Im heading to Wyoming for the 2012 spring hunt...

[perrysbirds]

Hi everyone...

I have just about confirmed a trip to Wyoming for the next years 2012 spring turkey hunt.I am looking to get a merimans towards my grandslam.
I am looking to get educated on hunting Wyoming.I have a killed a dozen or more easterns so I do have some turkey hunting experience.I will be hunting in Crook County and plan on being there on April 14th for the opener(Ive paid my deposit to reserve my spot) and from my research I can buy one tag over the counter and have to enter a draw for a second,correct me if Im wrong.
I will be hunting private land.I dont know much about the tag system in this state so I am just looking to figure all of this out.I will have access to a 4X4 while I am there...
I am however concerned just a little about the weather but hunting the private land I would like to be there on the opener and this way it gets me a better chance of having a sucessful trip..
I dont mind it being cold at all but I dont want 2 feet of snow either...
Educate please if you can..
Thanks Perry

[turkey junky]

hi im new to the forums & i just registerd to leave you a msg about your 2012 merriams hunt in wyoming & what to expext & to try & educate u a bit
??? um 1st ill start by saying ive never hunted WY but i have hunted MT,NE
merriams & have taken 8/9 merriams in 5 yrs my dad another 3 or 4 in the same time we do have a idea of western merriams hunting we hunt on the WY border in both MT,NE the land isnt that differnt... but 1st off ill start off by saying i would avoid the 1st couple wks of the season out west the birds prity much stay flocked up well into may & sometimes into june!!! plus it really popular the 1st wk or 2 for the locals 2 hit the turkey woods hard then after its open 4 a month or so they forget about turkeys & are doing other things
its went like this for me out west merriams hunting in the mtns the earlyer i went the worst we did the only time i went west & got skunked was on the wk of may 1st got 7 inches of snow & had cold/rain weather all wk birds were not vocal becouse they dont have to gobble if they have all the hens in front of them so we had a bad trip!!! the latter ive went in the spring the better merriams hunting ive had actually the best hunting ive had for any sub species out west the last wk of the seasons no people out hunting the birds & they have had a chance to forget about the opening day guys bumping them & calling loud/alot!!! htye have a chance to spread out a bit the longer u wait! they become lonely & run to a hen calling especialy if u roost 1 the nite b4 useing a turkey call go back in that area useing the same call ive had deadly success doing that!!! they actually become more vocal as the season goes on if u can beleave it! so maybe change ur hunt dates to the last wk or so but its up to u man...???
but expect bad bad weather on opening day out west & u wont be upset if its nice out out!!! also people claim u can get loud & bossy with a merriams gobbler on the call & that they are somehow dumber then a eastern what most folks hunt? not true at least for me but i ONLY HUNT PUBLIC LAND GOING FOR A PUBLIC LAND SLAM JUST NEED A OSCEOLA CANT WAIT 2 GO AT THEM AGEAIN!!! maybe its that they lived on public land? but i seem to encounter the not so dumb merriams they will hit the ground walking away from ur best softist calling if u pour it on them they dont like the loud cuts/cackles & 6-8 typical hunter yelps YES THEY WILL GOBBLE THEM SELFS INTO A SORE THROAT but u cant tag the gobble or eat it or mount it!!! a loud sharp cluck or putt followed by a 2-4 soft realistic yelp is deadly medicine on a hard headed turkey any wear!!! u may find a hot 2yr old that will come running from a mile away also so try what u wont out west but for the most part i dont just sit & wear my calls out try n 2 call a long range bird in out west merriams have A.D.D. & soon wonder over to another canyon & start gobble n if u lose there interest!!! i roost a bird the nite b4 get close in the morning figure out what/wear he like to be & go after fly down & try 2 work him if he outsmarts me i know wear i will be eaither the next day or later that evening around fly up time another deadly trick on merriams!!! a lonely tom will cover ground in the evening if he hears a hen in area he feels safe in... merriams live in a area wear there isnt much farm fields/crops
so they just wonder the big hills/timber & its edges useally prairies they are a differnt creature then a farm land eastern they move constintly & its commen for me to think about how i will peel out & re circle unseen on the birds when im sit n down to work them the 1st time they will make u look dumb if u just keep following them around try n 2 call 1 back 2 a spot theve allready been that day!!! just try 2 spot them & get in front & try the silent treatment a cluck or 2 & purrs when they are act n like they dont like the heavy calling... also they like a decoy more time then not out west in merriams country to me at least... i grew up hunting MINNESOTA coulee bluff country easterns & it took me a few yrs to figure out they are not as dumb as all these folks claim at least on public land out west get as close as u dare to get to the gobbler pop a dec out catch ur breath make some soft hen talk & get the gun up & wait em if u know u are in there close... & if that dosent work everywear ive hunted merriams out west was in a area that let me move around & slip up on birds & keep contact with them even if they gave me the slip!!! theres canyons & buttes & folds in the land that make it ez to run & gun on birds in most areas out west but 4 me i tend to bump a lot of birds out west becouse there is a lot of birds out west so in that case i find the honey hole they like to spend time in & let my butt pad kill the gobbler 4 me patience kills a lot of turkeys any wear u hunt em.... also pack a coyote howler & elk bugle call if ur going to WY,MT,SD,CO,NM or NE hit it at nite & they go nuts use it at dark not to early merriams will gobble in the pitch black of nite so u cant be to late ive found!!!???

