2023 Black Hills South Dakota Merriam Turkey Help?

[blalone]

Hello, I went to the Black Hills this year- May 12-14. The weather was not good- windy, rainy, foggy, cooler. Only 1 day did it only rain some. I was out with my wife, and both daughters ages 12 & 13. We camped in the FS land. We hunted all public land just south of Custer. We never saw or heard a turkey. All 4 of us had tags and we always split up into groups of 2. We hiked the whole time. We covered many different hills and areas. I have never hunted the BH's so I was not exactly sure how to hunt it. We hunted high, low, open, wooded, grassy etc. We glassed, called, listened etc. We hiked up the mountains a lot. I have no idea what we did right or wrong. Should we have been low in open areas the most? Try to hunt by houses and yards? Go high on the hills? Where is it recommended to be? I can post some pics of the areas we hunted if that helps. I am really wondering if anyone can tell me what I did wrong to not see or hear a bird after so much time hunting? To say I was frustrated and bummed out especially with my desire to show my daughters a great time and not have 1 bird to show for it was a big disappointment. Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm from Northern MN so this was a big drive and investment for us. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Djacker]

I also hunted the BH this spring. From my experience the birds only gobbled for the first hour of daylight. They also spend the entire time in the tree cover, we never saw a bird in a field. We walked 19 miles in 2 days saw 11 birds total, both of us got a tom.

 

[KurtR]

I live here hunted out there 3 times and seen 3 turkeys dont feel bad. Im a shitty turkey hunter i have come to accept

 

[hobbes]

The weather is likely what did you in but I kill birds in those conditions occasionally here in MT. It sounds like you covered ground the same way I would. Were you calling a lot? I call a lot to locate birds.

I've been in the BHs one time in 2020 and killed one tom on day 2 after covering ground and calling.

 

[Fatcamp]

Finding areas with birds is project #1.

Moving around at dawn and dusk, listening and trying to provoke shock gobbles is what it takes.

I don't hunt out there much for turkeys but have many friends who do, and have spent some time at it.

 

[blalone]

Thanks for the responses. We did call some but not a ton. I am wondering if we were to high and should have been in more lowland flat /grassy stuff?

 

[ianpadron]

It's been my experience with Merriams that the wind/rain combo puts them out into fields/meadows. Have read that it's tough for them to hear predators in the woods in those conditions which certainly makes sense.

I call super aggressively and run around til I find a player, they move A TON and if you take that into consideration you start making more contacts.

Chances are if you did the same thing next year but have sunny warm weather you'll be in birds everyday so long as the terrain is good for birds.

 

[Novashooter]

I was out there about a week earlier than you. This was the second time I tried for them in the spring, and I tried once in the fall. That's a grand total of about 20 days I've hunted the black hills for turkeys. In all that time I saw about 6 on some private land just outside custer in some guys front lawn. That was in the fall. I then went for a 5 day trip in the spring, never saw a turkey, heard one, never even saw a foot print. I waited 2 years, then went this spring. Went 3 days with zero sign. Then out of the blue a hen crossed the road in front of me. I followed her all evening, watched her roost alone in a tree. Next day I was close by that tree, saw her fly down, and walk off. In all those 20ish days, I've never heard a gobble. I talked to a bunch of hunters out there, and the best I got was one guy saw 3 of them dead by the road.

By comparison I've been out there elk hunting once. Hunted for about 2 hours and got one. You can't walk 100 yards without kicking up a whitetail either. If there ever was turkeys in the black hills, they are gone now. To say I'm frustrated with the whole thing is an understatement. I don't think there is a hunt able population of them left. My advice is if you ever go back, get as close to the black hills borders as you can. Turkeys seem to wander in from lower elevations sometimes. Or better yet, just hunt anywhere else. The other 90% of south dakota has good turkey numbers in certain areas. Certain spots are absolute dynamite. It's just not in the black hills.

 

[blalone]

I was out there about a week earlier than you. This was the second time I tried for them in the spring, and I tried once in the fall. That's a grand total of about 20 days I've hunted the black hills for turkeys. In all that time I saw about 6 on some private land just outside custer in some guys front lawn. That was in the fall. I then went for a 5 day trip in the spring, never saw a turkey, heard one, never even saw a foot print. I waited 2 years, then went this spring. Went 3 days with zero sign. Then out of the blue a hen crossed the road in front of me. I followed her all evening, watched her roost alone in a tree. Next day I was close by that tree, saw her fly down, and walk off. In all those 20ish days, I've never heard a gobble. I talked to a bunch of hunters out there, and the best I got was one guy saw 3 of them dead by the road.

By comparison I've been out there elk hunting once. Hunted for about 2 hours and got one. You can't walk 100 yards without kicking up a whitetail either. If there ever was turkeys in the black hills, they are gone now. To say I'm frustrated with the whole thing is an understatement. I don't think there is a hunt able population of them left. My advice is if you ever go back, get as close to the black hills borders as you can. Turkeys seem to wander in from lower elevations sometimes. Or better yet, just hunt anywhere else. The other 90% of south dakota has good turkey numbers in certain areas. Certain spots are absolute dynamite. It's just not in the black hills.

