Turkey hunting

I drew the Marquez WMA this year and the way things are going I'm expecting an email any moment from NMDGF telling me the hunt is cancelled. But if not, yeah--I intend to be out there putting my world's worst turkey calling skills to the test...
 
Anyone looking for a turkey hunting partner? I’m new to this hunt but looking to go and learn. Worst case, I’ll be self quarantined in the Forest opening weekend ?
 
We will definitely be out on opening day granted it's still a go as others have stated. If they 86 spring turkey then I'm going to be pretty stir crazy until September.


J
 
They can't rely on social media and internet announcements to spread the news if they were to cancel the hunt. Not everyone has internet availability in their homes so they would have to call tag holders or send a notice in the mail.
 
I would like to be calling Turkeys in a couple weeks but I’m not going to underestimate the governor of NM. I can’t launch my boat at Elephant Butte until who knows when. As long as you are not gathering as a group, the woods and a water are safe places to be.
 
BrianID said:
I would like to be calling Turkeys in a couple weeks but I’m not going to underestimate the governor of NM. I can’t launch my boat at Elephant Butte until who knows when. As long as you are not gathering as a group, the woods and a water are safe places to be.
Click to expand...
I agree. Did not understand the closing of the lakes. I can understand the campgrounds, but not out fishing on the lake. And right now is perfect time for white bass and walleye.
 
Well Hell , there went that idea of chasing birds.

FB_IMG_1585573369817.jpg
 
I called my local district office and they said we can still turkey hunt that it’s the state parks and facilities that are closed
 
Looks like you will have to follow what ever group size limitations are imposed in your state. So that would be 5 people in NM. At least that's how I interpret it.

You can look up the order # to see the whole document.
 
tomvern85 said:
I called my local district office and they said we can still turkey hunt that it’s the state parks and facilities that are closed
Click to expand...

Well that's not what the document says (if its real) Says NF is closed except for LEO and Firefighters. I was just out today looking for sheds, and made it home without being arrested. They are letting everyone out of jail anyway so just ignore it.
 
In item #1 it states "entering the restricted areas with a "group" in excess of the number specified in any public health order."
 
cosmic_cowboy said:
Well that's not what the document says (if its real) Says NF is closed except for LEO and Firefighters. I was just out today looking for sheds, and made it home without being arrested. They are letting everyone out of jail anyway so just ignore it.
Click to expand...

The document reads that areas and facilities as outlined by the public health order are closed to public use. This means developed campgrounds with any ancillary facilities such as bathroom and water use within the campground. Doesn't mean it is closed 1/2 mile down a road with a locked gate.
 
roadrunner said:
The document reads that areas and facilities as outlined by the public health order are closed to public use. This means developed campgrounds with any ancillary facilities such as bathroom and water use within the campground. Doesn't mean it is closed 1/2 mile down a road with a locked gate.
Click to expand...

Well maybe they should spell that out in clear language... WTF is 36.C.FR8 and 261.53 (E) supposed to mean ? I Will just carry on going where I want in the NF which my house is surrounded by. And there has to be info about this "Virus" that we are not being told. This has never happened before. Lock n Load my friends...........
Jack
 
I read it as it's a violation if you enter areas that have been closed within the federal forests. I read it as state parks, campgrounds etc. Not the Forest itself.
 
cosmic_cowboy said:
Well maybe they should spell that out in clear language... WTF is 36.C.FR8 and 261.53 (E) supposed to mean ? I Will just carry on going where I want in the NF which my house is surrounded by. And there has to be info about this "Virus" that we are not being told. This has never happened before. Lock n Load my friends...........
Jack
Click to expand...

The section 'Restricted Areas' speaks to areas and facilities. The only areas and facilities in Nat'l Forest are developed campgrounds and/or parking areas. It is impractical to list them all in a dozen ranger districts.
 
BTW, this Order was issued on March 24. Having spent a good bit of time in the Cibola National Forest and Santa Fe National Forest in the past two weeks, and having waved at several Forest Service Rangers along the way, I can say that no one was being restricted, other than established campsites and areas with facilities. There were MANY people openly hiking, camping and generally screwing around with no restrictions, other than those already in place regarding group size, etc.
 
