Chasing the Public Land SUPER Slam: Hens, Lions and the Pine Ridge – by John L. Barone
Chasing the Public Land SUPER Slam:
Hens, Lions and the Pine Ridge
By John L. Barone
Being the only turkey hunter in the woods during the spring is a reality that takes some planning. Odds are in the fall, I only need to show up. Understandably, chasing turkeys when competing with the hunting seasons for most other game species is a hard sell. Especially with the prospect of hunting gobblers that just don’t gobble.
So, when I decided to head west for an autumn turkey hunt, the plotting was somewhat spontaneous. My wife and I found out that she was pregnant with our first child and well, I was ready to get on a plane before our newborn grounded me for the spring season. She sort of appreciated my foresight.
The Pine Ridge
The usual planning took place: decide where to go, scour through maps and internet research. Finally, when you kind of sound like you know what you’re talking about, phone calls to local wildlife biologists. Since I failed to provide myself with much time to research, I decided on a place with a reputation for having large turkey populations – Nebraska. Then I intensified the difficulty level by choosing the Pine Ridge region, which is a distinct area in the northwest corner of the state. If you are after the Merriam’s wild turkey, this is the only location in Nebraska to find them. Given this, hunting pressure on these birds is usually higher than elsewhere in the state.
Lastly, I over-confidently planned to head into the Dakotas to the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota Native American reservation or Standing Rock Sioux reservation for a grouse or turkey hunt after my expected success in Nebraska. The Pine Ridge reservation offers a variety of excellent hunting experiences. It’s also a worthwhile opportunity to support the locals through hunting license purchases. The people of Standing Rock and Pine Ridge are members of the Dakota and Lakota nations. The name Sioux, a term often used for the tribes, dates back to the seventeenth century. At the time, the people of these nations were living in the Great Lakes area.
Arriving For An Adventure
The plane landed early enough in Rapid City, South Dakota for me to head into town and still arrive in Nebraska by late afternoon to scout. Rapid City is as good as any place for the obligatory drinks to kick off a trip. A great place to grab a couple beers is at the Firehouse Brewing Company. Along with their fire pit BBQ combo and being close to the airport, this is a good spot to hang out before or after your flight. I also checked out downtown and left for Nebraska later in the day. Based out of Fort Robinson State Park, one can travel in any direction to find public land suitable to hold turkeys. “Scouting” that evening involved driving past as many potential locations as possible to capture a general sense of terrain and habitat.
Nebraska’s Pine Ridge is a landscape unlike any location east of the Mississippi, but also atypical for Nebraska. It presents an image very different than that of the “Cornhusker State” for those like me not previously familiar with the state’s ecology. Aside from Pine Ridge, Nebraska habitats range from hardwood forest to prairie and the grassland dunes known as the Sandhills. Also, the Platte River provides for a grand gathering of sandhill cranes in the spring that is quite the spectacle. For us hunters, the opportunities for various game species throughout the state are abundant.
Views from Fort Robinson State Park
Mobile Hunting Camp
The next morning, I stuck to river bottoms to locate a hen flock noticed the prior day. However, no male birds accompanied the flock and the theme of the trip was firmly established. In the fall, generally a state that allows turkey hunting will issue either sex tag(s). Nebraska issued two tags in 2018 and the season runs from September 15 – January 31, 2019. By time day 3 rolled around, I had changed tactics to hunt the high country after seeing approximately 120 turkeys in several different hen flocks of varying sizes, but not a single tom.
Food is always a high priority on trips. Not in the sense that I fear starvation, although occasionally that’s the better option. Rather and simply stated, I appreciate a good meal. My cooler was low, and being half way through my trip with unfilled tags, I needed to regroup. Flipping through topo maps while scarfing down some eggs and home fries in a local Crawford diner, I still had hope. There were the elk hunters who were having just as much trouble finding elk as I was locating toms. They had some turkey sightings to share and at least it was a little comfort in knowing that I was not alone with my frustration. I also received from tips after calling staffers at Nebraska Game and Parks.
The Comraderie of Hunters
Despite tips and hope, I was ready for a beer when I rolled into the Tailgate Bar and Grill after yet another unsuccessful hunt. Aside from the fresh air and exercise, the highlight of the day was chatting with a whitetail bowhunter and observing some wildlife. I had enjoyed mule deer sightings, and identified several songbirds that included pygmy nuthatches, a flock of red crossbills and one Townsend’s solitaire.
Coincidentally, John, the hunter I met earlier was sipping on a beer by the bar. “Hey, you’re the turkey hunter!” I’m pretty oblivious to my surroundings sometimes, but he obviously recognized me and we struck up a conversation. John was a bowhunter from Colorado. Enough said. Over burgers and beer we talked about hunting whitetail in Nebraska and other western big game hunts. Meeting new folks on these trips certainly adds to the experience. The comradery of the hunting culture is alive and well on the road, a kind of mobile hunting camp.
