The jakes are ready . . .

[jblackburn]

Checked cams this past weekend, jakes are feeling the urge!  Also found a potential target or two for April 15! 

[JKEEN33]

Nice group. Are these Rio's. I have shot several of both and still can not tell any difference from the birds I get in the NE compared to the birds I get in the SE. From what I have read our Merriam's are a cross and not a true Merriam. Does anyone know this for sure?

Thanks,

[kevinlisa06]

Looks like its getn to be game time!


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[turkeyfeather]

I have also been told that the birds in this area are more of a cross and not a true merriam.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

 

[oneshot12]

  ok i ready now    oh darn not time yet  still got to wait some    looks good from here  nice pics

[jblackburn]

Nice group. Are these Rio's. I have shot several of both and still can not tell any difference from the birds I get in the NE compared to the birds I get in the SE. From what I have read our Merriam's are a cross and not a true Merriam. Does anyone know this for sure?

Thanks,

This are in SE, so listed as Rios.  Not sure about the WA merriams, but there are not very many places where you can find Merriams that are not crossed.  If you ever see guys with a South Dakota merriam, they are usually colored very similar to a rio.  About the only places with fairly pure merriams would be their natural range, like New Mexico, Colorado, and parts of Wyoming.  The birds there have the pure white fan tips and very black body feathers.

[JKEEN33]

Sorry to take over the thread, but I have another question. I'm great at calling and killing, but know little about them other than that. I have three examples here. The first has no black on the center band, second has a little black and 3rd has a distinct black band. Is this due to cross breading or does it have to do with age? All three were good sized birds, but the all white was by far the largest bird I have killed. Maybe I am reading to much into this, but I was always curious about the one with no black. All my other birds had some black band on the center band. These all came out of the same are too.

Thanks,

[jblackburn]

I'm not sure about the black bands on the secondary feathers.  I've killed both Rios and Easterns with those black stripes and without. Could be age, but probably just a genetic thing.

[JKEEN33]

Thanks. I've always been curious about the one with no black. It's the only one I have seen with none. Funny thing is he taste just like the rest of them.

Thanks again,

[jblackburn]

This doesn't show as well as I hoped, but the Missouri bird (Eastern) has some black bands while the Oklahoma (Rio) and Kansas (probably a Rio/Merriams Cross) do not.

[jblackburn]

This is probably a better picture, these are all Kansas birds from 2013 killed on the same trip within probably a 40 mile radius from each other. The two outside birds have the bars and the three in the middle do not.

[JKEEN33]

Nice. That's why I was asking. I thought I had read one time that the Rio's did not have the band. The one I have is definitely from NE. The Rio's I did get in the SE have black in the band also. Just wondering if the birds we have in WA have been cross bread and are no longer one or the other. I need to get out of state and get some birds to see the difference I guess. Definitely need to add an Eastern to the wall. Thanks for the information! I do love hunting turkey!

I posted to soon. Looks like that black really means nothing then. It must vary by bird.

[JKEEN33]

Good luck with your season!

[jblackburn]

Nice. That's why I was asking. I thought I had read one time that the Rio's did not have the band. The one I have is definitely from NE. The Rio's I did get in the SE have black in the band also. Just wondering if the birds we have in WA have been cross bread and are no longer one or the other. I need to get out of state and get some birds to see the difference I guess. Definitely need to add an Eastern to the wall. Thanks for the information! I do love hunting turkey!

I posted to soon. Looks like that black really means nothing then. It must vary by bird.

Yeah, I've always thought it was just a normal difference between bird.  I assume anywhere the ranges would overlap that they cross.  I bet a Rio gobbler would not be too picky to jump on top of a Merriam hen! 

The nice weather we are having here on the eastside ( and those game cam pictures) have me completely distracted and ready for the 15th!