Boy that is crazy. That is a lot of days hunting for Nothing. I also saw a ton of deer. I appreciate the info. It just seems odd when you hear so much about the BH and turkeys. Thanks again.

 

[hobbes]

I was out there about a week earlier than you. This was the second time I tried for them in the spring, and I tried once in the fall. That's a grand total of about 20 days I've hunted the black hills for turkeys. In all that time I saw about 6 on some private land just outside custer in some guys front lawn. That was in the fall. I then went for a 5 day trip in the spring, never saw a turkey, heard one, never even saw a foot print. I waited 2 years, then went this spring. Went 3 days with zero sign. Then out of the blue a hen crossed the road in front of me. I followed her all evening, watched her roost alone in a tree. Next day I was close by that tree, saw her fly down, and walk off. In all those 20ish days, I've never heard a gobble. I talked to a bunch of hunters out there, and the best I got was one guy saw 3 of them dead by the road.

By comparison I've been out there elk hunting once. Hunted for about 2 hours and got one. You can't walk 100 yards without kicking up a whitetail either. If there ever was turkeys in the black hills, they are gone now. To say I'm frustrated with the whole thing is an understatement. I don't think there is a hunt able population of them left. My advice is if you ever go back, get as close to the black hills borders as you can. Turkeys seem to wander in from lower elevations sometimes. Or better yet, just hunt anywhere else. The other 90% of south dakota has good turkey numbers in certain areas. Certain spots are absolute dynamite. It's just not in the black hills.

I'll sound like an ass, but the reality is that you are doing something wrong. The black hills absolutely does have huntable numbers of turkeys. They may not be where they were some years back but there are birds.

 

[Novashooter]

If there are, please don't tell anyone online. I've hunted SD eastern, SD western, and SD black hill units. I've hunted MN for years. I see turkeys all the time in ND, but non-residents can't hunt there. I've seen hundreds of turkeys in a single flock in Wyoming.

Right or wrong I've been able to find and kill turkeys pretty much anywhere. That is except the Black hills. They exist, but you have a better chance of finding a bighorn sheep. My idea of a huntable population of turkeys is one where you can reasonably find a track,, other sign, gobble, or turkey within a weekend. Based on 3 years of experience, that does not exist in the black hills. Turkeys are not as easy as some claim, but they really shouldn't be that hard to hunt. I could go to a spot in MN I haven't been to in 10 years tomorrow, and there's a 50/50 chance I'll come back with a bird, that is if the season was open. And that's not even any kind of great hunting area.

All I'm saying is the guy not seeing anything around Custer is nothing he did wrong. He was simply in an area turkeys have been wiped out.

 

[Fatcamp]

If there are, please don't tell anyone online. I've hunted SD eastern, SD western, and SD black hill units. I've hunted MN for years. I see turkeys all the time in ND, but non-residents can't hunt there. I've seen hundreds of turkeys in a single flock in Wyoming.

Right or wrong I've been able to find and kill turkeys pretty much anywhere. That is except the Black hills. They exist, but you have a better chance of finding a bighorn sheep. My idea of a huntable population of turkeys is one where you can reasonably find a track,, other sign, gobble, or turkey within a weekend. Based on 3 years of experience, that does not exist in the black hills. Turkeys are not as easy as some claim, but they really shouldn't be that hard to hunt. I could go to a spot in MN I haven't been to in 10 years tomorrow, and there's a 50/50 chance I'll come back with a bird, that is if the season was open. And that's not even any kind of great hunting area.

All I'm saying is the guy not seeing anything around Custer is nothing he did wrong. He was simply in an area turkeys have been wiped out.

So did you drive at sunset and try to roost birds? I assume you did. Still didn't find birds?

I know thats how my friends do it to find populations, and how I did it. Maybe call a biologist or game wardens for some leads.

 

[LongWayAround]

The one black hills bird I saw this year, I'm pretty sure got dusted out of his tree by a guy from Minnesota.

A few years ago some crossed the road right outside Custer and had a guy dumping an AR mag in the ditch.

I don't think there are very many either.

 

[KurtR]

I thought I was just a sucky turkey hunter

 

[Novashooter]

So did you drive at sunset and try to roost birds? I assume you did. Still didn't find birds?

I know thats how my friends do it to find populations, and how I did it. Maybe call a biologist or game wardens for some leads.

I can assure you I did everything in my power to find turkeys. I covered tons of ground on road and on foot. I camped every night, so if there was a gobbler nearby I would have heard him in the evening or morning. I talked to every hunter, and tons of locals. Just about anyone cruising the back roads would stop to talk. I even had a police truck pull up beside me while I was looking at a map to see if I was ok. I asked them if they saw turkeys, and they couldn't even point me in a direction. I called all the local GFP offices. I stopped in the Custer state park office (custer is open to fall turkey hunting without special draw).

