Any poult sightings out West??

[Turkeyman11]

Read a few reports on hatches in other areas of the country, but haven't seen or heard any info on areas out West.  Anybody been seeing any?  The Utah hatch this year is one of the best I've seen.  I've got pictures on most of my deer trail cams and have been seeing birds regularly.   Saw four hens last Saturday with 32 or 33 poults.  Couldn't confirm for sure...  Oh ya.  Also saw 13 long beards on a piece of property I hunt the other day.  Good thing I got some bucks to chase to pass the time till Spring. 

[GobbleNut]

I haven't been up in the mountains of southern NM recently so I have no personal knowledge of how our turkeys fared this year in terms of poult survival.  I have had reports from others with mixed reviews, and some have indicated seeing adult hens with poults in the last month, so I am optimistic.  One thing for sure is that southern NM has had more precipitation this year, which has eased the drought conditions a bit, so I suspect overall that we should have had relatively good poult survival,...assuming the added moisture here would make a difference.

Our birds will start flocking up pretty soon and it will be a lot easier to tell just how well they did this year in another month or so.

...Been thinking about heading up to Utah for a hunt.  Every time I hear anything about your state, it is that the turkey population is really doing well. Has UT gone to over-the-counter tags now,...or are they still allotted through a drawing?

[FL-Boss]

I have Utah on my hit list in the next few years. Any good outfitter recommendations ? prefer 2 hours max from Salt Lake

[Turkeyman11]

Utah has an early season which is around the second weekend in April.  All of those permits are by draw only.  We then have a second season which starts around the end of April, first of May that is over the counter.  I much prefer the second season.  Better access to higher country and after the first couple of days or so it's just me and a couple of buddies out chasin em.  Also, that hunt is a month long so if the weather is bad you can just wait for a better day.  Not too familiar with any turkey guides in Utah.  I just hunt public land do it yourself, but if you would like some pointers I would be glad to help.  I mainly hunt Southern Utah which is 3 hours south of Salt Lake.