Well i got my first merriam's turkey. i hunted one day.....but it was well earned. lots of hiking. i had one gobbling in the morning but it was henned up and wouldnt budge. i could hear the hens clucking and purring and he just wouldnt leave and i couldnt call the hens over either. so i hit a few other spots and found 4 antler sheds and fresh bear tracks but no turkeys. I had to kill about an hour before i met my wife in town so i hit a piece of public land 3 miles out side of town. it gets hit hard by the town hunters but no one was there so i climbed up the steep cliffs to the top pasture and got down in a pine coulee. i never expected to hear one gobble. it was about 33 degrees and windy and 1:40 pm. so i didnt bring anything with me, no decoy no call, nothin, just my shotgun and 3 shells. so i sat down and figured id nap a bit between calls. so i yelped a bit with my voice and 3 toms gobbled less than 100 yards away. all 3 came in strutting, drumming and gobbling. they put on a serious show. it was spectacular. i just clucked and purred and they would puff up. well 2 minutes later they were in range and i busted the lead bird....but also busted the stump infront of me so my first shot didnt do much so i gave it another while running away. but either way it was down and i got my first merriams. But Montana doesnt let you take multiple birds, so this is the only one i am allowed in this region, i can get one in the next region over and then i am done,. but its like a 2 hour drive to find turkeys. so unless i decide to go for a drive, my season started and ended in one day...really sux but nothin i can do about it. oh yeah, he's got an 8" beard and was 20 pounds but the spurs are all worn off from the rocks i guess.
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