p.s. let me know how u do & if u need a partner lol ill find some public land in the area i cant pay to hunt turkeys when i can do it myself!!!
good luck out in merriams country they are my fav to hunt by far!!!

[perrysbirds]

Well I dont have my airfair yet but I have checked into the flights and I can get one at any time of the season.I will be hunting 30,000 acres of private land..how much did I think about this today at work(Alot)Im booking my airfare next friday so I need to make up my mine on the dates...
Something tells me to be there on the opener and another tells me to wait til sometime in May...man this is a tough one...
Why couldnt I have went to Florida or texas next year...it would have been way easier..lol
I know one thing is for sure my Ontario season will start on April 25th and usually I have my 2 birds by the end of the first week...Maybe I hunt til like the 5th of May up here and get my rear out there on the 6th or 7th..
Tough decision for sure....I will make my mind up by next Friday....

[charlie elk]

If the land you are hunting is at a high elevation you will want to wait until later in the season.  If not then you will want to hunt early.  The turkeys winter low and migrate up in the spring.  When they make their move is weather dependent.
Personally I would not make my reservation or purchase a ticket this far out.  Unless at the very least I had all my research done. 
Many outfitters in WY particularly in Crook county conduct many of their hunts on public land or private land with public walk in.  Ask your contact some very pointed questions about that.
There are so many places to hunt in that area of WY unless you need a guide or lodging you can hunt  for free.

[turkey junky]

