the prairie.  It was not uncommon to have 100,000 snow geese on there during the migration, and of course a ton of other waterfowl.

There are still turkeys out there, as you note, but fewer by far.

[LI Outdoorsman]

 great story..thats pure mountain gobbler hunting at its finest right there!
Congrats

[West Augusta]

Sounds like a fun time Rickey.