Must Have Outdoors

The rolling prairies and being able to see for miles made me feel like a fish out of water the first day of the hunt. Katie and I were hunting at Antler Ridge Lodge near Hamill, South Dakota.

The first day of the hunt we set up our pop-up blind near a grove of trees where the turkeys had been roosting. At first light a group of 11 turkeys flew down and started heading our way, but a Mule Deer doe and fawn came running in and scared the turkeys away. On day two we set up in the same are only to watch about 100 turkeys feeding and strutting in an abandoned home stead. With the wide open country and the turkeys up on a ridge, we knew there would be no way to get to them. After the turkeys left the old home site we set up our pop up blind by an old shed hoping for the same activity the following morning.

As luck would have it, turkeys will do whatever the please and the location where there had been so many turkeys the day before looked like a ghost town. I was about ready to call it a day when Katie spotted a group of about 40 turkeys heading out of a row of trees near where we had set up the previous day. We watched the turkeys go down one hill and we knew it was time to make a move. We crawled our way out of the farm site and made a break for the next ridge where I guessed the turkeys would be heading. As we crested the hill I saw about 30 turkeys just 20 yards away from us. I said to Katie, “There they are!” and I looked over at her and she was already leveled down on her first bird. When it was all said and done Katie and I both doubled on 4 mature South Dakota birds.

This is one turkey hunt I will never forget. A special thanks to Antler Ridge Lodge for the great experience. If you are looking for a great South Dakota hunting trip, check out their website, http://www.antlerridgelodge.com.

  - Andrew