Allen is right.

Go to the Cibola or Santa Fe NF website and it spells it out!

Turkeys are hitting the dirt next week.
 
Campgrounds only are closed .in AZ. and New Mexico. Thats all I know for sure. Here in Phoenix I thought they said that even cops were not gonna mess with people on petty crimes. If thats the case even If the forrest was closed , they would probly just say leave. Buts not closed.....................BULL!
 
I don't think this means that the forests are closed. If you visit the site for the Santa Fe National Forest, they issued a notice yesterday encouraging responsible recreation in the forest for Easter weekend.
www.fs.usda.gov

Santa Fe - News & Events

Santa Fe - News & Events
www.fs.usda.gov

So they fully expect folks to be out enjoying the mountains.
 
Yeah don't Follow Everything You Hear or are Told to Decide. I Crossed The Mexico Border Last week and everything was Normal Despite What the Media is Putting Out there.

Are there any other travel restrictions being enforced in New Mexico At this Point?
 
I still plan on New mexico ,leaving Saturday . Plenty of time to find em before next Wednesday. I have so many different places I wanna go, I am up in the air. Depends on how much snow comes from Saturdays storm. Might stay low and then head up higher later in the week. If I find good birds low I stay put. A little warmer to for this Desert boy .LOL.....................BULL
 
I lied , Think I'M going tomm. got everything ready to go ,just gotta load it up in the AM. $ days of scouting time,should get into plenty of birds. I don't think I ever had to hunt more than 3 days . But I have 2 bird tag ,so I can hunt as long as I need. Scouting weather is gonna be snowy Sat. PM and Monday . Lotta ground I wanna check out and ha em ready for Wed. Then the weather is gonna get nice during the hunt.Good luck to all..............................BULL!
 
Got my email from G&F. It says I'm not allowed to camp on the Marquez WMA, but otherwise I can still hunt there. It's a bummer but I can live with it. It also says that my license is valid to hunt anywhere else in the state that is open to Turkey hunting. Five more days... :)
 
Saw six hens and about a dozen elk. I did get a couple gobblers to answer me but couldn't persuade either to come closer than a 100 yards. Doesn't seem like they're very hot yet, but I'm still trying to learn the place too. All in all, it sure beat the heck out of staying home. Thank you NMDGF for not closing down hunts. Will give it another shot on Saturday.
 
mozey said:
Saw six hens and about a dozen elk. I did get a couple gobblers to answer me but couldn't persuade either to come closer than a 100 yards. Doesn't seem like they're very hot yet, but I'm still trying to learn the place too. All in all, it sure beat the heck out of staying home. Thank you NMDGF for not closing down hunts. Will give it another shot on Saturday.
Click to expand...
Same with the hunt on the Valles Caldera. I can't access the Caldera through any of the normal access points. But I can jump the fence anywhere to get onto the Caldera. The problem is the forest service roads have not opened yet. So that limits me to the southwest portion of the Caldera. Trying to find someone with an E-Bike that would let me use/rent for the hunt. That would allow me to access the areas I want to get into.
 
The gobblers didn't seem too hot for me yesterday either but maybe it was just bad luck yesterday. I had my safety off and finger on the trigger on a hen that I was tryin to put a beard on and saw a few gobblers on private but they didn't seem that active. It was much better than sitting at home. I'll probably give it another try or two over the next week.
 
Same here. We just wrapped up a quick 3 day. Plenty of birds but many didn't seem to want to play. Several Toms we found had hens with them. Will give it another go in a week or two.


J
 
Well my best laid plan got blown to smithereens. I thought I had them pin-pointed all around a hidden spring on Wednesday evening. Packed back in there yesterday morning with my decoys and calls and had everything set up and ready to go by 6:15. For the next five hours I didn't hear a single cluck, yelp, or gobble. At 7:15 I did hear a single shot way up on the mountain. Apparently somebody knew they'd all migrated to higher elevations. I'm just happy that it's a long season for me to try to get this figured out.
 
tomvern85,

Good job on the Tom!
Was he fired up and responsive to calling or were you just in the right place at the right time?
 
