Montana 2021

[hobbes]

My turkey season will start early this year in Florida. We'll be flying to Florida on March 19th and back to Montana on March 26th. I've been to Florida multiple times but this will be my first time hunting there.

I've killed three of the four main subspecies. I started hunting Easterns in 1990 in Southern IL so I've killed a good number of them. I killed my first Merriam's in 2002 in SD then moved to CO in 2006 and Montana in 2011 killing Merriam's in CO, NE, MT, and SD since. I've also killed Rios in Kansas. I've not killed anything but Merriam's since 2015 when I killed a couple Easterns, a Merriam's, and a Rio.

Ive not hunted or killed an Osceola and after moving to Montana I wasn't really sure I'd be making the trip to Florida. However,some friends that we made here in Montana are from Florida and unfortunately made the decision to move back last fall. When my wife mentioned coming down for a visit (she's always loved FL) I said only if we go in March when I can hunt turkeys. My wife was all over that and our friends were as well.

I really planned to hunt a large popular WMA but my buddy and his in-laws came through for me and have me hooked up with some unexpected private land. It looks like I'll probably return the favor and take some folks hunting in Montana. I'll have to return the favor on public land but they are aware of that. (Hopefully they can draw a license.)

It's a hair less than five weeks away. The airline tickets are bought, the rental car is reserved, and the date to hunt is set. Looking forward to Florida.

 

[rooster440]

My turkey season will start early this year in Florida. We'll be flying to Florida on March 19th and back to Montana on March 26th. I've been to Florida multiple times but this will be my first time hunting there.

I've killed three of the four main subspecies. I started hunting Easterns in 1990 in Southern IL so I've killed a good number of them. I killed my first Merriam's in 2002 in SD then moved to CO in 2006 and Montana in 2011 killing Merriam's in CO, NE, MT, and SD since. I've also killed Rios in Kansas. I've not killed anything but Merriam's since 2015 when I killed a couple Easterns, a Merriam's, and a Rio.

Ive not hunted or killed an Osceola and after moving to Montana I wasn't really sure I'd be making the trip to Florida. However,some friends that we made here in Montana are from Florida and unfortunately made the decision to move back last fall. When my wife mentioned coming down for a visit (she's always loved FL) I said only if we go in March when I can hunt turkeys. My wife was all over that and our friends were as well.

I really planned to hunt a large popular WMA but my buddy and his in-laws came through for me and have me hooked up with some unexpected private land. It looks like I'll probably return the favor and take some folks hunting in Montana. I'll have to return the favor on public land but they are aware of that. (Hopefully they can draw a license.)

It's a hair less than five weeks away. The airline tickets are bought, the rental car is reserved, and the date to hunt is set. Looking forward to Florida.

Beautiful birds down there! Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hobbes]

Photos of spring 2015, the last time I hunted east of the Mississippi back home in Southern IL. We hunted MT, IL, KS, back to MT then NE. It rained the whole trip in NE so I struck out there. I still could have killed a bird but couldn't confirm it was a tom and not a jake until it was too late.

 

[hobbes]

Florida license and permit bought today.

 

[hobbes]

I've not done much in the way of preparation for Florida. There isn't really a lot to do. I don't think I can prepare for the heat and humidity. I'm looking forward to the green though.

I've got the license already and I've been applying for reissue quota permits so I can hunt a WMA also. I've decided not to fly with my shotgun but instead use my FL buddy's gun. I helped him set it up for turkeys when he lived here so no real concerns about it's effectiveness. I have gotten used to using a Vortex Venom sight but I used the tried and true double bead for years. I've ordered some light weight camo pants and a shirt that will probably just be used turkey hunting. It wasn't a requirement but I liked the excuse to purchase more hunting clothes. I've also picked up a Thermacell to keep the mosquitoes at bay and had refills delivered to my buddy in Florida so no issues with flying.