View from Butte on Public Land
Tracking Flocks
I had just come off the mountain when I saw the massive turkey track on the dirt road leading back to my car. It was fresh as it had not been there in the morning. “Damn!” I thought to myself. The entire week I had hiked up and down buttes, roaming the hills for full day hunts. “This is a western hunt, I need to be hiking the back country, climbing and glassing!?” All this time were the toms hugging the roads?
The tracks crossed the road and headed toward a drainage several hundred yards away that ran parallel to and slightly below the road. It was time to track birds! I slipped off the road, took out a turkey call and placed three 3.5 inch shells into my camouflage 12 gauge Benelli. I slung the gun over my shoulder to have full control of the box call and continued to follow the likely path of the bird.
In the east I’ve tracked male fall flocks by following scratching and other sign such as feathers that are distinct from hens. Here in Nebraska, I had been chasing the ghosts of longbeards for several days at likely food or water sources with nothing to show for my efforts. The challenge of finding mature male birds in the fall is exactly the reason why I keep heading out after them. The reward of then finding the flock could be just as thrilling as tagging that bird during the spring.
Midwest Longbeards
Calling in several longbeards instead of one will get the adrenaline pumping. In the Midwest, Kansas and Nebraska are known for producing flocks of 50 or 100 birds or more. Quite the sight for a turkey hunter who generally is waiting for that solo gobbler to step into view out of the spring foliage.
I noisily crept over dry cottonwood leaves covering the ground toward the drainage. Along the way hitting some light clucks on this particular box call that generates fairly deep calls perfect for imitating a longbeard. I received one response a couple hundred yards away. It was time to pick out a spot to get comfortable and generate interest for the flock through further calling. A perfectly situated rise that created a high plateau above the drainage stuck out before me with one huge cottonwood and thigh high amber grass. As I approached looking beyond the tree for potential pathways of the flock beyond, I gave one more knock on the call. That’s when, about ten yards away, the grasses by the tree trunk began to move.
The Encounter
By time I glanced down, the mountain lion who had been comfortably sleeping, had risen. I froze, but less out of fear as compared to the reality of being unable to react quicker than the lion. As she rose, all in one motion she leapt clear across the drainage, hit the opposite bank and disappeared! My lasting image of this female adult cat was her stretched out body from head to long tail in midair above the drainage. Standing by this tree dumbfounded and with a racing heart, the grass began moving again. The second lion, a coyote sized adolescent kitten, bounded from the same spot to my right and into the woods! I was left there with my call in my hand, gun still on my shoulder, staring at the empty lion beds in the tall grass.
Back at the car I texted John and gave him the heads up that there were lions along the drainage that he was bowhunting not too far away. He sounded as shocked as I looked and that’s saying something when I was just going by a text. When we both returned to the bar that evening, there was plenty of talk about the unanticipated encounters. Also, being inspired by my perseverance, we couldn’t ignore the hen he took with a bow. Apparently along with his whitetail permit, he had turkey permits – purchased under the just in case strategy.
Earlier that day I had returned to the spot along the drainage just south of the initial lion encounters. Unbelievably, I saw what I presumed to be the same lion “kitten” again. 70 yards away, the adolescent cat stared at me until I ultimately waved my hands to scare it off. Although I assumed there was no real danger with the situation, three close lion encounters in one day was enough for this easterner.
Hens
Eventually I caught back up with the flock that I had been “tracking”. Three longbeards were hanging around roughly 25 hens and adolescents. They were not a part of this larger flock, but regardless they didn’t wander too far. I roosted them, returned the next morning and trailed the flock back to the parking area…yes, the parking area…until the toms broke off on their own into the hills away from the road.
I continued to follow and eventually, being my final day and in a desperate effort to get ahead of them, I sprinted up a butte. By the way, never sprint up a butte. I’m not sure at what point on this trip I looked dumber. When I was ten yards from two lions whacking a wooden turkey call; or bent over gasping for air half way up a butte while the only toms I saw the entire trip slipped into the Pine Ridge.
View from Trail on Public Land
Evening was creeping in and this Nebraska hunt was coming to an end. Hiking my way out of the hill country, I caught a glimpse of yet another flock of hens and adolescent birds. The flock did not seem overly concerned with my presence. I approached using the terrain to conceal my advance. In response, the lead hens became progressively skittish and moved the flock away at an increasing pace. However, it wasn’t fast enough and I picked off a decent sized jenny leaving the adult hens tending to their flock. It was a small token for the freezer as well as a fitting end to this remarkable western hunting trip.
In an online article recently published, goHUNT reported that thanks to a growing mountain lion population, Nebraska will hold its first lion hunt in five years. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission approved this lion season to run January 1 through February 28, 2019, with an application period that ran from September 4 – September 28, 2018.
Not surprisingly, the hunt will be held in Nebraska’s Pine Ridge region.
Additional Photos:
Female Merriam Wild Turkey Tail
