az rio

[brian390]

Awesome updates on this hunt! Keep at it.

[idgaf]

In two words. I suck

[4Falls]

I wish they'd put more Rios in this state. Seems they'd fare much better than the Merriams.

[Big Tub]

Should stay off the internet and focus!..

[TRKHNTR]

Be patient and have fun, good luck.

[cramerhunts]

Keep after it and keep us posted!

[idgaf]

Mid season recap. first off big thanks to IABORN and OH THAT GUY for the help. IABORN got me in contact the GF unit manager and you can tell his passion for his job and he is good at it. He practically gave me coordinates to the roosts trees. I had to come back Sunday this work stuff gets in the way of more important things. I will be back in a week or so to finish.

Thursday, after spending the night at my moms house in Vegas and eating a Sushi Burrito and grabbing some groceries I head out to the unit estimating on the map that I would be at camp by noon. wrong, after several wrong turns I decide to cut my loses go to St George UT and head around making it camp about 445 and step into the unit for the first time. I set up my makeshift camp in 15 minutes and head out to scout. I travel 300 yards and find this guy. HE was taunting me.

 

I go a little farther down the road and stop and listen. I hear some angry gobbles. I work close and find his roost tree and in the immediate distance I hear a few more gobbles. Excited I head to camp and am anxious for the AM to get here.

 

I step in it on my way out

 

Friday Opening morning

 

300 AM gets there fast and I am prepared and parked several hundred yards from the roost tree by 400 AM and I on my way. I pack heavy w/ three decoys and a bunch of calls and even a thermos of hot water. I get to my spot by 430 and then I hear "GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE" Thinking wait I am not ready I put my spread out withing a 100 yards of the bird. I am below him set and waiting for a bit and getting bored. Let me preface this with saying I am not a good turkey hunter, I can not sit still long enough to let things develop. So I start going through my phone and reading topics on CWT. I get a little more anxious and start this thread waiting in anticipation. Gobbles are blowing up the silence of the early morning dawn. "My bird" well the closest one leaves his roost the wrong way. I am set up 75 yards below his tree and he takes off to right at 90 degrees. It may be because he saw the light of my phone or I over called or I was set up incorrectly, or maybe I was just on the wrong side of the tree. I continue calling and birds are coming in from three directions and closing. I hear four different gobbles. They are circling me like a pack of sharks at feeding time. They are close four different gobbles within a 100 yards. Then nothing everything starts fading a way.

 

I walk about 20 yards to the edge of finger I am on and see these guys strutting there stuff at 45 yards

 

 

They walk out of my life w/out getting closer

 

The winds pick up and all I see is deer and this lonely girl for the rest of the day.

The winds pick up to the point my dinner consist of doritos and a pop tart because it was to roaring so bad I am picking up my camp 100 yards from my camp.

 

Saturday

I have nothing roosted, the wind was so bad I was expecting to see spinning house and a lady on a bike flying around it. I climb to the top of the mountain and then some to hear a gobble by the truck. I hall butt to get back and call w/ lackadaisical response. I sneak in more and spook a hen i sneak farther and see a large gobbler going back and forth. I try to play whack a mole w/ him and try to thread the needle and head shoot him. Miss to the left with my second pin and he flushes.

 

After a few minutes of just standing there, I start heading back. after about twenty minutes of walking back I hear some frantic clucks close. I sneak closer and see a red headed jake and and small hen . i am close and decide I can shoot him. i get closer within 25 yards of the little guy and back down. then they flush ( I Think Rios are part Quail) and the hen taunts me.

Wind kills me for the rest of the day. Nothing but deer for the rest of the day. Not one gobble in the evening. I am freaking a bit.

Only animal posing for pics is this guy

Sunday (no wind)

I go to my goto spot not knowing what to expect. I hear a gobble then another. Packing light (no decoys no back pack) Just me and my bow and my slate call. Leaving the box at the truck. Gobble and then another, I haul butt to when they are. sneak in sneak in more set up within 75 yards. (no decoys) I soft cluck. heck breaks loose. ten minutes pass soft yelp. then heck breaks loose again. twenty minutes pass and they break roost. wrong way again. i yelp. Few minutes later I see two two year old gobblers at 41 yards. they freeze next to a tree. They do not move I decide to take the shot. This is where I SUCK. I missed. I was solid and I miss. 900 am rolls around and I have a meeting the next day. As I am driving out I see butterball showing off for hen where next to the park bench I was camped by. I stop take a step towards it and they run. I am hoping to be back next week.

 

 

Some of the cool stuff I seen on the way

[IA Born]

Sounds like some great action so far! Glad you were able to get the correct info from AGFD up there. He's a great guy! Good luck for the rest of the season!

[cramerhunts]

Thanks for the half time report. Good luck on the second half!

[Capt. Don Martin]

Listen, turkey hunting with a bow and arrow is not easy! Tough enough with a shotgun. Just keep after it.

 

Not a lot of gobblers on that mountain, but there are enough to keep things interesting for sure.

 

Good luck!

 

Don Martin

Arizona Wildlife Outfitters