NM 2009 Spring Hunt Report

[3turkeys]

My first trip to NM for Turkey was Apr 2009.  We went to Ruidoso because a friend had a place for us to stay there.  We scouted for a day and a half in the Lincoln NF around Ruidoso.  Opening AM my partner got his longbeard about 10 minutes out of the truck.  Second day, same place - I went across the road.  I got my longbeard at 8:22 AM.  Third day we went to the Sacremento Mts. (about 2 hr drive)  Got there late but found a good spot about 10:00.  Didn't plan to, but we stayed all day and I got my 2nd longbeard at 6:00 PM (22 pounds + on a scale).  My partner played with others on several days but no caps poped.  We also caught trout in the river there. 
 
We are from Louisiana and hunted Florida, Louisiana and Oklahoma before we got to NM.  One of the best hunts we had and we had never been there before.  If the rest of the state is like that, it must be great all over.  Some hunting pressure but not too bad.
 
We were disappointed that the birds we got didn't have WHITE on the tailfeathers - they were buff.  The biologist told us that they were definately Meriams.  Are there areas that have Meriams with white tailfeathers?

[Gobblerman]

Hey, 3turkeys, welcome to the forum and thanks for posting here about your NM hunt.  Great to hear that you had a good hunt here in our state.  We do have some really good public lands hunting, especially in the Lincoln NF. 
 
The buff coloration on the tail feathers you described is pretty typical of the birds here....at least in the southern part of the state.  For whatever reason, the Merriams in the northern states tend to have more white in their coloration.
 
Our birds are supposedly pure Merriams, but I am not sure there has really been any serious genetic testing done.  I can tell you that the buff coloration has been the norm for the past forty years I have been hunting here. 
 
Unfortunately, Rios have been introduced in recent years into a couple of places that will eventually result in contamination of our Merriams genetics.  Two of those introductions have occurred north of Ruidoso, so it is not out of the question that the birds you harvested in that area might not be pure Merriams.  The ones further south (Sac's) were likely to be pure-strain Merriams, but they still do not have really white feathers.
 
At any rate, I'm glad to hear you had a successful hunt in NM, and once again, welcome to the forum.....hope you stick around and become a regular contributor.
 
Jim

[NMblackgold]

Hi Gobblerman, did you do any fall turkey hunting?  I am curious if you saw any young birds while out and about.  I have been tied up with Pronghorn hunters since mid Aug, so kinda missed out on the fall birds.  Hope all is well

[Gobblerman]

No, Murray, I didn't make it out this fall for turkeys.  Had a big family gathering going on during the hunt and just didn't have time to get it done.  I am not the fanatic about fall turkey hunting that I am about the spring hunt, so I rarely make a serious effort to hunt them in the fall.  Too much big game opportunity here in the fall that distracts me!
 
I have heard from reliable sources that the hatch in the Lincoln and Gila were both very good this year.  My son was up this last weekend near Cloudcroft and said he saw several hens with about thirty young birds, some of which were only half-grown.  Must have been some late nesting going on.  He also said he saw a good flock of jakes, as well. 
 
How have the pronghorn hunts been going? 
 
Jim

[NMblackgold]

Glad to hear about the young birds near Cloudcroft, I was worried about that area as we didn't see a single jake in 8 days of hunting.  I too am not crazy about the fall deal, but would like to give it more of an effort maybe next year.  It actually may help with locating more birds for spring....maybe not.
 
Our pronghorn hunts went well, most of the big bucks were tied up on the eastern part of the ranch were the rains hit.  They were hard to get close too. I had two bowhunters in and they harvested one between them, a heavy 13.5 inch buck.  I took a fairly heavy 14" buck with a rifle and my dad took a 12.5" buck on the last day of the hunt.  We had more bucks on the place than ever but I would say the trophy quality was down a bit.  Saw one for sure that would break 80", another in the 78" range.  Lots in the 73" to 76" range though.  When is your next meeting Jim?
 
 

[Gobblerman]

Where is the ranch you are hunting antelope on?
Our next meeting is Tuesday, October 13th at G&F.  I will try to remember send you an email reminder about it, in case you are around.
Jim

[NMblackgold]

Near Conchas Lake.  Jim, keep sending me reminders for your meetings, I can't predict our schedule but will be there when not out of townl.
 
Take care

[Gobblerman]

Okay,...I'll try to get you on the email list for the meeting notices. 
Jim

[Durango Kid]

Gobblerman,

How has the snow been down your way? I'm in SW Colorado but always get a NM turkey tag as well. We have a ton of snow up here and it's slightly concerning to see how the spring hunt will fare this year. I always look forward to hunting "The Land of Enchantment"!

[Gobblerman]

Hi, DK.....Yes, we have had more snow this winter down here in southern NM than we've seen in decades.  I think our birds are faring okay, but if things continue as they are, we will be plowing through three foot drifts to get to them.  Much of our high country is inaccessible, and probably will stay that way for another month,....and that is assuming that we don't have any more big storms.  Our higher mountains down here probably average four to five feet of snow each winter, and we have already had over ten feet this year. 
 
Our birds are stacked-up right now in the lower elevations and I don't foresee them making any major moves upward for a while.  That situation could make for a lot of hunters crowding into much smaller areas this season in search of gobblers.  I would suspect that you have much the same situation up your way, although I suppose that it is more normal for you than it is for us.
 
Jim