i friend invited my buddy and i to come up on the march 25th for the first few days of archery turkey season. How are the turkeys typically acting that week. i realize that they will get cranked in peak breeding later into april. who here has had alot of sucess in NB for early archery??
I live in NW KS (15 miles from NE and 80 from CO) and that first week of April is one of my favorite times to hunt turkey's. Season doesn't start till April 1st in KS. Where in NE are you going to be?
near woodlake
Personally that is my favorite week to hunt. If you can hunt where they winter the action can be amazing. In the part of the state I hunt they are typically still in gigantic winter flocks. But the birds are extremely vocal and the toms are strutting non-stop.
My eastern friends who I have taken to Nebraska cannot believe how much turkey vocalization they hear.
Good luck if you go!
These are from past opening days:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/tlclum/Hunting/turkey24.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/tlclum/Hunting/P1090438.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/tlclum/Hunting/P1090430.jpg)
^ i LOVE that last pic!!!
I have killed almost all my NE turkeys in the first 2 weeks of season. I love it but it can be frustrating for calling. I find a big flock and just pick at the edges until I convince one to break away or they happen to wander into me. If the big flock isn't where you can hunt, it can be lonely.
I've dug through snow to set my blind up that week, but usually not bad. It can get cold.
If you are in river or creek bottoms, you can sometimes just set up where they are headed and have a huge flock parade past you. If you do have birds already broken up, it can be great calling action, although its generally easier calling later in the season.
Wood Lake is a neat area. Driven through there many times on my way further west, but always been curious about that little spot.
Glunt nailed it pretty good for early season NE. My little brother comes back from MB and guides turkey bowhunters about an hour east of Wood Lake every spring. He does several days of scouting ahead of time for the early opener, and uses their own patterns as his guide for where to set up.
NE has an archery opener a couple weeks or more ahead of shotgun opener. And notice in High Plains's next-to-last photo that you have two different subspecies strutting side-by-side. A common occurrence in this state.
More birds than I would see in five years in my neck of the woods.Awesome pictures.