For those of you who have hunted turkeys in the black hills, do the birds tend to move up in elevation after they fly down in the morning or down? I have never been there or hunted merriams in my life so any other tips or advice are welcome as well.
Black Hills Merriams Turkeys
- Thread starter Outdoorsman
- Start date
From what I saw when I hunted there they seemed to come down a little bit. But I honestly found them from the little valleys at the bottom to the tops of the hills. I called one down from the top of one of the hills too. Where I was hunting there wasn?t a huge elevation change anyways. So take that for what it?s worth.
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They will go both directions, many times you will hear them talking and can just make your move to get close as quietly as you can. Then start calling.
Horsenhike
Very Active Member
This is what I found. Locate birds the night before, and then move in on them when they fly down and gobble in the morning.
HighPlainsHunter
Active Member
Turkeys in that part of the world are very predictable from my experience. I did a construction project in Hot Springs and the turkeys at that lake were nearly in the same place every day.
I lived just South of the Black hills near Chadron for about 6 years and you could see/dodge turkeys in the same place every morning most of the year on Hwy 385 south of town which has a lot of public access. I saw a lot more birds in the Chadron and Crawford area than I did in the Black Hills.
I lived just South of the Black hills near Chadron for about 6 years and you could see/dodge turkeys in the same place every morning most of the year on Hwy 385 south of town which has a lot of public access. I saw a lot more birds in the Chadron and Crawford area than I did in the Black Hills.
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wy-tex
Veteran member
I am hunting the South Dakota side. Never been there before and don?t know anyone who has hunted there before. My plan is to get away from any roads that aren?t closed to get avoid hunting pressure. I have turkey hunted my whole life so I like my odds provided I can find a bird to hunt.
There?s roads all through the hills. I went the last week in April and all of them were open. There wasn?t as much traffic during the week though. I was there two years ago and saw an ungodly amount of jakes so there should be a good population of three year olds. Also, I would pick up a Wyoming tag too since you?re gonna be close anyways. The birds there are very hit and miss. They got 8 inches of snow the day before I got there and the birds were not talking at all. I did manage to get my SD bird blind calling in the snow though so that was cool. After the fourth day of highs in the 30?s, the weather broke and it hit 70 and was sunny. It?s like a switch was flipped. I heard 7 different birds just on one same hill I had been trying all week. There?s plenty of birds there and you should do just fine. Pray for good weather. And enjoy the scenery. Not many places I?ve hunted have been more beautiful than those hills. I?m itching to go back.
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Looking at a map of the Northern Hills it looks like almost half the roads are closed until May 15th. Am I reading the map wrong? I don?t want to be walking in two miles and get passed by a truck! LOL
Bighorn
New Member
I will be hunting the Wyoming side for the first time May 8th-12th. I appreciate the information shared above! I still haven't nailed down an exact starting point, but I plan on heading over there the weekend before (I live in Sheridan) to do some scouting before my buddy flies in. Any tips you have are greatly appreciated!
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The later you can hunt the better I would say for these birds. I did see way more birds on the dakota side though, so I might would try hunting the borders and calling one over haha.
Bighorn
New Member
Thanks guys! I talked with my buddy today and I think we are going to use our general tags on turkeys here around Sheridan and then head over to hunt the SD side of the Black Hills. I have spent zero time over there though so I am not sure what we are getting in to. Any suggestions on camp grounds or would you hike in a mile or so and then set camp? I have a seek outside tipi that we will be using as our shelter. We are both late 20s and in good shape. Thanks!