I'm telling you, the black hills is probably the worst turkey hunting I've experienced. Heck, I live in Aberdeen, no turkey hunting here. I've seen more turkeys around Sand Lake refuge than I have the black hills. I don't want to sound like I'm crying wolf, but the GFP should absolutely not be giving out unlimited turkey tags right now in the black hills. Turkeys still exist there, but they have a long road ahead if they want to keep non residents coming there for turkey hunting.

 

[Fatcamp]

I can assure you I did everything in my power to find turkeys. I covered tons of ground on road and on foot. I camped every night, so if there was a gobbler nearby I would have heard him in the evening or morning. I talked to every hunter, and tons of locals. Just about anyone cruising the back roads would stop to talk. I even had a police truck pull up beside me while I was looking at a map to see if I was ok. I asked them if they saw turkeys, and they couldn't even point me in a direction. I called all the local GFP offices. I stopped in the Custer state park office (custer is open to fall turkey hunting without special draw).

I'm telling you, the black hills is probably the worst turkey hunting I've experienced. Heck, I live in Aberdeen, no turkey hunting here. I've seen more turkeys around Sand Lake refuge than I have the black hills. I don't want to sound like I'm crying wolf, but the GFP should absolutely not be giving out unlimited turkey tags right now in the black hills. Turkeys still exist there, but they have a long road ahead if they want to keep non residents coming there for turkey hunting.

Well that sucks. I just talked to a friend that kills lots of big birds and he said he didn't even go last year because there aren't any birds. He hunts that central hills area.

I asked him why and he said bad timing of a couple spring storms and cats. That's lame.

He said if they don't do something there won't be any birds left in the hills.

 

[Novashooter]

I've had people ask me about predators out there too. I hear plenty of coyote, but I'm not seeing much evidence predators alone are causing such havok. For sure the last few years have not been great for spring nesting. This last winter was right up there as the worst. I don't know about the black hills specifically, but both east and west SD, especially west SD and eastern WY got nailed by winter. Snow after snow, and lots of cold. There's not a lot of records we didn't break last winter. We absolutely smashed the all time snowpack record for April, not even melting until really May. Northern MN has some really long winters, but for this area, the ice season was my longest by almost a full month. I was ice fishing second week of November, and that was already 6" of ice. I fished right up to April 22, over 5 full months of safe ice. Some of the crazier guys that go out on 3", and go out in the spring with boards to cross the open water might have edged up on 6 months.

So last winter for sure put a hurting on animals, but I'm not sure the BH was as bad. I heard the elk did ok. The deer may have taken a slight hit as they reduced tags for those. Out on the plains the antelope got it really bad. I've heard estimates of 75% antelope died last winter, and I believe it.

Overhunting I think is the #1 culprit. The GFP gives out unlimited tags, both residents and non-residents, both spring and fall, combined with long seasons. From what I've seen, hunting pressure isn't as bad as some places I've been, notably central MN gets hit HARD, but they also have prime habitat there.

I'm not sure if the black hills is prime habitat or not. On one hand, turkeys aren't even native to the black hills. On the other, they were introduced, and in about 20 years the population exploded, and created the well known destination until very recently. This is a very similar trend to what has been happening through other parts of the country too, but not so much the rest of SD, ND, or MN. I suspect the relatively conservative tag numbers to be a key factor. I'd love for everywhere to be like the southeast where people shoot 3+ birds every spring, but there's not a lot of areas where that kind of harvest is proving sustainable. The black hills isn't that big an area, and giving out unlimited tags, even though only one per hunter, is not seeming a good game plan to me.

 

[KurtR]

I can assure you I did everything in my power to find turkeys. I covered tons of ground on road and on foot. I camped every night, so if there was a gobbler nearby I would have heard him in the evening or morning. I talked to every hunter, and tons of locals. Just about anyone cruising the back roads would stop to talk. I even had a police truck pull up beside me while I was looking at a map to see if I was ok. I asked them if they saw turkeys, and they couldn't even point me in a direction. I called all the local GFP offices. I stopped in the Custer state park office (custer is open to fall turkey hunting without special draw).

I'm telling you, the black hills is probably the worst turkey hunting I've experienced. Heck, I live in Aberdeen, no turkey hunting here. I've seen more turkeys around Sand Lake refuge than I have the black hills. I don't want to sound like I'm crying wolf, but the GFP should absolutely not be giving out unlimited turkey tags right now in the black hills. Turkeys still exist there, but they have a long road ahead if they want to keep non residents coming there for turkey hunting.

Codington and grant county have some good numbers of turkeys. It was the late 90’s they got them going. I was member of the nwtf at the time and helped with planting them. Before a couple bad winters out here they were every where along the river. Population has dropped a lot.

 

[Novashooter]

Codington and grant county have some good numbers of turkeys. It was the late 90’s they got them going. I was member of the nwtf at the time and helped with planting them. Before a couple bad winters out here they were every where along the river. Population has dropped a lot.

I'm aware of parts of the state with great turkey hunting, but please don't share it online. I'm quite familiar with the area you referenced. I don't want to steer non-residents away from the state, but I also don't want to give out specific areas. All I'll say is that both east and western SD has certain areas that are phenomenal.

 

[Cannonball]

I saw a Jake around here in July (44.0349723, -103.6327870)