I been out 3 times. Once for youth and my kids slammed 3 jakes! Was awesome - they did so well! Thankfully they are lucky cause I have gone out 2 full 14 hour days haven’t heard a thing or seen a beard since! Terrible. Wednesday full of snow and mud and windy yesterday. It’s super dry and I have killed tons of birds in the same spots but I am just not hearing them, seeing any sign of any birds period. Saw some ridiculously over grazed forest! Looked like the Serengeti before the rains!

a few friends hearing them but the general consensus is they aren’t into it much. Gonna still go out more because the hunting was terrible but fresh air and doing something wasn’t!!
 
I was out in taylor this weekend saw some birds, but all was relatively quiet heard 2 gobbles right at sun up, but was so windy. I dont think they are fired up yet , maybe another week . I had a buddy in the zunis say they same thing, not a peep
 
mossback50cal said:
What area of the state are you hunting ocho?
Click to expand...
I was in 10, 9 and 13 seams like everything going good for birds is north right now.

I am glad the luck was here for my girls as they shot 3. I’d rather them have a good hunt than myself. I’ll try and hit it during the week again.
 
Got back from my 3 state turkey hunting. Cold, wet and windy, some hot toms and many started laughing when I called. Just not in the mood I guess ? I ended up filling all 6 tags but I worked harder for them than I have had to in the past. Fun ,challenging and a long trip ! We have enough meat to last us a year ! Any really good recipes ?
 
littlebull209338 said:
Got back from my 3 state turkey hunting. Cold, wet and windy, some hot toms and many started laughing when I called. Just not in the mood I guess ? I ended up filling all 6 tags but I worked harder for them than I have had to in the past. Fun ,challenging and a long trip ! We have enough meat to last us a year ! Any really good recipes ?
Click to expand...

We did this one with my Fall bird for Thanksgiving. Just tweaked it by adding some green chile. Everyone loved it.

J
 
I bet it’s close , I heard some areas birds were really active and other areas it was just not a lot of birds sounding off but wind all over the state by afternoon....
 
Hunting and access is good on the southern Forests. Gobblers are henned up. Gobbling good on the limb and shut up on the ground.
 
I have heard reports of people shooting roosted birds in the Sacramento Mountains. That can’t be legal here is it?
 
Flirted with this bird for over an hour. He'd gobble once and then go silent for five or ten minutes. Came close the first time only to turn around and go a couple hundred yards back up the ridge. At that point, I didn't think he was going to come back, but then he turned around and slowly worked his way back down before hanging up again just inside my effective range. That was close enough for me. He never did strut that I saw.

I think he's the prettiest turkey I've ever taken, but he's also the "turkey-est" smelling turkey I've ever smelled. I hope the strong smell doesn't affect how he tastes.

So happy to be able to hunt. One down, one to go.

2020 Turkey7.JPG
 
Last edited:
I’d have to say the bit rut has already happened or where I have killed 40 plus giant toms over years is completely rid of birds! We shot 2 more jakes yesterday but man I still haven’t heard a gobble and we finally saw a Tom. 2 jakes and a tom and lone hens. Kind of a bummer!
I would love them to implement Archery only April 1st - 15th.

Out bird hunt is just super late in general for the bird rut! Most states with good hunts open in March and the birds have been gobbling since mid March so do the math. Even though they can go good in April I still think it’s a bit late here.
 
Mozey, that is a beautiful bird.
We made a pit stop at home. Went to the gila, explored all of the southern section, and heard no gobbles. Saw a couple, but they weren't interested in our calls. I will say there was way too many utvs. We were 20 miles back on a forest road camped, and it was constant traffic. Music playing as loud as it would go, hauling butt down the roads. Even getting back a couple canyons didn't seem to help. We are headed to another area today, for this evening and tomorrow, then back to work tuesday. Hopefully we will find some!
 
