In less than two months, I’ll be chasing turkeys again. I was drawn here in Arizona for the third year in a row, and have been lucky enough to hunt in Kansas, Ohio, and with the White Mountain Apache Tribe over the last couple of years. My standard Arizona draw-tag hunts have not gone as well as the others… skunked! I have found birds on the regular hunts, but just couldn’t close the deal. Last year, hunting with my friend
Jay Scott, I got too impatient and shot a bird while he was still too far away. I rolled him off his feet, but he jumped up and ran off. Ohio and the Reservation have been very good to me, though! I shot my first Eastern in Ohio and three Merriam’s on the Reservation. Plus, in 2009 I also shot a bear while turkey hunting on the Reservation. Last year on the Res I shot two Merriam’s, and then stuck around to shoot a few more with my camera.
Here are a few photos from my 2010 hunts:
Checking for tracks.
Locating roosting birds at sunset allows you to get into the right spot the next morning.
The Fort Apache Indian Reservation has phenomenal turkey habitat.
The "Res" allows you to shoot two birds.
Nothing gets a turkey hunter fired up like the sight of a couple strutting toms!
Coming to the call and the decoys - electronic calls are allowed on the Reservation.
