Colorado Mountain Turkey questions

[RyGuy]

For those of you who hunt merriams in Colorado and Wyoming, when do you usually hear the most gobbles? I went on a hunt last year on opening day (April 10) and I heard a few gobbles, but the turkeys were mostly concentrated on private land. I think as the season progresses they move out of the valley bottoms and up into the forest more. Is that true?
I’ve also hunted towards the end of the season in years past (may 10). That time there wasn’t much for turkeys on the private but I also had trouble finding them on public. We heard 1 gobble in 4 days of hunting. Had they moved up into higher elevations? Or had all of the hens been bred and they had no need to gobble?
This year I plan on hunting in the middle of the season (April 23). Am I overthinking this?

 

[vanish]

Finding them is the hard part.

Merriams in Colorado are highly localized and highly mobile. They often live in terrain where their gobble's volume is seemingly reduced due to reflection, making them difficult to locate. Once you find them, they are generally pretty easy to get in range.

 

[LuketheDog]

I've been after turkeys here for 4 years now, I've seen plenty of turkeys but I've only heard 2 gobbles.

 

[kansasdad]

I’ve also hunted towards the end of the season in years past (may 10). That time there wasn’t much for turkeys on the private but I also had trouble finding them on public. We heard 1 gobble in 4 days of hunting. Had they moved up into higher elevations? Or had all of the hens been bred and they had no need to gobble?

Everyday that goes by, there will be fewer birds on the mountain, with harvest taking place.

In Kansas with our six week season, more than 50% of the birds are killed in the first ten days. Vocal and dumb birds get whacked easiest, the smart sneaky (and quiet ones) have a better chance of continuing to live.

 

[Deckerp]

The CO zone I have hunted the last few years seems to hold Turkey's through most or all of the season and possibly year round as I have also found fresh sign in the fall season though I haven't killed one in the fall. Even with that I don't always hear a lot of gobbles - especially once that early morning time is gone.

 

[RyGuy]

Hunted yesterday 4/11 and was able to locate a gobbling Tom. He came to my calls, I just couldn’t get the deal done. I will continue to hunt periodically throughout the season and update this thread on my gobbling observations.

 

[BrokenChicken]

i went out opening morning in central front range area. got to a spot little ways in.
made some calls, heard few hens clucking around but no gobblers.
heard another hunter somewhere far in the distance at 8am pop off 2 quick and a 3rd few sec delayed shot.
kept calling every 10-15 min. snoozed right before 9am for maybe 15-20 min.
when i woke up to make more calls i see a bunch of turkeys behind brush about 15 yards (14.5 to be exact) and my 2 decoys are just another 4 or 5 yards past it.
5 hens walk out 1 by 1, into an a perfect shooting lane between me and my decoys, as they walk out i count them 1,2,3,4,5 "damn all hens" what i thought to myself, as i thought it, i see another turkey in the brush and its a Tom, all strutted up following behind 5 hens. they must have walked into my decoys, walked around them and closer to me, as hens kept moving, Tom walked out into the opening, i waited for 1 hen that was close to him to move away, and he got a perfect neck shot. at 14.5 yards pattern is still tight, so it took half the neck out and he just dropped.

to answer OP's question this Tom came in silent even though he was all strutting and stomping around all puffed up.
i did NOT hear any other gobbles that morning, just bunch of Hens being vocal.

9am opener i was tagged out. about 7 1/2" beard, small spurs so prob a 2nd year bird. 18lbs bird is now in the freezer.
good luck to everyone else still hitting the woods

 

[cedahm]

Everyday that goes by, there will be fewer birds on the mountain, with harvest taking place.

Exactly. In the flock we've been hunting, Friday night when we roosted them, there were 5 gobblers, and 6 Jakes (might have been more Jakes)

5 hunting days later, there are now 3 remaining gobblers and 3 remaining Jakes. If everything breaks my way tomorrow morning, there'll be another gobbler out of the pool, too.

I'm sure it's different locally, too, but in this particular area, the birds are just starting to get hot and heavy. Still in a winter-sized flock. That will also change in the coming weeks as Hens start to lay clutches and the gobblers and gangs of jakes disperse and go into 'search' mode.

 

[RyGuy]

My buddy sent me this picture:

Yesterday and said they were standing right off a forest service road in the AM. Looks like a younger Tom. Still lots of hens in the flock

 

[RyGuy]

Okay, so I’m going to recap my turkey season here in an attempt to answer my own questions and maybe provide info for anyone who might stumble across this thread in the future.
I hunted the front range one day of opening week and heard one turkey gobble. I called him in and should’ve shot him, but I moved, he saw me and took off. I also saw this snake (yellow bellied racer) on the trail which was cool.

The next week I hunted the same place and again found a gobbling turkey. But this time he seemed wise to the game and was not interested in my calls. I heard his gobbles fade into the distance as the sun set on my afternoon hunt. These tracks in the dirt were as close to seeing a turkey as I got.

The third week of season my dad and I packed up and headed West to the mountains to spend a weekend chasing birds in a place that we hunted for the first time last year. We were greeted with less than ideal turkey hunting weather:

Thankfully it warmed up a bit as the weekend went on. We saw lots of turkeys on private and heard them all gobbling like crazy.

On the second morning I shot this nice merriams while walking back to the truck from a spot that we had been set up calling.
We were watching a flock on private and they must’ve circled around behind us, or this one split off and was coming in quietly. Either way it worked out!
We almost got my dad a Tom too, but they also quietly snuck in from behind us and spotted us moving. They bolted before he could get a shot.
I learned a lot about CO OTC turkeys this year. Mainly I learned that they seem to come in quietly, and I need to be more patient.
Gobbling seemed fairly consistent throughout the season, but they got more wary. I also think that the birds were more mobile later in the season. Next year I plan on hunting the 4th and 5th weeks of the season to see if it’s much different then.