People everywhere! I have hit 9, 10, 13, 37 & 38 seen one Tom and about 12 jakes 10 on my daughters hunts. 2 on Saturday which were the lucky winners of a free ride back to albuquerque and will be disassembled and turned into deep friend nuggets with home made fries!!

I may go once more but not sure. I haven’t hardly seen any bird sign. All the bird were full of grass, fresh so I can say they are feeding in high grass areas and super green.
There were fair amount of campers too. People just going to the hills to escape the corona! Don’t blame em.
 
Ocho I agree. Went into a spot in 10 where I have killed 20+ mature birds and theres not a turkey one in there. Plus the amount of people doesnt help. Our opener is about 3 weeks too late.
 
I dont blame em either, I just wish they had some decency. Being out in the woods doesnt mean doing donuts with utvs and blasting music so loud it can be heard canyons over. That's the part that upsets me.
 
not to mention all the illegal fires i saw this weekend in 10.. that place was a zoo , not one gobble not one turkey , nothing but people and illegal fires. Guess no one follows the rules anymore. i feel like im the only one sometimes ..
 
Man--that's sounding brutal. My buddy and I were in the Gila over the weekend too, but fortunately didn't witness all of that. It was a two-mile hike in, and we were both complaining that we saw four other sets of footprints (even though we didn't actually see any other people the entire two days we were in there).

Based on what I've seen, the gobbling has been minimal and now I'm not seeing any hens, so I think they are nesting already. I agree with Ocho that the bird rut for some reason was much earlier this year than what I saw last year. So it's time to switch to late season tactics.
 
They were gobbling in Sumner this weekend, called in this Jake for my dad. Seems to be a down year for Rios as well.

39592B8A-9892-42C5-A4BC-F1EDDD1C0F25.jpeg
 
mozey said:
Man--that's sounding brutal. My buddy and I were in the Gila over the weekend too, but fortunately didn't witness all of that. It was a two-mile hike in, and we were both complaining that we saw four other sets of footprints (even though we didn't actually see any other people the entire two days we were in there).

Based on what I've seen, the gobbling has been minimal and now I'm not seeing any hens, so I think they are nesting already. I agree with Ocho that the bird rut for some reason was much earlier this year than what I saw last year. So it's time to switch to late season tactics.
Click to expand...

I already did. It’s so funny how you can hike all over the mountain be in trees in the dark and get nothing. Than hop in the truck and shoot 12” beard standing right off the road. Turkeys are apparently so dumb they are smart or visa versa! I have probably shot 20 plus toms (and paint brush beards) that just decide to dare to see if my Turkey load will completely explode their head!

it’s odd how at times we kill or take the animal we want but not the way we want yet still feel cheated. So I guess it is t always about the kill. Maybe the pursuit...
 
This season has be a hard one. It’s not like the ones they show on tv. Roost a bird, hike in the dark, locate the bird and call em in like they do in hunting shows. Only heard one Tom and he was a smart.. was vocal and shut down after.
 
Good way to cook legs and thighs: Crock pot for 8 hours at a very slow boil in chicken bullion flavored water, separate from bones and legs .pour out water and put back in crock pot, add equal parts Sprite and your favorite BBQ sauce, let simmer 15-20 minutes and make a hamburger bun sandwich with all you would normally put on a hamburger.....having this for dinner tonight...even my wife likes this.
 
mozey said:
Man--that's sounding brutal. My buddy and I were in the Gila over the weekend too, but fortunately didn't witness all of that. It was a two-mile hike in, and we were both complaining that we saw four other sets of footprints (even though we didn't actually see any other people the entire two days we were in there).

Based on what I've seen, the gobbling has been minimal and now I'm not seeing any hens, so I think they are nesting already. I agree with Ocho that the bird rut for some reason was much earlier this year than what I saw last year. So it's time to switch to late season tactics.
Click to expand...
When you're hunting partner is your disabled dad, it's kind of hard to get that far in. But, at this point, getting in as many hunts with him as I can. I just wish I knew now, that chino mine is closed. Found thar out yesterday, a little too late. I would have avoided the southern gila if I knew that. It wasn't just the hunting, it was throughout the night as well.
 
