Black Hills 2012

[cat396]

I am planning a hunting trip to the Black Hills the end of April. Can anyone tell me which area would be best to try. I am not looking for anyone's secret spots, just a general area to start. Thank you for any help you can offer.

[roycefromrc]

The hills are full of birds here.i hunt the central to northern hills,because they are so close to where I live.My general lack of turkey hunting expertise is outweighed the the number of birds.you might get with the SDGF&P ,the wardens know where birds are ,and have been helpful to me.Also get a forrest service map so you know where you can go.The whole place is public hunting and you find lots of birds by houses.Last year,my first year, i scared away a few birds with my godawful calling and spooked some that seen me. I finally did the tried and true South Dakota method of road hunting(completely legal) and scored a nice gobbler on my first attempt.One secret spot,try the CHAPS land of the Snyder ranch just south of Sturgis.They have lots of birds and anyone can hunt there.With the lack of hunter pressure,you should be fine.We cab also use high powered rifles to bag birds,so keep that in mind.I'll have my 06 in the truck this year.If you have anymore questions,feel free to ask me.

[turkey junky]

cat396 that is true talk from roycefromrc there is a lot & i mean a lot of road hunters/hunting that goes on in the hills & the hole rifle thing... wow road hunting & rifle shooting turkeys that really is not spring turkey hunting any wear outside of the black hills so keep that in mind...

i could never bring myself to go to the SD black hills way to many people & roads in them hills also i don't want to get shot by a guy with a rifle while i carry my turkey decoy threw the woods...

[roycefromrc]

If you can see for two miles and the turkey is out there at say 300 yards,how is that dangerous.And the best thing about hunting turkey here is that there are very few other hunters out then. Now deer season is another deal,plenty of traffic on the weekends,And maybe dangerous.As with any rifle hunting you just gotta pick you shot.For the record, Ive never deer hunted the hills,too damn dangerous.

[dewey]

I think someday when I finally get out there I will carry my rifle with for those circumstances when turkeys are just outside of my shotgun range. Like Royce said you just need to be certain of your target and what is behind it.

Dewey

[turkey junky]

turkey hunting is supposed to be a up close & personal thing & many love the challenge of calling a turkey into with in 50 yards most say 40 yards from say 300-500 yards...

rifle killing turkeys is all about the kill & not about the hunt & takes the up close & personal aspect out of the turkey hunt for many hunters... i would kill a turkey each & every season if i used/could use a rifle it would be similar to deer hunting in open terrain as long as u can see the game take a shot... that's not turkey hunting that's turkey killing & i don't need to just kill a turkey that bad as to use a rifle...

my main thing with SD black hills turkey hunting is the sheer amount of roads in the hills the rifle use & the tons & tons of road hunters that flood the black hills region each & every season for turkey that may be packing rifles to harvest turkeys & if i'm out in the woods like we should be ''not on a road'' trying to make a move on a turkey & or a flock of turkeys & some other half hearted road hunter see's the same birds & doesn't see me & starts blasting away at the flock with his rifle from long range that puts me & others in danger correct??? also if i'm use n a full strut decoy & some trigger happy rifle hunter sees my decoy & shoots at it i'm more times then not behind that decoy & that also putts me in danger... not cool...

each & every time i have driven threw the SD black hills i have seen 4-6 car loads of guys wearing camo during turkey season & everybody & there brother knows about the SD black hills & turkey hunting there & that is the only place i have herd of there being a traffic jam involving turkey hunters on public land all trying to road hunt the same road lol??? so there is quit a bit of hunter pressure out in them hills regardless of the millions of acres of land open to hunting... also there is roads cut n threw damn near all the SD black hills north & south hills also not cool it attracts road hunters in droves & makes the turkeys act totally different then wear road hunters are not a issue...

i will hunt the black hills of SD someday? i will have hunted each state around SD after this season but i just cant bring myself to go hunt with all the other out of state hunters in SD black hills until i bag a bird in the surrounding states 1st & even when i do hunt the black hills of SD i will have to draw tag to hunt a prairie unit in SD at the same time... them prairie units kick ass they limit the amount of tags/hunters that can hunt there each season thus raising the quality of the hunt in them units... also we don't have to worry about road or rifle hunters in them units that's a major plus in my book...

i would love to hook up with you roycefromrc? on a SD turkey hunt we could help each other out i can help with calling & u mite could show me some of these un-pressured very few hunters in area turkey spots in the SD black hills PM me if you are interested in doing so this season or next??? ill be out that way on a 2-3 state merriams round up come may 14 - may 20 so hope u have a bird on the ground by then roycefromrc??? lol

good luck to all this season & be safe out there...

[roycefromrc]

Its horrible here,no birds and all hunters,stay away! Im not sure where you were Junkey,but its really not like that where i go.Any of you guys can PM me,and I can tell you exactly where to go. I might not know how to call or decoy or even how to get close,but I do know where birds are.

[turkey junky]

seen tons of road huters near custer,hill city,keystone & just west of rapid city in the national forest i have also talked to 2-3 hunters that will never go back to the SD black hills due to the amount of roads & road hunters there... nobody ever said the hills were void of turkey just that the hills were full of out of state hunters...

p.s. save some of your un-pressured honey holes for the late part of may royce im trying to shift hunts around to maybe head to the hunter filled SD black hills & share a hunt with u & show u a little about calling them bad boys up into shotgun range & u can show me the un-pressured side of the black hills of SD???

[Gopherlongbeards]

I've hunted 5 springs and several falls in the Hills and have seen a grand total of maybe a dozen other turkey hunters, never while I've been in in the woods. Turkeys taken with rifles are rare in the spring. Everyone I know who's ever taken a turkey with a rifle has done it in the fall during their deer season. Here's a tip, get away from the tourist hubs. Saying there are too many hunters near Custer/Rapid/Hill City (I've hunted near Hill City several times, including opening weekend, and saw very few other hunters) is like saying there are too many pleasure boaters on Minnetonka....

oh and Dewey, leave your rifle at home. you won't need it. And you'll just disappoint yourself if you do.

[turkey junky]

the only other thing thing that has steered me away from the SD black hills was the color of some of the merriams i have seen taken out of the black hills mainly the guys out at ron scharas turkey tracks hunt club take a look at there web site & the turkeys they shoot there yearly & a lot of them birds are tan/buff/cream almost brown in color & im after a TRUE SNOW WHITE MERRIAMS gobbler that screams when he gobbles like a merriams should...

i assume gopherlongbeards the picture of the turkey u have posted here is a SD black hills gobbler & that is a good merriams has anybody harvested any of the birds that when you look at it you HONESTLY can call it white like a merriams should be???