Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Montana Merriam's....

I thought maybe it was some of your sentimental cow shiit.

Merriam's are beautiful birds. I've heard tale of a few Montana folks having problems with eastern birds though.

Not to step on Ben's toes here, but here are two more Montana Merriams. One from yesterday and one from opening day. First has a 9 1/2 inch beard and the second has a 9 inch beard.



I think Merriams are easier to hunt than easterns...as I've hunted and killed both but I think the Merriams just are not hunted as hard. I don't necessarily think easterns are more difficult to call in and outsmart, at least not unpressured easterns.

The hard hunted Merriams I've hunted in northern Idaho were every bit as wary as the easterns I chased when stationed in North Carolina.

And there are enough mutts running around crossed with easterns, or whatever the local farm & ranch store is peddling, to make it hard to speak in absolutes.

true...the birds in the Bitterroot Valley are not like the Merriams of the eastern part of the state...as their tail feather trims are not the almost white color that traditional Merriams have. They're not as dark as an eastern either. Maybe a Rio cross of some sort? The second bird above had spurs like an eastern, but the first had short stubby spurs like a Merriams. Both had the tail feathers of neither traditional eastern nor Merriams...

Who knows...

I think the few I've shot in ID were mutts...

Tyler, did you hunt those Idaho birds with Mark? He helped me get my first bird near Southwick Idaho, 18 years ago from yesterday.

I believe it was one of the rare easterns that had been transplanted into the area, or was of a direct lineage of them. Tail feathers and the bases were dark brown and his spurs were close to 2 inches long. Best I could tell, he was a purebred eastern, but I'll bet they're so crossbred these days that a bird like him doesn't exist there anymore, unless they've transplanted more eastern into the area.

Yep. Probably in the same canyon you did. We got one there and one closer to the reservoir. Here's my bird from up there.

Very nice and great pics.

Fine story and pics!

You two brothers really get after them!