Well I believe this year is a wrap! Worst turkey hunting years ever for me in a weird way! Shot 5 birds all jakes with kids a buddy and only saw one Tom on over 2,000 miles plus traveled and a total of 8 units and heard one gobble from a jake my daughter killed.
Yesterday went back to 13, sucked and no sign so booked to bursum rd through 16d, and 16a and back out through Apache creek into 15 valle de Vince’s and out through quemado back through grants home after coming from the Mag side. One hen that was injured looked to have been shot cause was limping who knows. Didn’t hear or see anything else.
Was a successful year as far as nicking a few down but felt like wasn’t really a hunt any of the days. Could be worse I suppose and got nothing. Hope everyone else had better luck!
I would love to see April 1st - 15th for Archery! End of March for youth and for more than a weekend! If my kids hadn’t of got lucky they would of hated probably pushed away from going out despite beautiful drive. I just advocate for kids getting promising hunts to keep their interest high.
 
If you're wondering what you might do with your turkey hide, one of my employees showed me this article:

losalamosreporter.com

Mary Weahkee, An Archeologist And Anthropologist, Weaves Blanket With 17,000 Turkey Feathers

Mary Weahkee, an archeologist and anthropologist with the Department of Cultural Affairs in Santa Fe, weaved a blanket with thousands of feathers from turkey hunters. Photo by Martin Perea/NMDG&amp…
losalamosreporter.com losalamosreporter.com

I've informally donated several birds to a local pueblo the last several years, but this seems to me like a better way to do it. I found the NMDGF archeologist that is cited in the article to be very helpful and even though most of the pueblos are locked down right now, was able to make arrangements to preserve and then donate my turkey hide(s) once things are opened back up again.
 
Total bust for me this year. Echo Ocho's assessment, worst year I've had in a long time trying for birds. I only bowhunt, so recognize the difficulty in actually killing one compared to shotgun, but dang I had a tough time locating birds. Almost zero action and never had a gobbler respond to calls.

BTW I like ortegageno's turkey display. I made one myself many years ago that still looks great. I carved and painted the head/neck, so it's only 2-dimensional, but really shows off the colors in the feathers when the sun hits it.
turkey mount6.jpg
 

Similar threads

colbam
Unit 52 elk... Plannning for another epic NM adventure
Replies
7
Views
745
hunting1
hunting1
NOK'D-UP
Iso Wyoming Resident Guide
Replies
16
Views
877
Wiszard
Wiszard
F
Nevada Unit 24 Buck Tag
Replies
7
Views
457
fmnjr
F

Member Gallery Photos and Videos!

33D38EF5-5AE3-4791-B3EC-F06612A6F0E2.jpeg
IMG_4912.jpeg
Montanaelk2010.jpg
E2EA1AA7-35A4-4388-AEF6-AE68E4526D47.jpeg
2019-10-22 16.49.53.jpg
Screenshot_20230117_155506_Gallery.jpg
Another Bedded Buck
20200913_122213.jpg
15268C5F-5885-4BF6-9EBD-6EAE6B4E8365.jpeg
IMG_0606.jpg
D43D3DEC-CD15-4547-8D65-EA84D6EF193E.jpeg
IMG_4167.JPG

New Mexico Guides & Outfitters

H & A Outfitters

Private and public land hunts since 1992 for elk, mule deer, sheep, pronghorn, black Bear & lion hunts.

505 Outfitters

Public and private land big game hunts. Rifle, muzzleloader and archery hunts available. Free Draw Application Service!

Sierra Blanca Outfitters

Offering a wide array of hunt opportunities and putting clients in prime position to bag a trophy.

Urge 2 Hunt

Hunts in New Mexico on private ranches and remote public land in the top units. Elk vouchers available.

Mangas Outfitters

Landowner tags available! Hunt big bulls and bucks. Any season and multiple hunt units to choose from.

Back
Top Bottom