Other than that it's been non-stop car maintenance lately; a new alternator on my son's car, a new radiator on my daughter-in-law's car (warranty thank goodness), new front main seal on my daughter's car (used a mechanic), lower ball joints and tie rod on my wife's car (thank God for YouTube), and oil changes all around. Hopefully that keeps me caught up through turkey season. I'm also working on a few other house projects before leaving and trying to stay caught up at work.

I did go glass a few elk on private land just before a short lived snow squall on Saturday evening. I also got sick as heck Saturday night and puked my guts out. Thank God that's over (my ribs are still recovering).

 

[hobbes]

I should also mention that a friend sent me a very nice new handmade call that I've yet to get to practice with.


I've also got some mouth calls ordered from Del Crow at DC calls.

 

[hobbes]

I ordered a new lightweight pair of pants and a lightweight mesh back shirt for turkey hunting. Florida was a good excuse for a couple new items. These will not be worn while hunting elk. I don't think it makes a lot of difference but I prefer the darker more tree bark looking camo for turkey hunting because I've almost always got my back against a tree. The last few years I've been wearing a pair of military digital camo pants on bottom because it usually matches the ground cover and they were given to me. I don't think they'd match Florida real well, but I really doubt it would have made any difference in killing a bird.

The pants and shirt showed up today in the mail a couple days early. I ordered the EHG Elite Sedona Lightweight Cargo Pant and the Mossy Oak Country Long Sleeve Vented Back Shirt. I ordered the pants in original bottomland and the shirt is only offered in Break-Up. I've never been one to worry about matching camo.

Here is my take on fit.

Lately I've needed a 36" waist in jeans (I'm running heavy right now at the end of winter). Sometimes those are too big but a 34" is too small and I have to find some other brand or cut. I like to get a 34" inseam. I can't always find that so I'll go 32" sometimes. The 34" can sometimes be a little too long but works good with lower cut shoes. The 32" is often too short for lower cut shoes but is fine with a hiking boot or taller. I bought the Large size which shows 35" to 37" waist and 32" inseam. I'd say they are spot on with the waist. They fit me just enough that I could walk around the house without a belt, but I'd need a belt if doing too much especially hunting. I think the inseam feels a hair longer along the lines of the 34" inseams that I usually like in jeans. Overall, they fit me really well.

I almost always order an XL in a shirt. Occasionally a short sleeve shirt I'll go with a Large. It's typically across the shoulders and the arm length that requires me to get an XL. Occasionally I'll end up swimming in the shirt so that the arm length is good. The shirt fits really well.

As far as construction goes, both look good. I won't really have a feel for how they'll hold up until after this season. I'll for sure wear them in Florida (the whole reason I bought the mesh back shirt) and will likely wear them quite a few days in Montana covering a whole lot of ground in turkey season from one side of the state to the other. I can't comment on how they compare to their other products because I do not own any. This particular pair is not stretchy like my Sitka pants, but are very comfortable. I likely wouldn't use them elk hunting on more than a day hunt because they are cotton/polyester blend. The shirt is a lot like any of the other slick, very comfortable, quick drying shirts out there.

Pants:

Side pockets:

Rear pockets:

Shirt:

Mesh back:

 

[timbrhuntr]

Countdown begins and I'm still so jealous. I hope you have as much fun in Florida as I did. I still have a bunch of mouth calls from Del as I haven't been able to use them much the last couple of years . On a side note Montana is as predictable as always. New system and now I can't get into it like the last time they made changes took almost a year to get it straightened around then.

 

[hobbes]

Countdown begins and I'm still so jealous. I hope you have as much fun in Florida as I did. I still have a bunch of mouth calls from Del as I haven't been able to use them much the last couple of years . On a side note Montana is as predictable as always. New system and now I can't get into it like the last time they made changes took almost a year to get it straightened around then.

I've got to get into it and buy all of my licenses and apply for some permits. I knew the web site was new but I don't think I've been into the licensing to see how it's changed. Tough luck on your season again. I hope it changes for you soon.

 

[hobbes]

I just logged in with no trouble. I'll probably buy all licenses and apply for permits this afternoon.

