Will this weather ever end?!

[Sit Still...]

just woke up to snow on the ground here in Edgewood.....AGAIN! Jeez, is this weather ever going to end and start acting like real spring or what? I'm glad I am tagged out and not going out tomorrow morning. My first year turkey hunting and had great success due to a large amount of help from my friend Jim in NC (Cut N Run) and also reading a bunch of posts here at T&TH forum. Two beautiful Merriams last Sunday morning.
How is everyone else doing here in New Mexico (the home of freak weather)? I hope the shotguns have been talking, the birds have been falling, and the hunters are happy!

[Gobblerman]

Hello, Steve,....good to have you here!  I haven't been through Edgewood in years,.....need to get over that way again.  Nice picture, by the way, and glad to see that the weather has not dampened your success.  Yes, it has definitely been an unusual spring season here in NM. 
 
The cold, wet weather is certainly a welcome change from our typical bone-dry springs, but it has made the hunting a bit of a challenge.  In the Lincoln, we have had three weekends in a row with snowy conditions, and throw in the wind and it has really got the birds in an odd mood.  Lot's of them out there, but most have not wanted to play ball.  We have managed to fool a few over this way, but considering the number of gobblers around, and the number of hunters chasing them, we have not done much damage to the gobbler population. 
 
I have heard rumors that the turkey numbers are up over your way in the Gila, and the southwest part of the state, in general.  I hope those rumors are true.  Congratulations on a couple of fine gobblers there!
 
Jim  

[Bar X Bar]

Great Job on those birds Steve!   Man, we were given the "full New Mexico treatment" this year!!!
Had to hunt in wind, rain, snow, and even some frost and sunshine!

Good news was -there were plenty of trophy birds running around, and no matter what mother nature had in store for us-  the toms were still doing their thing and we got lucky and figured them out! 

Booming, on the rise- both good ways to describe our turkey population here.  Moisture, and 10 year old burns have provided critical habitat that these birds needed for poult survival.  We are only beginning to see the possibilities!

[Gobblerman]

Ethan, ...I'm glad somebody figured them out.  I have never seen so many finicky birds down this way as we encountered this year.  I believe it is a function of the numbers of birds we have had in the last several years.  The population numbers skyrocketed and the gobblers have become more difficult to call...probably because there are so many hens around that they don't have to go looking for them.  We did manage to find some responsive gobblers, but they were few and far between. 
 
I used to pick and choose the birds I wanted to take, but anymore if a mature gobbler shows up, I am much more likely to shoot him now than let him walk.  Also, used to take out other hunters later in the season and have a good chance of calling them in a bird.  Not so likely anymore.  Hunted with two other guys this spring the last two weekends of the season....neither of them killed a bird, although we did get a couple in close, but they came from a bad direction.  We had a lot of birds express interest, but none of them would commit and most would gobble and move away, regardless of what we tried with them.  Pretty frustrating!
 
Jim

[Bar X Bar]

Jim- You are dead on.....we experienced a little of everything up here.
Early season we were cold and dry, we were able to hunt feeding patterns, and routes to roosting areas.  We also called in a few toms that had not yet found hens.
Mid Season- warmed up and the birds turned on hot for 5 weekdays, the hens were not in heat yet and the gobblers were ready.......text book turkey hunting, locate roost, strut zone, and hen flock, get in there 1 hour before daylight.
Then we got some snow and high wind- toms were breeding hens- quietly I might add.  So my late season hunters were successful on the fly down, and also walking ridges mid-day, persuading lonely toms to come have a look.

I have NEVER seen such big flocks in NM,  5 or 6 mature toms to every 15 hens, plus Jakes.  I shot video of Numerous fights, breedings, strutting, and drumming.  Action packed, but not a whole lot of talking....
Hens carried on in the trees, hit the ground, run to a tom who gobbled on the ground, repeat.....
I should burn you a DVD of my highlights.

[Gobblerman]

Would love to have a copy of that!  Let me know if you put something together.
 
Jim