Not only the eastern... but the eastern in the Lowcountry of SC, eastern NC and Tidewater Region VA. You have lots of hurricane debris for them to hang up on (deadfalls and blowdowns... ice damage as well), lots of small creeks and swamps... lots of super thick bottoms... and typically LOTS of turkey hunters too. I've hunted them in VA, NC, SC, GA, MO, WV and OH.... no doubt that birds in the mountains and the mid-west are still a challenge (mid-west easterns are definately larger and they don't gobble... they ROAR) but those tidal area gobblers are a real tester.

I've hunted Rio's in Texas as well.. and they were very entertaining as the gobble a whole lot and as competetion for hens is pretty fierce most years I've seen them come under and over fences, across creeks, under a cow (that was something to see), through thickets.. you name it... they are going to come a-running.

Osceloas may be the toughest to hunt financially unless you live there, or like me, if you went to college with a buddy whose family owns a bunch of land in that part of the world. One thing I noticed about them was that water doesn't really hang them up as much as it does easterns. I suppose they are just used to it. And they almost always roost over the water as well... that doesn't exactly narrow it down any in Florida.. but it helps you from bumping birds off the roost sometimes.

Haven't gotten to hunt Meriams yet. Though I understand that they usually love to show off, and as long as you can play/handle, some of the terrain they are in, then they aren't overwhelimingly tough.