Black Hills turkeys
 

Hey all I am heading out to the hill city s.d. area on a spring turkey hunt any advice for me, I was out their last year also and didnt have any luck at all..Any advice would be greatly appreciated..Thanks guys, I was only out their a couple days and didnt get to learn hardly any areas and got skunked didnt even see a gobbler.Hopen to get some help and try to get my first merrium turkey....

RE: Black Hills turkeys
 

Hey man, stop by the Team 2 thread and say hi. We don't want to replace you with an alternate.:D:D

Good luck out there, those merriams are awesome looking birds.

RE: Black Hills turkeys
 

pyclub1, when will you be out there?

RE: Black Hills turkeys
 

we are leaving on the 13th and are going to hunt 14,15,16 and come home the 17th.

RE: Black Hills turkeys
 

I hunted for merriams in 2003 and it was around that time in Apriland did we have a heck of time getting the gobblers away from the hens. After awhile we were just wasting our time calling because the hens would just go in the opposite direction and take the gobblers with them. the hens were also not going to their nest yet so they stayed together all day. Finally by the third day we patterned the the birds and we knew where they wanted to go so he sat there in silence and just waited and that was the only way we shot our birds.Not asmuch fun not calling but when you go all that way you sometimes have to resort to that. Good luck on your hunt!

RE: Black Hills turkeys
 

we hunted the black hills the first week of may last year and we're going back the same time this year. we heard lots of gobble and each got our gobblers. we hunt in the sturgis area and everyone has told me timing is the key. we had to call the hens to us and the gobblers followed. fighting purrs is what got them in close

RE: Black Hills turkeys
 

The thing about us going out early is like last year we left and two days later they had 14 inches of snow in the hill city area, I am debaiting weather to wait and go in may where the weather should be better but the birds will have been educated or go early and try for a uneducated bird and chance the weather, its just that we have to plan our vacations, we cant just decide on a whim that this is the good weekend by looking at the forcast and decide to go...Well I guess its a horse apiece right..

RE: Black Hills turkeys
 

I shot a merriams in the Black Hills area two years ago. AWESOME. I had gobblers hollering each morning (3 days). Saw turkey, elk, mule deer and rocky mtn sheep each day. It was down into the single digits each morning and up to around 40 during the day. When I shot my turkey (in late afternoon) it was snowing then. ON the walk out I saw a herd of elk too. The next am I called in a jake for my hunting partner and it was snowing then too. Snow won't stop them at all.

The best advise I could give to you would be to get there an hour or better before light and do some owl calling. They seemed to respond to that fairly well. The ridges were "hot spots" for the roosting sites. During the day especially after 9-10 am the toms could be seen walking along some of the roads practically anywhere.

RE: Black Hills turkeys
 

thanks for the info guys I appreciate it greatly, nice to know theirs a few guys willing to help out a fellow hunter, hope the weather straightens up for us...Oh well will be nice to get away for a few days, come back and then its tournament time....Birds are finally strutting and gobbling fairly well here in WI...Seen a bunch struted out in a field today, got the blood pumping...Thanks again

RE: Black Hills turkeys
 

The North and south hills are both good but the North hill area near Deadwood is productive for toms. Get a topo of the area and talk to rangers also get a Nat. forest map. Good luck!