black hills fall turkey hunt

Hello folks! I’m new to hunting and I’m planning my first diy turkey hunt. I’ve done a lot of research online but there not alot of info out there. I’ll be going out to the central part of the black hills area (Nemo, sd Vanocker canyon area) nov. 18 to stay away from the deer crowd (deer starts nov 1 I didn’t get a tag, damn). I’m planning on hiking in a ways and setting up camp. I’m not looking for a guide just tips or strategies I might not know about. I’m planning on using shotgun, decoys, and hoping to call them in or put them to bed and getting them in the am when they come down from the roost. Any advice would be great! Thanks in advance!

Merriams are crazy creatures of habit, you might be better off scouting for a day or so and set up an ambush. They not only roost in the same areas, often they sit on the same branch in the same spot. I’ve been out there and come across big piles of scat, like several weeks of it, in one spot. Not sure what to tell you on the decoys or calling for a fall hunt.

Good luck!

Thanks Pete! I’ll give that a try. Spend the first day or 2 checking things out.

Id leave your calls and decoys in the truck. They’ll just weigh you down. Ive killed alot of turkeys out there because we have a cabin out there for 30 years. Alot of times they have left overs so you can shoot 2 or 3 if they are available. Not sure if you are Resident or Non. Maybe if you’re non-resident they only let you have 1. Not sure.

Its just spot and stalk. And when you get tired of getting spotted on your sneak attack.. grab the rifle..

I bet you would have limited, if any at all, success using decoys and calling in the fall. Bring your best pair of boots because these birds go up and down the mountains like nothing. Go in as light as you can.
Also during deer season I might wear some orange until you are making your final approach. There are tons of deer hunters out, with high power deer rifles.

Thanks sktrwx2100. I’ll leave the decoys in the truck. I assumed you always want them, but now that I think of it the turkeys aren’t looking to mate at that time. I was thinking of still bringing the calls just to get them to talk and let me know where they are, if I can’t see them. I’m a South Dakotan so I’ll definitely get more tags if they’re available. More meat the better!