Turkey Hunting Methods:

Turkeys can be hunted with the shotgun, bow and arrow or black powder. Rifles are also allowed in some states, but not so often used. Hunters use a wide variety of calls to attract and ‘romance’ the gobbler into range. Turkey calling is truly a well-practiced art and you’ll find many competitions if you check into it. Along with sounding like a hen, you’ll also need to sound like an owl to wake those birds up and get them off the trees.

Turkey have excellent eyesight and hearing, and they are constantly aware of their surroundings. You’ll have to don your best camo and practice being very still and quiet to bag a nice trophy bird! Wild Turkey are also very mobile. Turkey can run at speeds up to 25 mph, and they can fly up to 55 mph. Trophy birds are judged by three things: Body size, spur size and length of the beard. Only the Tom Turkey has a beard and spurs.

When mating season arrives, anywhere from February to April, courtship usually begins while turkeys are still flocked together in wintering areas. After mating, the hens begin searching for a nest site and laying eggs. In most areas, nests can be found in a shallow dirt depression, surrounded by moderately woody vegetation that conceals the nest.

Hens will lay a clutch of 10 to 12 eggs during a two-week period, usually laying one egg per day. She will incubate her eggs for about 28 days, occasionally turning and rearranging them, until they are ready to hatch.

A newly-hatched flock must be ready to leave the nest within 12 to 24 hours to feed. Poults eat mostly insects because they need the protein, while adults will eat anything from acorns and berries to insects and small reptiles. Turkeys usually feed in early morning and in the afternoon.

Wild turkeys like open areas for feeding, mating and habitat, which makes them easier to hunt. They use forested areas as cover from predators and for roosting in trees at night. A varied habitat of both open and covered area is essential for wild turkey survival.

Our friends at the National Wild Turkey Federation have been working hard to keep Turkey Hunting a safe and valued tradition in our country. They offer a helpful guide to assist in turkey hunting safety and success.

Turkey Grand Slam:

There are several species of Wild Turkey hunted in the US. The Osceola Wild Turkey, the Merriam Wild Turkey, Eastern Wild Turkey and the Rio Grande Wild Turkey. And the Gould’s Turkey is hunted in Mexico.

The Osceola Wild Turkey is located in central and southern Florida. This turkey is smaller and darker in color than the eastern wild turkey and has less white veining on the quills. The average adult bird weighs from 6 to 16 pounds. The Osceola Turkey prefers to swamplands and a moist, marshy habitat.

The Merriam Wild Turkey is located primarily in the Western States. This bird enjoys the mountain environment. The Merriam turkey weighs from 8-20 pounds. Although approximately the same size as the Eastern, the Merriam has different coloration. It is black with blue, purple and bronze reflections. White feathers on the lower back and tail feather margins distinguish the Merriam from other subspecies of turkey. Toms have black-tipped breast feathers, while the hens exhibit buff tips. Hens have a more extensive white area on the wings giving a whiter appearance when the wings are folded. The Merriam Turkey prefers a pine forest habitat.

The Eastern Wild Turkey is found in eastern states from Georgia and South Carolina all the way to Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Eastern Turkey has chestnut brown-tipped tail coverts (smaller feathers which cover up larger ones) and dark-buff or chocolate-brown tail tips characterize the most abundant and most widely hunted turkey, the Eastern Wild Turkey. The tom turkey’s breast feathers are tipped in black, while other body feathers are colored with copper or bronze metallic iridescence. The primary wing feathers have white and black bars that extend to the feather shaft, while the secondary wing feathers mainly have prominent white bars. This results in a white triangular area on each side of the back when the wings are folded backward. Hens are browner with less brilliant iridescence and the breast feathers are tipped in buff or chestnut. The Eastern Turkey can weigh from 8 to 25 pounds and grow as tall as four feet!

The Rio Grande Turkey is primarily as western bird. The Rio Grande turkey, at full maturity, is approximately four feet tall and has strangely long legs. It is pale and copper colored having tail feathers and tail/rump coverts (short feathers located at the base of the tail) tipped with a yellowish buff. An alternating color pattern includes tan feathers with medium or dark brown buffed tips. The color is consistently lighter than the Eastern or Florida Turkey, but is darker than the same feathers in the Merriam or Gould subspecies. Feathers of the hen breast, sides and flanks are tipped with pale, pinkish buff.

If you manage to take all four of the above species, you have hit the “Grand Slam” of Turkey hunting. Then you need to add to your collection the Gould Turkey native to Mexico. The Gould’s Wild turkey lives and thrives in the northern and central parts of Mexico. Gould's is the largest of the 5 turkey species and they differ by having distinctive white tips on the tail feathers and tail rump coverts which usually separate to show an "eyelash" appearance. Lower back and rump feathers have copper and greenish-golden reflections, not like the faintly iridescent velvety black found on the Merriam's. Gould's body plumage is said to be somewhat blue-green in coloration. Adult females have a less pronounced metallic greenish and reddish sheen and are more purplish.