 

[Mudranger1]

IMO if you like calling it only gets better in May

 

[Westexas92]

Question from a New turkey hunter.

I'm going to start hunting Turkey next year in CO and have been doing quite a bit of research but still have a ton to learn. What tips would ya'll give to a new turkey hunter? Specifically, what terrain features should I be looking for when scouting? I know turkeys need water everyday and they rely on their eyes and ears to survive but I don't know what kind of patterns they have on a daily basis. I would be very appreciative of any tips on where to start when new to turkey hunting. Thanks.

Reply

 

[RyGuy]

Question from a New turkey hunter.

I'm going to start hunting Turkey next year in CO and have been doing quite a bit of research but still have a ton to learn. What tips would ya'll give to a new turkey hunter? Specifically, what terrain features should I be looking for when scouting? I know turkeys need water everyday and they rely on their eyes and ears to survive but I don't know what kind of patterns they have on a daily basis. I would be very appreciative of any tips on where to start when new to turkey hunting. Thanks.

Reply

Look for mixed ponderosa forest. Water hasn’t seemed very important in my experience.
Get yourself up to 10 posts and we can talk over PMs.

 

[Westexas92]

Tjays what

Look for mixed ponderosa forest. Water hasn’t seemed very important in my experience.
Get yourself up to 10 posts and we can talk over PMs.

Look for mixed ponderosa forest. Water hasn’t seemed very important in my experience.
Get yourself up to 10 posts and we can talk over PMs.

That's what I'm trying to do now. Once I get to ten I'll message you. Thanks for the help

 

[Elktrack]

I don’t know about CO bitds but I’ve knocked the snood off a bunch of ID turkeys. Water isn’t a factor here. I have good luck in areas that have openings. Doesn’t have to be a legit field but they like areas that have some open clearings. They’ll roost near that and hit the open areas when they come down in the morning. A farmers field is usually a turkey magnet but they like clear cuts too.

I like to move around and call early in the evening/late afternoon. They’ll gobble from the roost and then you know where they’ll be in the morning.

When he’s got hens he usually won’t come to the call but the jakes will. If he’s looking for love you’re in luck. It’s a lot like elk hunting in the rut.

I’m no expert but I’ve put a lot of miles and time in killing turkeys. It used to be a big deal around here if you got a Tom. Kinda funny. People would talk about it. “Did you hear Dude killed a big Tom?”
Now you can get a handful of tags and shoot a bunch of em.

People shoot em in the ditches along the road and think it’s the easiest thing ever. (Kinda like Norris rd elk)
But if you step in the woods and hunt like you should, it’s a challenge.

Good luck with your new addiction!

 

[Westexas92]

I don’t know about CO bitds but I’ve knocked the snood off a bunch of ID turkeys. Water isn’t a factor here. I have good luck in areas that have openings. Doesn’t have to be a legit field but they like areas that have some open clearings. They’ll roost near that and hit the open areas when they come down in the morning. A farmers field is usually a turkey magnet but they like clear cuts too.

I like to move around and call early in the evening/late afternoon. They’ll gobble from the roost and then you know where they’ll be in the morning.

When he’s got hens he usually won’t come to the call but the jakes will. If he’s looking for love you’re in luck. It’s a lot like elk hunting in the rut.

I’m no expert but I’ve put a lot of miles and time in killing turkeys. It used to be a big deal around here if you got a Tom. Kinda funny. People would talk about it. “Did you hear Dude killed a big Tom?”
Now you can get a handful of tags and shoot a bunch of em.

People shoot em in the ditches along the road and think it’s the easiest thing ever. (Kinda like Norris rd elk)
But if you step in the woods and hunt like you should, it’s a challenge.

Good luck with your new addiction!

Thanks for the tips man, I really appreciate it. I'll definitely keep these in mind and try them out. I'm super excited to get in the woods and chase them. Hopefully you'll see me post some photos next season. Good luck in 2023 with elk and turkey.

 

[Elktrack]

I’m sure you will get it done. Can’t wait to see your pics. Have fun

 

[howl]

Question from a New turkey hunter.

I'm going to start hunting Turkey next year in CO and have been doing quite a bit of research but still have a ton to learn. What tips would ya'll give to a new turkey hunter? Specifically, what terrain features should I be looking for when scouting? I know turkeys need water everyday and they rely on their eyes and ears to survive but I don't know what kind of patterns they have on a daily basis. I would be very appreciative of any tips on where to start when new to turkey hunting. Thanks.

Reply

Find birds. Invite hardcore turkey junkie to hunt them with you. Usually later in the season after they've already tagged out and are jonesin' hard.

 

[justangus]

Awesome thread, going opening weekend this year. Thanks for all the info. Hope to come back with some success

 

[Foggy Mountain]

Everyday that goes by, there will be fewer birds on the mountain, with harvest taking place.

In Kansas with our six week season, more than 50% of the birds are killed in the first ten days. Vocal and dumb birds get whacked easiest, the smart sneaky (and quiet ones) have a better chance of continuing to live.

Is that 50% of the harvest in the first ten days which is prob similar most places or is it 50 of total initial population?
Most guys hunt the early season, some tag out and the remaining birds get pressured and smarter so the numbers quickly wind down. I’d be surprised if the let you kill 1/2 of the population