My back hugged a thick cottonwood while a mature tom strutted some 50 yards away. Each time I sent him a chorus of love-tones, his chest would expand and his head would jerk with each tone of his gobble. For the next 20 minutes, I threw everything at him but the kitchen sink: yelps, clucks and purrs.

Twenty percent of Colorado hunters with an over-the-counter tag last year took a Rio or Merriam's turkey. Photo by Brian K. Strickland.

But it looked like this "he-said, she-said" romance was about to be over. He was hung up, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. I guess after a few seasons under his belt, this smart old gobbler suspected something was up. All I could do was watch and listen.

But I wasn't complaining. How could I? Here I was hunting on some of Colorado's prime public ground, with an over-the-counter tag. I had just witnessed a king-of-spring heavyweight in all his puffed-up glory.

When winter's white begins to fade away and the lush green shoots reach to the sky, it's time to pattern the scattergun, dust off the decoys and break out your best set of camo. The turkeys are hot, and they're waiting for your best rendition of a love song on your box call.

With an expanding population of willing gobblers, the hard-working hunter is sure to get a crack at one this spring.

For Western hunters looking to hunt where turkey numbers are solid and have a public-land success rate around 25 percent, it's hard to beat Colorado, said National Wild Turkey Federation regional director Wayne Dickens. Because of his experience throughout Colorado's vast turkey range, as well as other states, Dickens has concluded that the only other Western state that could come close or match what Colorado has to offer is New Mexico. However, when it comes down to more opportunity, in more public places, Colorado is at the top of the food chain. (Continued)

Guide Todd Weizdred of the High Lonesome Ranch said he's seen a huge increase in the number of turkeys the past few years.

"So much so, that the unit the ranch is located in (Unit 31) was opened as an over-the-counter unit last spring," he said.

Last spring was the first time they ever offered turkey hunting on the High Lonesome, and Weizdred reported success rates were over 80 percent with everyone having opportunities. Although he exclusively guides on the ranch, from what he's seen and heard, the public-land action is good in the unit as well.

"If a hunter is willing to work hard in this area, they will get into birds," Weizdred said.

SOLID NUMBERS
This past spring more than 13,500 turkey hunters headed to the woods. The number the year before was about 12,000. Although there were more hunters in the field, more than 60 percent of them reported that they felt that they had plenty of elbowroom.

However, more importantly, 20 percent of the hunters with an over-the-counter tag in their pocket reported carrying out a bird. Those who were lucky enough to carry a limited tag had a success rate of 50 percent, and more than 80 percent of the birds were mature toms. In all, an estimated 2,500 toms fell to well-placed shots last spring.