Turkey Hunting Out of State
Shane Simpson is a turkey hunting nut. His passion for hunting spring gobblers has taken him across the country and inspired him to share these hunts online and in video at www.turkeyhuntpublicland.com. We know many of you are fighting cabin fever from all the snow this winter and dreaming of opening day of turkey season. In this post Shane shares some basics of planning an out of state hunt so you can experience more than one opening day this year!
Chasing Toms Across State Lines
By Shane Simpson
Why would anyone want to hunt turkeys in another state? I used to ask myself that very question until I moved to Minnesota, where seasons are short and one bird is the limit. Then the question quickly changed to, why wouldn’t you want to hunt turkeys in another state? Which sub-species I hunt is of little concern to me so I merely have the decision of which state to hunt. I really enjoy road trips and if I have enough time, I prefer to drive to my hunting destination rather than fly. But wait, before you pack all your gear into the truck and start logging hundreds of miles, there are a few things you will need to do to maximize your success and minimize cost.
1. Use the Internet to do your pre-hunt research. Check out DNR sites for tag availability, public hunting areas, walk-in access to private lands. Also, check out hunting forums, outfitter reviews and hunting travel sites such as NextHunt.com
2. Use Google Earth to pre-scout the area ( http://earth.google.com/). This free online mapping resource, allows users to view and download high resolution, satellite images and GPS coordinates for about any location in the world.
3. Find and book hotels in advance using the Internet. Some remote regions in states like South Dakota don’t have many accomodations, make sure to book your room in advance.
4. Invite a hunting buddy to go along. The overall experience will be more fun and safer with a hunting buddy. Additionally, you will each benefit by splitting expenses.
5. Example turkey hunting trip expenses for a weekend road trip to South Dakota.
Fuel: $95.00
Food: $50.00
Non-resident turkey hunting license: $85.00
Lodging-2 nights: $60.00
The total amount spent on the trip was about $290.00.