well u r addicted to turkey hunting 4 sure if you are thinking about flights for next yr!!! i do not fly i hate it & dont want 2 risk my gun going miss n we drove 23-24 hrs to SOUTH FLORIDA 2yrs ago they looked at me funny with MINNESOTA plates down in FLORIDA!!! when i went early to hunt merriams i was think n the same way as you 1 part of me & my father said go early there are so many birds out there i will get 1 for sure go early the other part of me said wait till the middle of may 2 put the odds in our favor for get n good to decint weather & good weather out west means NO SNOW or 20-50 MPH WINDS we went early & got 7inch of snow its not uncommon 2 get snow out west even in early may!!! 30,000 acres u have it maid if turkeys are on the property!!! if u only have high ground/hills/mtns & such on ur property then u deffinatly want to go later in the month to let the gobblers at least start 2 spread out/up into the canyons/high ground... if the land is mostly low/creek type terrain wear the merriams winter then u cant really go wrong going later in the month eaither if they winter in a area all winter there will still be plenty of birds hanging around in the middle of spring its a core area the birds feel safe!!!
they all dont go run up into the hills as soon as spring weather hits merriams country!!! the hunting just gets better with time out in merriams land!!! ive ran into guys from all over the country when chase n merriams & anybody whos been out there more then once & or got dumped on by snow out west dureing a april/early may merriams hunt has figured out go west later in the season fight the urge to want to be the 1st guy into the woods if u can but its up to u man just think it out... i go chase rios 1st becouse it seems u cant get out to rio country to early even if u do snow really isnt a worry if ur out west far enuff... plus if rios are grouped up u can at least find them becouse the are kinda vocal plus there tends to be bigger groups of rios then merriams that ive seen at least!? but i hunt rios in the mid-western prairie so they can be seen ez also & if u stick with the group long enuff u can useally pull a love sick tom or 2 away from the main flock plus there really isnt a worry for a dumping of snow wear i chase rios!!! then ill eaither hit another rio state or try my MINNESOTA easterns then ill run out west useally around may 20 give or take a week & try the merriams... next year add FLORIDA to the list in early march 6th-7th!!! just need the public land OSCEOLA for the PUBLIC LAND SLAM
im going for it hard next year!!! if i get the OSCEOLA then im going for the SINGLE SEASON PUBLIC LAND SLAM!!! hope i helped you a little??? keep in touch

[perrysbirds]

Yeah I want to book my trip and now its done...I am certainly an addict..lol
The more i keep reading these post and listening to what people say..the more I am thinking of hunting here in Ontario first and heading to Wyoming around the 7th of may....
I know here in ontario the birds sometimes are still flocked up til just before the season starts on the 25th of April..
Keep the good posts coming guys..Im listening for sure..
The bottom line is if im spending a good chunk of change I want to make sure I get a bird to bring back home...it wont be nice to travel to the moutains and not return with a gobbler....

[charlie elk]

The bottom line is if im spending a good chunk of change I want to make sure I get a bird to bring back home...it wont be nice to travel to the moutains and not return with a gobbler....

It is sad you feel this way[:o] there is so much more to a hunt than bagging the game. Mountain hunting turkeys is an adventure in and of itself bagging the bird is just the cherry on top the cream.

[perrysbirds]

ORIGINAL: charlie elk

The bottom line is if im spending a good chunk of change I want to make sure I get a bird to bring back home...it wont be nice to travel to the moutains and not return with a gobbler....

It is sad you feel this way[:o] there is so much more to a hunt than bagging the game. Mountain hunting turkeys is an adventure in and of itself bagging the bird is just the cherry on top the cream.

 
I know what your saying and Im sure everything is just going to be great to see but I am out there for one reason and thats to get a meriams..

[charlie elk]

I know what your saying and Im sure everything is just going to be great to see but I am out there for one reason and thats to get a meriams..

Are you going out to complete a slam?
The pressure some hunters feel for slams and trophies in many respects ruin the traditions of hunting. Deer hunting has been a casualty now I fear turkey hunting is following...
But to each his own whatever helps one enjoy their hunt and I sincerely wish you a great hunt above all else.
If you have any specific questions I might be able to help with let me know; hunted & killed WY turkeys on several occasions always a delightful experience.

[perrysbirds]

ORIGINAL: charlie elk

I know what your saying and Im sure everything is just going to be great to see but I am out there for one reason and thats to get a meriams..

Are you going out to complete a slam?
The pressure some hunters feel for slams and trophies in many respects ruin the traditions of hunting. Deer hunting has been a casualty now I fear turkey hunting is following...
But to each his own whatever helps one enjoy their hunt and I sincerely wish you a great hunt above all else.
If you have any specific questions I might be able to help with let me know; hunted & killed WY turkeys on several occasions always a delightful experience.

 
No this wont be to cpmplete my grandsalm but it is only the second part of it..
I am certainly looking forward to meeting new people,looking at nature and its surroundings and most ceratinly all of the things that go along with the experience..There couldnt be anyone more excited than me in getting to huntin the US for the first time..Im sure my camera will be full of great pictures and memories...