First do-it yourself hunting adventure (Need advice.... lots of it.)

Hello

I am a very quiet member of this forum. I am from west central Illinois and love to bowhunt whitetails and turkeys. I am a senior in high school, and just turned 18. I have several friends that love to hunt also, and we are very passionate about the sport. I was talking to my friends this week and we talked about hunting this spring. The thought came up about a springbreak hunting trip to somewhere outside of Illinois. We all agreed that we would love to try this out if we get the chance, but we are lacking in the planning department. I am the only one who has hunted anything farther west than Missouri, (pheasants in South Dakota and snow gesse in Nebraska/Missouri), and everyone else has very little hunting experience outside of Illinois. I decided to come on here and hopefully get some expert advice on this subject.

We have no idea where to begin. There are about four of us who would like to go on this adventure, but we don't even know what we want to hunt. We would like to travel to states such as Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, or even going south for hogs. What we would like to know is what is there to hunt in late March/early April. Our spring break runs from Mar. 22-Apr. 2, and we would like to spend 3-5 days on this trip. What exactly is there to hunt during this time? Turkeys? Little early for them in most places I know, but I believe there are some states that start before the begining of April. Coyotes? Always a good choice. Upland birds? I have an uncle that lives in South Dakota and knows places to hunt prairie dogs, but are they out at that time of year? Others that I'm unaware of? Any suggestions on these or other animals is greatly appreciated. We want to hear about feedback, dates for animals, laws, places to hunt (we are trying to avoid outfitters), things to see, people to meet, stuff to bring, etc.
P.S. We would really like a place that sells over-the-counter tags for turkeys, if that is doable.

We are also not afraid to gun (that dreaded 3 letter word) hunt. I will be purchasing a .223 in a short while, and a .308 some time after that. What would you suggest for hogs or prairie dogs? Rounds, calibers, etc.

Also, we would like to keep this trip under $1500 if possible.

ANYTHING that you guys can suggest or help us out with would be tremendous help. We appreciate any advice given and are eager to hear your responses.

 

I would head south to turkey hunt. Most southern states are in at that time. Buy a license, camp in a tent, and hunt national forest land. I used to go either turkey hunting or fishing on my spring breaks and you'll have more fun than going to some beach and acting like a fool fool for a week.

 

Look into some Texas hog hunts. It's pretty good action with bow or gun and you should be able to find something in your price range. Damn fine on the grill too!

 

You could do over the counter archery turkey tags in SD (gun you do have to put in for draw).... Believe season started around Apr 7th for archery this year...

Snow-goose hunting could be a possibility that time of year, could even try and score some cheap airlines tickets to the coast and do a few days of deep sea fishing... As mentioned, hogs would be fun too...

 

go to south dakota or wyoming and shoot some coyotes check out this video and you will want to go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62IZh2cvuh8

 

ny has great coyote population and can be bought over the counter no bag limits until the last day of march, our turkey season in the spring is the entire month of may.

 

If you want to add the Osceola turkey to the list then Northeast Florida, South Gerogia is the place you want to be. Hog hunts are great as well. Come on down you will be glad you did!

 

Thanks for the input fellas. It looks like we may head south for turkeys, but we like to now more about actually hunting them in a different state. We are thinking maybe Georgia or Arkansas, so if there are any of you guys from there and would like to leave us a few tips, it would greatly be appreciated. We'd like to know stuff like how to call when its early like that (Illinois doesn't start until the first or second week of April). Are there any really good public places to hunt, and is it just Easterns or Osceloas down there. Any additional advice is great.

 

I will totally go against the grains here a likely be tossed from the hunting forum Northern Ohio has the best walleye fishing west of the Mississippi River. That is right during peak time. Send me a message if you go that route and I will help. You would be way under your budget for something like this.

Ok guys, you can kick me out now...ha ha.

 

Turkey!

Turkey hunting in MS generally starts about the 3rd Saturday in March, runs through May 1. There is a lot of public land to hunt; this coming spring I will actually be doing almost exclusively public land turkey hunting on a NWR that I've never hunted on before but it shows great promise, so I'm looking forward to it. If I were you, I'd be looking to turkey hunt SOMEWHERE if I had a choice of what I was going to do in the spring. As much as I love deer hunting, I'd take turkey hunting over deer any day! If for some crazy reason you guys decide to come this far south, drop me a line, maybe we could all meet up and go after some birds (I'm in central MS). Good luck!

 

I'm also in Central MS but hunt our own farm. This spring will be my first true attempt at turkey hunting and will do so exclusively with my bow. We are covered up with them so I hope to have goo luck.

 

You guys should head south like FL or Mexico and hunt 2 legged deer. Just make sure you wear your safety harness.

But if 2 legged deer isn't your thing you should try a KS turkey hunt. Public land everywhere and more bird then all of IL or MO. I aware no one hunts out there. I recommend Concordia, KS. There's cheap logging and just 1000's of public ground.

Another idea that my buddies and I do every spring. Southern MO trout fishing. There's Bennett Springs, Roaring rivers (my favorite) maremac, and montock. I know I missed spelled some of those but I'm not a girl and don't care. Look it up.