Ep 8. Montana Black Bear & Turkey: Spring Opportunities

Steve is back in Montana for two very different spring turkey hunts. First, he heads east to the Milk River in search of a Merriam's wild turkey. Between Steve's impeccable calling and a shotgun, he's able to put a tom to bed. Next, Steve heads west to the peaks and valleys of the Bitterroot Mountains for some spot-and-stalk turkey hunting. Since he's never hunted turkeys like this before, Steve enlists the help of a local bowhunter. Will Steve be able to fill two turkey tags in a single week?

With turkey hunting in the rearview mirror, Steve sets his eyes on another spring favorite — black bear. This time he finds himself in a part of Montana he has never hunted in before, the breaks of the Missouri River. Steve is joined by longtime friend, and wildlife biologist, Mike Chamberlain. Together they decode the black bear's greatest superpower — their sense of smell — and learn how to use it to get the upper hand. As usual, things don't go according to plan. But, with persistence, real fear of the Griz, and some friends along the way, they finally catch up to a bear that's willing to be caught.

Inadvertently, Steve stumbles upon a rich, early American history, smack dab in the heart of central Montana. At the Mountain Meadows Massacre Site, the infamous revenge of the Utah War — 1857, Steve finds evidence of brave pioneers who once walked this land and sacrificed everything to keep it. And as he walks the hallowed ground, Jonny Massacre shares the incredibly macabre tale.