I'm a "novice" turkey hunter that's killed a few mountain Merriam birds, but I'm far, FAR from being an expert. The birds that I have killed pretty much boil down to getting lucky, and I honestly can't say that my turkey hunting skills have helped me at all. Right time, right place. So, I have a couple questions for the more seasoned crowd. I will be hunting turkeys in the neighborhood of Broken Bow next month (May 15-22) & I'm wondering what to expect... will the turkeys still be actively gobbling on the roost and/or on the ground? What are the best calling/decoy strategies? Sit in a ground blind all day? etc.

I also plan to try killing one with my bow (if I can get one first with the shotgun)... any special considerations with that?

The only thing I can say is I never had much luck calling that late in the season as they have been hunted a bunch and pretty much over called. Usually that late I tried to find where they roosted at night then set up in a ground blind with a couple of decoys where I thought they might go on the fly down or to feed. It’s mostly luck after 5 to 6 weeks of season. Good luck to you.

I have actually had better results that time of the season than earlier. More Hens nesting and more stable weather. Snowing out there right now

Thank you for the comments, gentlemen. We'll be hunting private property & I'm told that the birds haven't had too much pressure, so I have my fingers crossed. Considering the relatively low bird densities in Colorado, compared to Nebraska, I'm thinking that even a "bad" hunt will still be great.

You will have a blast. NE is loaded with birds. We've always had good luck later in the season as well. With your shotgun, run and gun a little and find a fired up bird. Don't be afraid to use your woodsmanship skills and make a move if need be. Those birds are typically very vocal and will gobble a lot. Use that to your advantage if they won't come in. The bow is a totally different game and I recommend blind and a decoy for that. Find a good strut zone or set up in the dark near a roost and set out some decoys. Keep the decoys very close, 5-8 yards or so. Thump him when he's distracted by the decoy or if he turns while in strut. Turn your poundage down a little and make sure you can hit at 10 yards. You will be good to go. NE is a great state to turkey hunt and a great state to try your hand with a bow since there are so many birds. If you screw one up, just find another one. Good Luck!

Lee

The turkey numbers are way down in NE. Lots of theories, but the lack of birds is a fact. Been hunting there for many years and have never seen so few. A couple of the state biologists I met last week said they don't expect a decent recovery for several years. They're doing habitat improvement projects, mainly controlled burns to try to help.