salukipv1

Have some experience hunting eastern's, looking to begin my work on the slam, live in northern IL, would like to try get a rio or merriam's this spring. Without having to pay an outfitter, does anyone know of some good quality public land, I was thinking in either MO or SD. Or perhaps someone who is willing to let a father/son go after a turkey or two?

What's a turkey hunt going for these days anyway?

superstrutter

From where you live, Kansas would probably be your best bet for a Merriams.A Merriams hunt in Kansas is pretty reasonable. You can find a semi guided hunt easily for under $500. You can also get your Rio in Kansas.You can find reasonable prices in Texas for a Rio. I found a top notch place for $350. This is a 2 daysemi guided hunt for one gobblerwhich includes lodging, but not meals. You can find 2 day huntsin Texas where you can take two gobblers and lodging for under $500. I even found one where you can take 3 gobblers and lodging for $500. If you want an all inclusive hunt for 2 gobblers, you will probably pay anywhere from $600 to over $1000 in Texas. Don't know much about Kansas, but I doubt in either state you are going to find a whole lot ofpublic land to hunt, especially Texas. I'm probably going back to Texas this season to get a couple of Rios. I haven't been since 2005.

TEmbry

KS has plenty of birds, and plenty of access. Their State DNR website has all you need as far as maps, contacts, etc goes. Showing up a day early for some door knocking may provide good results. With the right leg work and research, getting your two rios should be no problem there. A group of 3-4 friends are heading out for the bow only season this coming April, but I likely won't be able to make it.

If you want a slam for personal reasons, try NE for your Merriams. Most of NE is a hybrid turkey though, and may not count with NWTF, although the NW of the state is still a pure strain. SD has plenty of Merriams with plenty of access. If you aren't against flying, or driving alot, CO, AZ, and all the other rocky mtnstates have alot of public access to a VERY pretty high country merriams bird population. You can't beat a high country pine merriams for beauty IMO.

I am in the same process as you, working on the details to start in on my slam. Right now, I am looking at KS, or possibly OK for my Rio. SD or NE for my Merriam. FL for osceola obviously. I want to try an AZ turkey hunt one spring in the next few years, to double as a deer/elk scouting trip. I try to hunt 2-3 states each spring, and eventually want to knock the majority of the lower 48 off the list.

salukipv1

Iwant to avoid hybrids, the slam is a personal quest, maybe I'dconsider registering it at some point later on but that's not the reason I'm pursuing it.

When it's gone right for me, I swear it's been the best hunt I've been on, after viewing the other varieties I just think the eastern is one of the least colorful, I really like those white tips, which is why I want to go after a rio or merriam's next, also that they're closer to where I'm at, someday I figure I'll have to fly to FL, and AZ/NM/Mexico for a gould's ? and then the yucatan perhaps? hunting a turkey in mexico is a long way's off though.

bcvd45

I don't mean to hijack the thread.....but I am still new and this may be a stupid question. What is the slam?

salukipv1

There are 6 sub-species of turkey, 1 of each...

Eastern
Merriam's
Rio-Grande
Osceola (florida)
Gould's
Ocellated

http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/

mohunter82

it depends on which slam you are goin after. There are 3 the "grand" "royal" and "world".
• Grand Slams
Eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam's and Osceola (Florida) birds
• Royal Slams
Four subspecies listed above in addition to the Gould's bird
• World Slams
Five subspecies listed above in addition to the Ocellated wild turkey

There is also a Mexican and Canadian Slams
• Mexican Slams
Mexican Slam consists of the following birds harvested in Mexico only: Rio Grande, Gould's and Ocellated.
• Canadian Slams
Canadian Slam consists of harvesting the Eastern and Merriam's bird in the following provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Mantoba, Alberta or British Columbia

salukipv1

how are KS walk in areas for turkey? crowded? how's the turky hunting on these state lands?

TEmbry

Those are what I was referring to. From my research so far, there is enough of it that you can get away from other hunters. Going in the bow only season before shotgun gets in would help as well. Don't overlook the smaller parcels, they may hold less birds, but this equates to less hunters as well. Once you figure a general area of the state, a quick call to a wildlife biologist/officer out there and they would point you in the right direction as well.

If you want the world slam, I think Mexico is about your only choice for both the Goulds and Oscellated. The AZ Goulds tags are EXTREMELY limited, and not much of an option really.

Without getting into hybrids, your best bet for a drive to hunt would be SD for Merriams and KS for Rios.they are closest to you, and both have public access, with a good chance of scoring a spot by door knocking still. Im not sure how to get ahold of a list, but I know in SD there isa HUGE number of ranches available for small tresspassing fees during deer season, they would surely allow spring turkey hunters as well..maybe even for a smaller fee. Like I said, not sure of how to get a list, but definately a possibility.

DTC

I was fortunate enough to find my rio, merriams, and osceola hunts all from this website.I did a swap hunt forthe rio and merriams and found an outfitter for the osceola hunt. Good luck in yourquest!