Late Season Colorado

[JMalin]

Some pretty strong wing gusts, clouds, and light rain moved in during the last hour of daylight and as I sat there waiting for anything to happen, I had strong case of home sickness set in.  I thought I had heard a hen making some noise from back behind me, but never did hear anything fly up and at this point I was convinced it was time to call it and head home.  I honestly don't even think I would have stayed another night for a guaranteed shot opportunity the following morning.  I ended up making a little over half the eight hour drive home before pulling over at a rest stop, getting a couple hours of sleep before making the rest of the drive back to Lubbock. 

Lots of things I would have done differently and I'll likely return in the future (earlier in the season) armed with the knowledge gained from this trip.  Hunting alone in remote country is super isolating and I say this as an introvert that does a lot of things alone.

[deerhunt1988]

Hunting alone in remote country is super isolating and I say this as an introvert that does a lot of things alone.

When the action is slow and conditions tough, it doesn't even have to be remote country before it starts taking a toll on you mentally! I always start thinking about the vacation time I could be saving, how much I have to do back at home and at work, etc. I commend you for sticking it out as long as you did. You'll get one next trip using what all you've learned from this one. I'd just recommend going earlier!

I first went to Colorado in 2016 and the turkey hunting pressure was minimal other than a few locals. I know some folks who've hunted the same area in recent years and it is night and day difference. Marketing and social media has no doubt been extremely successful on getting western big game hunters interested in turkey too.

[GobbleNut]

Hunting alone in remote country is super isolating and I say this as an introvert that does a lot of things alone.

When the action is slow and conditions tough, it doesn't even have to be remote country before it starts taking a toll on you mentally! I always start thinking about the vacation time I could be saving, how much I have to do back at home and at work, etc. I commend you for sticking it out as long as you did. You'll get one next trip using what all you've learned from this one. I'd just recommend going earlier!

I first went to Colorado in 2016 and the turkey hunting pressure was minimal other than a few locals. I know some folks who've hunted the same area in recent years and it is night and day difference. Marketing and social media has no doubt been extremely successful on getting western big game hunters interested in turkey too.

I admire anybody that will stick with hunting anywhere for an extended period when the birds are not vocal and/or there are just very few of them around.  The location I have hunted late-season in Colorado (which I think is where we are talking about here) fits squarely into that category for me in the times I have hunted there, which have been fairly recently.

I will add that this particular area seems to have had a significant decline in turkey numbers based on what I have been told.  A local there told me that the population dropped considerably around 2015 or thereabouts (saw the same thing in equivalent country in Utah).  Add the increase in interest in hunting turkeys from the locals and us out-of-staters, and we find ourselves in the apparent situation that seems to exist right now,...tough hunting for relatively few turkeys that are now being highly pressured. 

Being the eternal optimist I am, I am planning on giving CO a go again next spring.  Fingers crossed that maybe things will be different.     

[Dtrkyman]

I am almost always solo, too many guys backing out over the years and i like to just go when I can!  The walls tend to close in on these slow hunts, I generally just pull out of an area and head elsewhere when things are tough.

I really enjoy new places and finding birds in a new area is nearly as fun as killing them!

Enjoyed following along as I was basically in the same situation last season and was really fortunate to get a bird on the last day of season!

[WiLL B]

Enjoyed following along. Was rooting for you. Give it another go earlier next year