On April 24^th the long awaited trip to hunt Merriam’s turkey near Big Horn, Montana began for a group of women nicknamed the “Lady Yelpers.”   Frequently I put together groups of lady hunters who enjoy exploring new territories and pursuing different game.  No one in the group besides me had hunted this area so it was to be a new adventure for all attendees of the "2008 Brenda Valentine Ladies' Turkey Hunt.” 

The adventure started immediately for 3 of us who were flying out of Nashville, TN.  Due to mechanical problems, the first leg of the flight for Becki Walker, Scarlet Orr, and I were delayed for 2 hours.  This in turn caused a domino effect for the remainder of the trip which stacked up to a 13 hour difference in arrival time.  We spent a total of 22 hours trying to get from Nashville to Billings; however the bright side of the story is that during the  long hours of airport lounging we met some very nice hunters from other parts of the country to swap stories with.  It was a weary crew that came off the plane at 12:30 a.m. Mountain Time, but we were no less weary than our host, Mr. Edwin Borman, who was patiently waiting to collect us and drive us out to the ranch.  Our plans of stopping in Billings to pick up hunting licenses was put on hold till morning; right now the most important thing on everyone’s mind was sleep.

From left to right: Scarlet, Rhonda, Becki, and Shelley.

The good folks at Commando Game Calls www.commandthewild.com and Montana Decoys www.montanadecoys.com  had outfitted each person with a variety of turkey calls, T-shirts, caps, and  hen & gobbler decoys.  Additionally, Winchester Ammunition www.winchester.com made sure we were all fully loaded with Winchester Extended Range Turkey Loads.  With all the new gear to try out everyone was anxious to see some of the beautiful Merriam's I’d promised were roaming these hills.

A quick trip to the nearby hardware/general store got us squared away with all necessary hunting licenses and turkey tags.  Now it was time for Scarlet, Becki, and me to hit the turkey woods.   Ed was our guide, however, I was the designated turkey caller.  It took one raspy yelp on a box call to ignite a lusty gobble from a thick stand of cottonwoods along the river.  We all scrambled for cover while pulling up face masks and double checking shotguns.  Within 10 minutes I had a bossy old hen so mad she was spitting and the fever high on a raft of gobblers all yet unseen but coming our way through the timber.  I gave instructions for each of my hunting partners to wait for the shoot signal since I felt sure there would be opportunities for each of us to fill a tag if we remained patient.  Sure enough, a long-bearded gobbler with a blood-red head and snowy-white fanny feathers came waltzing toward us in full strut.  For a few seconds we sat there afraid to blink while enjoying his beauty.  This was the first Merriam’s Scarlet or Becki had ever seen and the vivid colors of this specie is simple breathtaking. I  was barely whispering for both of them to hold fire until I could coax other birds from the cover.  Soon, four more swinging bearded gobblers were racing each other for the lead.  When all five birds were out in the open at a distance of 25 yards, I gave the nod to shoot.  Two birds fell and three flew away in confusion.  It was hard to believe we’d only been hunting for 30 minutes and were already walking toward the road with two big strutters flung over our shoulders.

Shelley Mitchell is the LIC (Lady in Charge) of Tulloch Creek Outfitters.  She handles everything from booking clients to training the kennel full of upland hunting dogs, however another place Shelley really shines is in the kitchen.  Her meals are 'to die for' as my friends were about to discover.  She served up homemade breads and desserts each day with a variety of the ranch-grown beef.

On the morning of day two, Treva shot a very nice longbeard with the help of her guide, Adam Berg.  Rhonda's guides,  Rob Snook & Cody Glisson, called in a big bird for her but for some crazy reason her shotgun  clicked and failed to fire.  I was able to bring another flock of toms in range for Scarlet and Becki. Scarlet dropped her second bird and we discovered that Becki’s shotgun was shooting 2 ft high.   During lunch that day we took Becki to the range and got her sights lowered and confidence boosted.  Rhonda also got her shotgun woes resolved and we three were off to the hills for an afternoon hunt with Adam.

The next day was one of choices.  Each lady had to decide whether to keep hunting or take a trip to the nearby Big Horn Battlefield.  Ed, Cody, Scarlet, & Treva took off for the land of Custer while Rhonda, Becki, Rob, and I drove back to a place where we’d gotten into turkeys the day before.   We had some close encounters with birds that day but for various reasons none rode home in our vests.  There is no telling how many turkeys we scared off that we never knew about from the constant story telling and fits of  laughter we had echoing off the hills.

At dusk we made our way back to the lodge with no real regrets of the day for the real purpose of the hunt had been more than fulfilled.  I wanted this group of gals to leave their day-to-day world behind and experience life on a working cattle ranch in such a beautiful part of Montana.  I wanted them to shamelessly enjoy juicy cheeseburgers & hot fudge brownies like they did before the days of eternal dieting.  I hoped everyone would shoot a turkey, but I really wanted everyone to learn more about turkeys and increase their confidence about hunting them.  But the most important reason I gather groups of lady hunters to occasionally join me in hunting camp is to share the fun and laughter while bonding friendships and making memories that will last forever.