 

[hobbes]

I've been shooting hand loaded tungsten super shot (TSS) for the last 3 years through my 12 and through a 20 last year. I load the 12s pretty light ( 2 3/4" with 1 5/8 oz of 8.5s) compared to most folks and have not set it up for an insanely dense core pattern. They are relatively expensive shells but considering that I don't shoot more than 5 a year, it's not a huge expense considering what I spend on everything else. The really nice thing is the recoil is minimal compared to the ammo I used to shoot.


While I've let both of my boys kill birds with the hand loads, I couldn't resist picking up some 3 1/2" HeviShot (5 boxes of 7s, 1 box of 5s, and 1 box of 4s) that I found at a good price. In addition to the Hevi Shot, there was some other ammo included in the lot. I'll let the boys shoot this ammo.

My new calls came in today also.



I won't be shooting any of this in Florida. Instead of flying with my gun, I'll be using my buddies Benelli that we set up with Winchester Longbeards.

 

[hobbes]

In addition to spring turkeys, I'm going to try to put some effort into a spring bear in late May. I've said that before but have never put any effort into it.

 

[hobbes]

It snowed yesterday morning then melted but it snowed again last night. The llamas are in lower right corner choosing to ignore the fact that there is a shed that they could use to avoid snow and wind.

 

[hobbes]

I've bought my licenses and applied for permits and B licenses. Same as always I buy the Base Hunting, Conservation, Sportsman's with Bear (includes deer, elk, bear, upland and fishing), Bow and Arrow, a General Turkey, and 4 Regional Turkey. In addition to that I've applied for a limited elk permit, a B deer license for a whitetail buck, an antelope buck license, a B antelope doe license, and a B elk license.


There's a good chance that I'll draw the elk B license and a decent chance that I'll draw the antelope licenses. I've put in for the B deer license for several years and not drawn it so I'm not holding my breath. I have just about a snowball's chance in hell of drawing the elk permit. "So you're saying there's a chance."


I'll apply for sheep, goat and moose in the near future. I'll also apply for a limited mountain lion license. The big three have the same snowball's chance and I've applied for the lion for three or four years without drawing.

 

[hobbes]

Difference in forecast for Florida vs. Montana next week. There's a difference of 25 to 30 degrees for most of the week.

Montana:



Florida:

 

[hobbes]

Not a very good photo because we were trying to hurry to get it back in the water, but a brown that was around 18". My son caught it right at dark. It shot off like a bullet once back in the water. It was missing its left eye.

 

[hobbes]

Went to look at the lake today but it's still iced over. The granddaughter wanted to fish so we went below the dam for a few minutes. It's the first time she's touched a rod but she had to help reel a couple times.

She turned 3 last weekend. I'll turn 51 tomorrow, God willing.

 

[hobbes]

We landed in Florida about 3:30 Eastern on Friday 3/19. I hunted some private land with a buddy this morning.

Birds didn't make a peep this morning early. Heard one bird gobble a couple of times a long way off but pretty sure that we bumped them. The guy that leases the ranch could've believe they weren't gobbling where we started. He said there were 5 birds gobbling there last weekend.

At around 11:30 we had some birds come in clucking. It turned out to be 4 jakes and a hen.

I'm not normally a jake killer, but..... while I thought it was likely a jake it had more beard and a bigger body than the other three so I second guessed myself when it quickly turned around. It was a now or never moment and I made the snap decision to shoot him. Im still happy that I've killed my first Osceola. I'll give some public land a run in a day or two.

 

[Outlaw99]

Osceola’s are beautiful birds. Congrats

 

[timbrhuntr]

Congrats on your first Osceola now go out and kill a real one ! Just couldn't resist . My first Merriam's in the New Mexico Mountains was a jake too ! He came in gobbling with two others and was a big bird and the strutter never once thought he was a jake lol Got lucky my first Osceola had an 11 inch beard and 1 3/8 hooks. But only weighed 13 pounds and he was pretty beat up hardly any tail feathers left I almost didn't shoot thinking he was a jake until he turned and I saw the beard . When I brought him to they check station they all said nice you got a jake until they saw the hooks and beard on him.