Turkey help!!!

[hannibal]

alright gents, here is yet another chance to help out a couple of first time turkeys- hunters that is. My buddy- this is his first hunting trip ever, and I are going to Cranbrook next week for the tail end of turkey season. We have a place to stay, but any help on where to look for them big birds would help. From the sounds of it all you guys tagged out anyway so you may as well help us find some Cranbrook turks. The guns are patterned, the calls have been practiced and I want to help my friend with his first ever hunt.

[mark]

Head to at least beaverdell to rock cr. or east more, get a few clicks off the highway and go for a long hike clucking every 200 yards, youl hear them gobble from a long ways off, take cover and call em in. when they are at 30 yards, blow their head off. Its easy!

[model88]

Well somebody forgot to tell the turkeys around here about that Me and the kid walked for hours the other day, cluckin my fool head off and not a single bird. But it was still fun

88

[mark4]

When the sun comes up the gobblers start making noise, make darn sure you are out there at about six in the morning, walking around with your ears on!!! Use lot's of locater calls at first light and keep hiking till you hear them. There are many places to find turkey's but you may have to cover a fair bit of ground and keep trying for a few days. Baynes lake area, Kookanusa lake, Newgate, Jaffray, Kikomen road, Bull river forest service road are all good bet's, Fort steele, Radium, Skookumchuck, Fairmont all have ton's of turkey's too. The bright sunny mornings are best- you shouldn't have too much trouble if you get up super early and hike around these places religiously. Good luck.

[Beaverhunter]

We were up the Christian Valley last weekend and didn't seem to be alot of birds I would go farther east. We did manage to located a few though and was it ever fun!

[Muleycatcher]

Just got back from Trail area, was out there for 4 days..hiked my butt off, heard a couple birds but they only responded to locator calls, nothing on the hen calls..saw lots of kill sites, but all the birds that were still alive were super spooky.

[huntwriter]

Just got back from Trail area, was out there for 4 days..hiked my butt off, heard a couple birds but they only responded to locator calls, nothing on the hen calls..saw lots of kill sites, but all the birds that were still alive were super spooky.

That’s what happens once turkeys figure out what a hunter looks like and what it means for them. They gobble their heads off to locater calls but shut up to turkey hen calls. That doesn’t mean that they don’t come looking for the hen. It just takes them longer and they are quiet.

I remember that I posted here two years ago that this would happen once turkey hunting becomes more popular. I said that in response to somebody saying that turkeys are stupid and getting one is like shooting fish in a barrel.

A hunter-educated turkey is one of the most challenging critters to hunt. To get one of these toms it needs good calling (exact sound and pitch), perfect set ups and patience, patience, and then some more patience.

I never will forget that particular turkey hunt in Illinois. For five hours I sat at the base of an old hickory tree yelping, purring and clucking a blue streak from the heavens. Then all of a sudden the tom just stood there watching me. Only God knows where he came from and how he got there, because I never heard a sound from the bird not even a rustle in the leaves. After I shot him I wanted to get up but my legs and butt were so numb from sitting for fiver hours on hard uneven ground I couldn’t move for a while.

[hannibal]

Thanks for the advice guys. Next check in is after my trip. Here's hoping i was listening instead of talking.

[hannibal]

well, 5 days in Cranbrook. Lots of Elk and Whitetail, but not so much for Turkeys. We drove and glassed and hiked and called and asked farmers and locals and got great help to find some hotspots, but the only legal toms we saw were on the other side of "no hunting" fences on busy rural roads. Damn birds know where to live. Great experience and steep learning curve, but i still was away from work and the house for five days.

[mark]

Were they still gobbling??? Coming to calls???