Looking at fall hunt out west this year. South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming are on the short list. Any advice on hunting turkeys out west in the fall? A black hills hunt looks really interesting and a chance to see some new country. It will just be my son and I and a quick tent camp is an option. How are the turkey numbers out west? They are down here in the mid west. We haven't done well drawing tags the last couple years so trying to get a few more trips in with my son before he heads off to the Air Force in 2 years. I was always told time with the kids goes fast but man it is really ticking away the last couple years. Thanks for any pointers on a state or area to check out.
Fall turkey hunt out west. Options?
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disabled combat vet
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Hilltop
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How have you been? Ya everything seems to be hurting. I was just talking to a guy who I took to Wyoming 4 years ago on his one and only hunt he was wondering when we could plan another hunt and I told him man I have no idea. Hoping the kids draw a management hunt here in Missouri but I’m not holding out much hope. That’s why I im hoping for a Turkey hunt. Or some kind of trip this fall
I've watched turkey numbers crash in Nebraska and other areas the past few years. It seems like tags numbers have been cut in Nebraska, Kansas, and elsewhere. There are turkeys here in Colo but you'll have a tougher time finding them in mountain areas with trees since there is so much country with toms not gobbling in the fall. Be sure to cover gobs and gobs of country and you may luck out. It's a pretty place to be in the fall. Possibly bring your fishing rod in case you get bored?
I hadn’t considered Colorado but you have my attention. Any part of the state to look at? We could do some fishing that would be great too. Could plan about a week maybe? We would probably do some camping and maybe a hotel a couple nights.
Hilltop
Veteran member
Good! Yeah, our wildlife departments have been trying to find reasons but I think there are quite a few things at play hurting numbers. The fur trade crash is high on my list of suspects but the recent drought years have also had a negative impact. There are still plenty of birds to hunt but they are in pockets and competition is much higher now.
A buddy of mine in Central Nebraska has told me several times that coon numbers are out of control. I'm sure they are pretty tough on eggs. There also seems to be a lot more coyotes roaming the hills in recent years. A few years back when turkey numbers were higher there were hardly any coyotes possibly due to mange. I'm sure the weather at nesting times has something to do with the decline. All of these factors combined has likely impacted turkey numbers.
DoubleDropMuley
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- Apr 18, 2020
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Hit the black hills like you mentioned and you could hunt wyoming and Dakota on same trip , same day if you wanted 