Hunting Merriam's Turkeys on the Nebraska Plains

By T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors

(continued)

After getting a response from a nearby tom on the second morning of the hunt Bill and I decided to set up a flock of Feather Flex turkey decoys and try to call the bird in. I took the three decoys out of my backpack and set them up in a small clearing in the pines. After choosing a couple of trees for back rests I set up the hens on a small rise slightly to the left of where I expected the tom to come from. Then I placed the jake within shooting distance, where it could be easily seen by an approaching tom. I like to place the decoys off to one side of my shooting position, so that when a bird comes in it is attracted to the sight of decoys, which keep the bird from looking in my direction. I place the jake decoy in a clear shooting lane, because I've found that a tom will often attack a jake before it will go to the hens; when the tom approaches or attacks the decoy I have a clear shot.

After the decoys were setup Bill and I positioned ourselves so that we could each watch a different approach to the setup. Then I yelped a couple of times on my Haydel's mouth diaphragm. A few minutes later Bill whispered that he could see two toms strutting below us on the next ridge. I called a couple of more times and heard the birds gobble back, but they were unwilling to come any closer. We waited a half-hour while the turkeys continued to gobble, but they didn't come any closer. Finally we decided to move to the top of the next ridge, closer to the turkeys. When we got there I set up the decoys again and called. Almost immediately there was a thunderous gobble with an echo, and then another thunderous gobble; I was sure at least one of the birds was coming in.

After twenty minutes of calling the bird hung up just below the rim of the ridge. I knew the bird was close by the sound of its call but I couldn't see it. In an effort to bring the bird in I started a series of fast clucks, simulating the "cutt" of a turkey. The cutt is the sound of one bird telling another that if the two are going to get together, the other bird will have to do the walking. Almost immediately a double gobble echoed up from the valley below us. I waited a while then let loose with another cutt; cluck...cluck...cluck ... cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck … cluck … cluck cluck. There was another double gobble from about twenty yards away.

With the sheer drop of the ridge and the echoing I couldn't pinpoint the tom, but I knew it was close. As I looked over at Bill I could see the excitement in his eyes. I motioned for him to get ready. I clucked softly; cluck. Then I moved my head slowly to search for the bird. I saw a bright red and glowing white head appear over the lip of the rim off to my right. I looked at Bill, to see if had spotted the tom. He raised his eyebrows as if to say, "Where is it?" When I looked at the bird there were not one, but two heads peering over the rim. The double gobble I heard had come from two birds. They were about ten yards away, and I was sure that Bill could see them. I looked at him again, but he still hadn't seen the birds.

I had two turkey tags and was thinking that this would be a great time to fill one of them. But, Bill had never hunted turkeys before, and I wanted him to get the first shot. Although we were both well camouflaged, I was afraid that at this range the birds would spot us. They were staring right at me, and I heard one of the toms putt; putt...putt...putt. Not really an Alarm Putt, more like the bird was nervous. The bird's necks crossed as they tried to locate me, and I clucked softly to settle them down. Bill's bow was still down and I motioned to him with my hand to get ready. If the birds saw us there wouldn't be much time to draw and shoot. He shrugged his shoulders slightly. He still didn't see the birds. I was glad that I had stopped using my striker call earlier and had begun using my mouth diaphragm; using the mouth diaphragm reduced the chance of the birds spotting my hand moving and left both hands free to hold my bow.

One of the birds putted again and I clucked in response. The sound was so loud I half expected to see Bill's hat blow off. Fortunately he saw the bird and had the presence of mind to let an arrow fly. When I got up to see where Bill's bird was I heard him say, "Well I rolled that one." I said "You sure did." as I watched the bird roll down the ridge. Then I heard Bill say, "He's going to go all the way to the bottom." And that's exactly what happened. I watched in amusement as Bill tried to catch up with the bird as it cartwheeled, wings flopping wildly, 150 yards down the steep embankment. It finally hung up in a yucca plant, 20 yards from the bottom.

A couple of days later Bill and I spotted a flock of fifteen turkeys near an abandoned farm. Through a break in the trees we could see three toms strutting in the grove behind the old house. I knew there was no way to call the birds in because they were already with a dozen hens. As we watched, the birds began to walk toward the far end of the grove, and I noticed a small brush choked ravine that began near the grove. I told Bill that we should work our way done the ravine to the far end of the grove, to try to intercept the birds when they came by and he agreed.

We quickly worked our way through the brush and up the ravine toward the grove. No sooner had we gotten into position than the first hen walked by at about fifteen yards. Behind her the flock slowly fed and walked it's way toward us, with the toms taking up the rear. It wasn't long before the hens walked out on to the prairie. I told Bill to wait until the toms were within range, then pick out the largest tom. Before I knew it the toms came out of the grove, and I just had time to draw and release. At my shot the tom fell down, and the rest of the flock scattered across the prairie.

When we got back to Valentine we registered our birds and weighed them. Bill's tom weighed 22 pounds and had a 9 1/2 inch beard. My bird weighed just under 21 pounds and sported a 10 1/2 inch bird and long spurs. He now sits in my living room, in a full strut pose, a reminder of hunting Nebraska's prairie longbeards.

Note-- Some of Nebraska's best turkey hunting occurs along the rivers, where the land is privately owned. There are also a number of Wildlife Management Areas in the Sandhills Region with turkeys, deer and ducks on them. Anyone planning a hunt in the Sandhills should allow a couple of days for scouting and getting permission to hunt on one of the ranches. We found the landowners cooperative as long as we were respectful of their property, didn't bother the cattle during calving time, and remembered to close all the gates.

Nebraska holds both spring and fall turkey hunts. In the Sandhills hunters are allowed two toms in the spring, and two birds of either sex in the fall.Nebraska also has excellent whitetail and mule deer hunting. There are 130 to 170 class whitetails taken often enough to make me go back. For bird hunters the Sandhills offer sharp-tailed grouse, prairie chickens and pheasants, and a number of species of ducks on the potholes that abound in the area.

If you are interested in more turkey hunting tips, or more turkey biology and behavior, click on Trinity Mountain Outdoor News and T.R.'s Hunting Tips at www.TRMichels.com. If you have questions about turkeys log on to the T.R.'s Tips message board. To find out when peak turkey gobbling can be expected in your area, click on Peak Turkey Gobbling Dates.

This article is an excerpt from the Turkey Addict's Manual ($14.95 + $5.00 S&H), by T.R. Michels, available in the Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products catalog.

T.R. Michels is a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist, outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk, Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are the 2003 Revised Edition of the Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2003 Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2003 Revised Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain Outdoors, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983, USA. Phone: 507-824-3296, E-mail: TRMichels@yahoo.com, Web Site: www.TRMichels.com