Who travels for turkeys?

[WoodDuck]

My wife and I love to turkey hunt and typically buy 2 tags a piece each spring for our home state, but have never traveled out of state to hunt them. I’m considering trying to draw a tag for a long weekend hunt in a neighboring state this year as a fun adventure for us.

Since nobody I know does this, it got me curious; who here has traveled to hunt turkeys out of state? How far are you driving? Do you camp or rent lodging?

 

[Jbehredt]

We cross a state line to hunt. And rent the same house every year. It’s a great time. We actually book two long weekends each spring.

 

[dtrkyman]

I hunt 4-6 states a year. I generally camp except one state I have a place to stay at a friends close to a lot of public land.

I travel over 1000 miles one way, but also have family to visit in that area so I can see family in between some hunts.

I plan the trip to hunt bordering states so it minimizes travel a little.

I used to have way less travel but have moved out west so I am far from the places I hunt other than home state and a bordering state.

 

[Claroue]

I have traveled for turkey hunts to multiple states. I am looking to get the slam so that requires travel outside of my home state Wisconsin.

I have hunted S Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Oklahoma and Florida. Looking to get into Mexico for last 2.

I have done both lodging and camping for birds depends on location.

 

[FLS]

Hunted turkeys all over the SE, Osceolas in FL , Rios in TX, Merriams in SD.

 

[bdg848]

I travel 3.5 hours to turkey hunt....but I just go to the far side of my own state were there is a large difference in topography, more public land, and higher bird numbers. I am interested in traveling out of state but only for a different subspecies or new terrain. Going from cornfields in Iowa to cornfields in Indiana doesn't make a lick of sense to me, haha. I am very interested in Merriams in an "exotic" type location. Nearest "mountain-ish" terrain for me would be the black hills but I've heard the birds are hard to come by there. I'd love to hear first hand from anyone who has done that hunt.

 

[WMelbgator]

I traveled 15 and half hours last year to hunt Eastern's on family and State land in West Virginia and I had a blast chasing them on those mountains, especially since I'm from Florida. I'm hooked and will be making this an annual thing. I also tagged out on a jake and long bread.

 

[rookieforever33]

I live in Illinois and have traveled to Wyoming to hunt turkeys. A couple extra days to sight see. Hunting in April. Bagged a different kind of bird. Winners all around.

 

[Mosby]

I go out of state. Last 2 times I went to Iowa it snowed about a foot. Would like to go back but I think I'm going to go east to VA this spring.

 

[Kurts86]

I’ve traveled to the neighboring state and I’ve driven halfway across the country. I’ve camped, gotten hotels and Airbnb’s depending on the weather and location.

Not to be pessimistic but traveling to hunt turkeys on public land is 5-10 years past its heyday. It used to be a great way to start early or extend your season but a lot more guys started traveling to hunt turkeys on public land while the numbers have crashed nationwide.

 

[Steve O]

Yep, have traveled all over the US for turkeys. Favorite so far is a Goulds and Merriams in Arizona. Been to Florida a couple times with no luck for my Royal filling Osceola. Do it!

 

[WoodDuck]

I’ve traveled to the neighboring state and I’ve driven halfway across the country. I’ve camped, gotten hotels and Airbnb’s depending on the weather and location.

Not to be pessimistic but traveling to hunt turkeys on public land is 5-10 years past its heyday. It used to be a great way to start early or extend your season but a lot more guys started traveling to hunt turkeys on public land while the numbers have crashed nationwide.

What general region are you referring to? I would love to hunt birds in the west some day, but realistically this is a long weekend trip for us, so I’d like to keep the drive under 8 hours. That limits us to the Midwestern states.

 

[Kurts86]

What general region are you referring to? I would love to hunt birds in the west some day, but realistically this is a long weekend trip for us, so I’d like to keep the drive under 8 hours. That limits us to the Midwestern states.

It’s not exclusive to a region, it’s largely been the timing and speed of the crash. I’ve hunted MO, KS, IL, TN and NE for turkeys.

If you go back in time 5 years TN had a 4 bird limit and an opening date the first weekend of April. Now it’s mid April and 2 birds.

Kansas used to be 2 turkey tags over the counter and now it’s 1 tag draw for nonresidents.

Nebraska used to 3 tags OTC and now it’s a 10,000 NR cap for the year with a 2 bird limit. I talked to a game warden last spring in Nebraska that said in 2021 he had checked turkey hunters from 41 different states in one season. Before Nebraska changed their regulations they were seeing 35-40% of their turkey harvest from Nonresidents.

The SE turkey populations really have declined for 20 years whereas KS crashed in the 2010’s and NE crashed in the last 5 years. MO has been on a long slow decline since the early 2000’s but it has not been as dramatic.

 

[TheGrayRider]

Ocellated turkey hunt in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico a few years back.

Traveling to spring turkey hunt in the US or elsewhere is my favorite type of hunting. Just go. You won’t regret it. Good luck!

Happy hunting, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

 

[deerhunt1988]

The question now days is WHO ISN'T traveling for turkeys. Social media and YouTube have dealt a gigantic blow to quality public land hunting and turkey hunting opportunities across the nation.

 

[dr.mooseknuckles]

SC public and Alabama private. That's it for me. I'd avoid coming to SC.
Just went down to 2 birds, no jakes and they've discontinued the Lottery hunts on those WMAs, and have decided to just open them up fully, which makes no sense. They claim it was because people had been applying for 10 years and hadn't been selected. I was drawn last year with 4 preference points. Don't know why, but I think if the numbers are declining, it's pretty dumb to open up the Lottery sites.

Our place in Alabama had been declining, but we had a pile of birds last season and deer cameras are showing that continued.

 

[jmez]

SD turkey numbers have crashed over the last few years as well. I live on the border of the Black Hills. 10 years ago there would be 60-80 turkeys in my yard every day fall through spring. Now, I might see 60 in an entire year, might.

They alos changed the Black Hills regs. Used to be ulimited tags for NR in the Black Hills. Now it is 2250 I believe and you have to apply.

 

[WoodDuck]

The question now days is WHO ISN'T traveling for turkeys. Social media and YouTube have dealt a gigantic blow to quality public land hunting and turkey hunting opportunities across the nation.

None of my hunting family/friend group travels for turkeys besides a relatively short drive in our home state, though that’s probably because we are blessed with a good number of birds, multiple tags, and ample public and private access. I don’t consume much for hunting social media besides podcasts, so I don’t have much insight into that world besides what I hear from others. There’s no question that social media has popularized certain types of hunting.

I’ve got it narrowed down to 3 states that offer OTC tags and are a 5-10 hour drive for us. I’d prefer to get into some different terrain than we typically hunt, but those are the further drives. As long as the weather forecast looks adequate and life doesn’t get in the way, we’ll buy tags a week or two before the trip and make the most of it.

Still up in the air whether we will truck camp or rent a room, may even be a combination of the two.