I got back from
South Dakota a few days ago. I know Alberta's turkey hunting fanbase might be limited but thought some might like to read. Its part of my original story posted on AT to thank some members.
This hunt was going to be divided between relatively flat prairie country and to the extreme opposite, the Black Hills composed of ponderosa pine forests and steep mountain sides. Two different habitats, one amazing sub-species.
My partner Charles B flew out to meet me in Edmonton. Why fly 4 hours when you can fly 5 and drive 17? The road trip is the adventure, the hunt is the challenge and memories are the goal. After work I picked him up at the airport and we were on our way east and then
south through Saskatchewan and North
Dakota to our destination;the northern corner of
South Dakota. We were to meet up with our friends Randy and Ryan Routier. It was a tree challenging hunt with birds scattered throughout the area and luckily our hosts were on top of things. Randy and Ryan know their area like i've never seen before.
We found birds quickly and the first morning we were on four gobblers who put on a show. They never left the clump of trees and eventually worked their way to a nearby farm to feed. We decided to try another area and in my 2 hour walk I stumbled upon 6 mule deer sheds but the turkeys never let out a yelp. The country was open and breathtaking for a pair of Canadian big game hunters.
The next day found us again on those four gobblers who didn't want to cooperate the least bit with our strategy. They remained flocked and strutted in front of us for 2 hours before walking out of sight. That day we scouted new properties and covered ground in hopes of finding birds willing to play. The day went on and towards the later end of the evening I arrived to a new spot in hopes of roosting birds. First series of yelps yielded a gobble more than half a mile away. I spotted the birds, almost in the neighboring state. He was on fire and covered the distance in minutes. Unfortunetely I was disadvantaged by the cover and had the bird come in to less than 10 yards. The shot was a clean miss, bird ran away and I was dumbfounded. Disapointed until I met up with Charles who had snuck out to set up decoys and meticulously called in a small flock with a nice tom. The shot found its mark and our first merriam was down!
On the third morning I headed back to the same field and within minutes I was into several gobblers. They flew off the roost and headed for
south. I dogged them for over 2 hours. The birds were unresponsive to calls and I managed to sneak on open country to 60 yards of a magnificent strutting merriam. I anticipated their paths and met up with them at 35 yards. My shot was thundering and the bird was down. My first merriam, we were excited and tired. I had made up for the night before's mishap and the turnout tasted pretty good.
We packed our gear and headed to Pierre, SD to buy a Black Hills tag for me (Mr. Busy didn't get a tag in time in the mail). The four hours drive was strenuous. The gps lead us in the middle of nowhere, a local gentlemen stopped after seeing our hands waving and could only give us directions to Frost Bay as he couldn't hear anything else and lastly the time zone change meant we had to be at the SD FPW before 17:00 or we'd lose half a day of precious hunting time. Well we made it, somehow. At 16:59 hours we were still 4-5 miles away, I phoned and sweet talked my way into getting us a few more minutes so we could purchase a tag. I don't know the ladies name, but thank you. We were Black Hills bound.
The next morning was may the 1st. Charles and I had the privilege to meet Dr.Jason Mez. Newly a father of 2 more, he willingly took some time to show us around on his side by side. The views were magnificent and the hunting was looking promising. Charles and I thanked Jason and got the gear ready. We struck a bird that morning but overal it was quiet.
That afternoon the weather was warm and Charles decided to go light on the clothing. Our plan was to wait the birds out and perhaps be on their paths as they head back to roost. The weather turned sour and cold with drifts of snow and wind hitting our backs. I was chilled, but Charles was freezing. After four hours we decided to call it a day even with over an hour of daylight left. Climbing down the slopes we kicked up some rocks and a bird shock gobbled fairly close to us. We got low, analyzed the situation and set up a plan. Charles got into position and I called the bird. I was further back and couldn't see all the action but within minutes the 870 roared. Charles had his second SD bird, first Black Hills merriam! It was an above average bird for the trip with 8'' beard, 1'' sharp spurs and a perfect fan. To boot we roosted two birds. What a great day.
The next morning I was under the birds early and waiting. The gobbled their heads off and flew off just out of sight. We walked another 3-4 miles and struck no birds but saw a big tom with a 10'' + beard. He wouldn't investigate our calls so he drew the lucky get a free pass card.
That afternoon we got into a big flock with 4 mature birds and a vocal boss hen. She yelped and screamed at us. The hen wouldn't let down and by the end of our argument the birds had moved 20 yards. On the positive side we heard just about every wild turkey vocalization except for a keekee run and a fly down cackle. Raspy, light, loud, low;she wouldn't let us win. That same night we sat close to the roost.
Our birds had been headed to their roosts early so we set up by supper time and soon enough birds were filtering our way. The terrain wass fairly open so sitting still and light calling were necessary. Some birds went right others went left. We eventually had a gobbler come close and I took careful aim. The proud merriam crumbled and the next thing I knew my Black Hills tag was notched.
The 2013 spring adventure was sealed. We had acheived more than we ever thought possible. Our tags were filled, we walked miles in scenic new landscapes and met incredible individuals we could consider friends. Words and pictures don't do justice to summarize such an experience.
My bear baits are started, hopefully the weather keeps on spoiling us so the big boys start covering more ground. Good luck to all the guys and gals heading out in the next couple weeks.
South Dakota Merriams 2013
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