Editor’s Note: Mossy Oak ProStaffer Parrey Cremeans is the owner of Just For Hunting (www.facebook.com/parrey.cremeans). This outfitting company out of Redding, California, hunts on 35,000 acres in northern California and guides on thousands more acres of public land. Just For Hunting also books hunts all over the world, such as dove hunts in Argentina, red stags in New Zealand, British Columbian moose and all the states in North America. Cremeans hunts for elk, blacktail deer, mule deer, hogs, predators, waterfowl and any of the game species in northern California. For his personal hunting, Cremeans hunts outside of California in Oregon and Missouri.
Last fall we were scouting for turkeys and found a flock of jakes and hens that had 200 or more birds in the flock. In the high country of northeastern California, you can hunt Merriam’s. But in the areas where we hunt, the Rio Grande turkey is our dominant bird. In some of the higher elevations, we find some of our bigger birds that are crosses between the Rio Grande and the Merriam’s. Before spring hits, and the turkeys split-up and set-up their dominance areas, seeing 100 turkeys or more in a flock is not uncommon at all.
So far, the State of California hasn’t created a turkey tagging system. Right now a hunter can buy a 2-day upland game bird tag that allows him to take a turkey per day. If you buy the California big game license, you legally can harvest three gobblers during the spring turkey season but only can take one turkey per day.
Many hunters think that the Merriam’s and Rios we hunt may be different from the turkeys they hunt on their home turfs. But we haven’t found that to be true. We set-up just like you do in the East and call the turkeys into a blind or into the open woods. Turkey hunting is really where your Mossy Oak camo pays off. We allow our bowhunters who want to hunt without a blind to run-and-gun for turkeys. However, if our hunters choose to hunt from a ground blind, we go in early, find the turkeys, set-up the ground blind and the decoys and then, call the turkeys to within bow range. Turkeys have a monocular vision system, which means they only can see out of one eye at one time. That’s why turkeys move their heads around so much. By hunting from a blind, our bowhunters have a much-better chance of taking a California turkey.
If you’re trying to finish up your Grand Slam of turkeys or if you want to hunt Rio Grande, a Merriam’s or both, come to California and hunt with us. Whether you hunt with a bow or a shotgun, we’ve got plenty of turkeys to hunt and some great private lands. Turkeys are one of my favorite species of wildlife to hunt, because I love to hear them talk and really enjoy seeing them come to calls. I get almost as much of a thrill as my hunter who touches the trigger on his mechanical release that fires his bow or the trigger of his shotgun when the bird is within range.
Call 650-888-0808 to learn more, or check out the website.
Predator Hunting Plus Taking Black Bears with ProStaffer Parry Cremeans
