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Moving to Omaha

Moving up to Offutt AFB from Florida. Looking for my first deer with my bow down here before I move. But I'm looking for info on spring turkey bow hunting. How is it done, blinds or sitting or what? What type of terrain should I be looking for? Heading up there the first week of January.

Spring Turkey – got to use a pop-up blind. Even a cheap one will do, you have to get out of sight. I would also get some decoys, a Tom, Jake, and a couple of hens. Lastly, for starters a simple slate call. If you will be hunting here near Omaha, the terrain is hills, the further west the more it will flatten out. Tons of turkeys, last year you could 3 permits, I filled them in a weekend. In 07, I moved here from Jacksonville, I retired from the USN in 10 and now I'm a contractor and work at STRATCOM. If you like the outdoors, not a bad place to be stationed.

Tony

Thanks for the info Tony.

Blinds definitely make it easier to get to full draw, but they are not a necessity--especially if the property you are hunting has some cedar trees or similar cover to hide in. I have arrowed all my turkeys without a blind while using compound bows and, in more recent years, traditional bows. It is a challenge getting to full draw this way, but that is what I love about it. Plus, I hate lugging around and setting up a blind.

Good Luck!

I'll be hunting public land unless I can get permission somewhere. Are there a lot of places to hunt with cover so I wouldn't have to carry a blind?

Like Greg said, if you are able to find some property with a bunch cedars. I have hunted some of the WMA's and unless you are right on the river bottom there aren't a lot of really think areas. Thick enough to get pulled on a tom. There are lots broadleaf like oaks, ash, elm, cottonwood, and the like, under which it will be very open. Especially in early spring with no leaves yet. In my initial post, I did not consider toting and setting up a blind. I set mine up and leave it up, but hunting an WMA, that is not an option.

Tony

Well I've settled in and been to a few local WMAs, they look like they get a good amount of traffic. Anyone got any tips on where to go they would like to share?

They all have a ton of traffic. Have you tried Gifford Farms? Its a area right on the river east of Bellevue. Although I have never hunted out there, I have seen plenty of Turkeys while out looking for mushrooms. Its a pretty large area, so you can find some less traveled spots. I would call to get exact rules for hunting. Try 402-595-2144, These ladies are always incredibly helpful.

Grab a Nebraska Game and Parks Public Access Atlas or look at it online and look for some of the Open Fields and Waters areas, also the CRP-MAP areas. There are some gems, that, if you scout enough you can find spots with little pressure and birds. Obviously the farther away from town you get the better. good luck!

http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/hunting/where_2_hunt.asp

Go to outdoornebraska.ne.gov and click the hunting tab> where to hunt> Google earth and download the plugin. It will give you a google earth image of every public ground in the state of Nebraska.

be prepared to drive

I ending hunting a week or two during the spring before deploying on short notice. Had a few early season toms come in close but not interested in my decoys. It was a lot of fun for my first year turkey hunting though.

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