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My brother-in-law, Joe, called me in January of 95 and asked me to go to Musselshell, Montana to hunt turkeys. He sure didn’t have to ask me twice! I flew into Spokane, WA, where I met up with the rest of the group and we drove across Idaho and Montana and on into Musselshell. We got into the ranch late that night and found a bunk. It was only about four hours later that the outfitter, Mike, woke us up, but we had no problems getting out of bed! We had a great breakfast and then went up into the mountains. The ranch where we were hunting was about 20,000 acres in the Bull Mountains. The Bulls’ are approximately 3,500 feet at their tallest and are covered mostly with pine. It is very open, beautiful country. Mike was short a few guides and being the only one in the party that had ever turkey hunted before, I just asked to be dropped off on any mountain with turkeys. Mike had his father, Chuck, drop me off in a fenced area that had six “sections” in it – 600 acres per section! I climbed the first hill I came to and started hearing turkeys gobble everywhere! When I realized the number of turkeys Mike had there, I decided not to rush the hunt, we had three days. So I started towards the bird I thought was the closest and jumped 10 or 12 elk! Scared the hell out of me! I got close to the gobbler and called, and the damn thing cutt off my call and ran straight to me, gobbling every step! I kept calling and it drove him nuts! He got about 20 yards, strutting…gobbling…I mean just going crazy! He looked to have about an 8-inch beard, and was just beautiful, but this was just about 30 minutes after getting dropped off, and so I decided to let him walk. Before he left, two jakes came in and really put on a good show with the old gobbler. The rest of the day was spent calling and watching turkeys (and elk and deer). I guess that first day I must have seen about 40 birds, 10 of which were gobblers (and I mean long beards, not jakes). Out of eight hunters, three took their birds and I think there were a few misses. Mike and I were hitting it off pretty good and he asked if I would help guide once I took my bird, and of course, I said “yeah” (Montana has a 1-bird limit). The next morning, I got dropped off in the same place and it was the same song, second verse: turkeys everywhere! I started towards a turkey that sounded like he was still on a limb but before I got there I heard one gobble in a tree about 50 yards away. I sat down under a pine and gave a few soft tree yelps and he double gobbled. As the sun started giving off a little more light, I yelped soft again and flopped my cap on my leg, inviting him to fly on down. But he stayed on his limb and almost gobbled himself to death until it was good light. When he came down, he hit the ground about 30 yards out, strutting and gobbling. I watched him for two or three minutes and then took him at about 20 yards. You have to keep in mind that the whole time, there are three to four other birds gobbling! It was just a great hunt! This turkey was a three-year old with a 9 ½-inch beard, 1-inch spurs and weighed 24 lbs. What a bird! The Merriams are, in my opinion, the most beautiful of all the turkeys, hands down. When you put them in that pin/open hill country, you can’t beat them! Now, some people say that these turkeys are easy to take and that may be, but its not because they’re stupid. The country in Montana is so big and vast that they just don’t see a lot of pressure. They’re very trusting because they are not at all call-shy. When I got back to the ranch house, I froze my turkey for mounting, at ate lunch and then took one of the other hunters into my “honey hole.” We called in a nice bird which this guy took and headed on back to the ranch. During the night, a new hunter named Wayne, came in from South Dakota. Everyone in our party except one guy, Bill, had taken a bird and Mike asked if I’d take Wayne out the next morning while he took Bill. Now Wayne wanted to do this thing with a bow. The next morning found me back at the “honey hole” with Wayne and his bow. By 10:00 am, he had missed two birds, cutting feathers from both, one at 12 steps (!). Wayne left at noon and went somewhere else, so I guided Bill that afternoon and he took his bird about an hour before dark, the last day. That night, back at the lodge, Mike and I talked about having me come back out the next spring and helping him some. Again, I said “yeah.” The next morning we all said our goodbyes and I flew back to SC from Billings, MT which is about 1 ½ hours from the ranch by dirt roads. In 1996 I took two weeks off and went to Montana at the end of April. I took six hunters out and all took birds, one missed two before taking his. I had a great time and took another long beard Merriam on one of my afternoons “off.” Mike had one party back-out at the last minute so I got two days off I wasn’t expecting to have. Mike lent me one of his ranch vehicles and I took off to explore the area and ended up in Cody, Wyoming (Cody is a nice western town with a lot to see and do if you have the time, but that’s another story). I hated to see those two weeks come to an end, but I’ll always have the memories. Unfortunately, since 1997, Mike has sold out, but I still talk with him from time to time. Fuel for Thought As you would know it, the only call I used was a “Bud & Betty” Slate and a few “Bud & Betty” box calls in 1996. The box’s work great in this open country as a long range locator. This was a great testing ground for my calls and they worked! Good luck hunting! Other Stories: |
Merriam in Musselshell