Tough Turkeys

[nwhuntinman]

Well we are half way done with Spring turkey. I've been after it since it opened (weekends) and it has been a little different this year. Not as verbal unless I get in there zone. I don't have any private to hunt so I hunt the national forest. So hike all day looking and listening.. I have killed my two birds as well as called in several in for buddies this year. Just wondering if I was the only one that had to work extra hard this year. There is a good even mix of Easterns and Miriam's where I hunt and I got all Easterns and buddies killed Miriam's.

[birddogdad]

hangin with the ladies this year much more.. early and late best bets to find a lonely boy...

[baldopepper]

Last weekend most of the toms around me were still hanging with the hens. Had two different lone toms come in the backyard but neither one had any interest in the calls. Just scratched around a bit and went back down the canyon.

[Dan-o]

I hunted the last 2 days.
Birds were VERY quiet.

Saw a group of 5 Toms/Jakes in someone's field.
They were completely disinterested in any calls, and thy were silent.

My son went up to an area we know roosts some birds.
Birds came down pretty quiet, and then went silent on the ground.
He bumped a couple, but got no audible responses or other interest.

[CaNINE]

This was my 23rd consecutive year hunting turkeys. It was definitely a tough year. Spent 6 days in the woods and covered a lot of ground. Birds not very vocal and non-responsive to my calls. Still had a great time, found an elk shed and learned a few things. The mystery of spring turkey hunting continues.

[hunter399]

I agree
Tough year ,no vocals makes it a very hard hunt.
Kid still hasn't filled his tag.

[nwwanderer]

Thought this was going to be a cooking thread!!  Tough here too, mighty quiet

[hughjorgan]

Hunted every weekend since the opener. Birds were real quiet opening weekend; seen lots of gobblers but never connected. Second weekend tried a new spot and the turkeys were gobbling like crazy but they were all henned up. I was able to call in a group of 7 or 8 Jake’s that came in silent behind my setup and was able to swing around and make a kill. Hoping to find some gobblers that want to talk tomorrow.

[mboyle0828]

Last weekend I sat in my blind (for way too many hours) and the only tom that came in, came in silently.

I missed the shot with my bow and he ran off. It was late in the evening and the lighting was terrible.

Then went run-n-gun with the 12ga and got a smaller tom.

[Wanttohuntmore]

Definitely harder this year.   28 years of hunting them and not seeing as much.   Curious where you have Easterns and Merriams?  I thought Easterns were only on the west side of the state and Merriams over the crest?  Or is there a mixing in the Klick?  Been trying to get the slam after meeting a few that have done it.

[nwhuntinman]

Thought this was going to be a cooking thread!!  Tough here too, mighty quiet

Funny I guess I might have thought that too.

[nwhuntinman]

Definitely harder this year.   28 years of hunting them and not seeing as much.   Curious where you have Easterns and Merriam's?  I thought Easterns were only on the west side of the state and Merriam's over the crest?  Or is there a mixing in the Klick?  Been trying to get the slam after meeting a few that have done it.

I hunt the north central part of state. They are defiantly different. I have hunted the Easterns in Missouri and their colors are different as you can see on the tips. Here is the Merriam in this pic. The pic I put up at the start of this story is Eastern. Now I could be wrong because I have never asked, but there is no doubt these are different birds as far as color variations.

[nwwanderer]

There you go!!!  Thanks

[baldopepper]

Well we are half way done with Spring turkey. I've been after it since it opened (weekends) and it has been a little different this year. Not as verbal unless I get in there zone. I don't have any private to hunt so I hunt the national forest. So hike all day looking and listening.. I have killed my two birds as well as called in several in for buddies this year. Just wondering if I was the only one that had to work extra hard this year. There is a good even mix of Easterns and Miriam's where I hunt and I got all Easterns and buddies killed Miriam's.

Showed the pic to a hard core bird guy and he says first bird is a rio. I'm no expert, but he even knows the scientific name of all the birds he sees so I tend to believe him.(He's also an avid turkey hunter, goes all over chasing em)

[brokentrail]

Just back from a week over in the Northeast corner with my oldest son.  We were able to fill two tags a piece but it definitely took a lot of time/work/effort to do so.  Was still a great trip, even if we hadn't been successful, I just love to hear those birds gobble...  If I found a pocket of birds on the west side, I wouldn't even hunt them, I would just go there to drink coffee in the morning and listen to them do their thing.

[nwhuntinman]

Just back from a week over in the Northeast corner with my oldest son.  We were able to fill two tags a piece but it definitely took a lot of time/work/effort to do so.  Was still a great trip, even if we hadn't been successful, I just love to hear those birds gobble...  If I found a pocket of birds on the west side, I wouldn't even hunt them, I would just go there to drink coffee in the morning and listen to them do their thing.
Ok well I'll show one more pic of another that we called Easterns. Tips are not white like other birds I brought over a buddy from Missouri that has killed them for 40 years and was convinced mine were easterns copared to the others we killed. This is why I brought it up tho. I want to be informed. Thanks for the input.

[baldopepper]

Nice bird what ever it is, but there are no easterns east of the Cascades.  WDFW says there is no where in the state where easterns intermingle with Merriam's. No big deal, as I stated it's a nice bird regardless of species.  Well done on your hunt!

[nwhuntinman]

Nice bird what ever it is, but there are no easterns east of the Cascades.  WDFW says there is no where in the state where easterns intermingle with Merriam's. No big deal, as I stated it's a nice bird regardless of species.  Well done on your hunt!
That's great information. Appreciate that. Just tells me how much they differ in color variation. I'd assume age has a lot to do with it. Good to hear all the other stories and success.  I love having something to hunt in the spring.

[baldopepper]

Nice bird what ever it is, but there are no easterns east of the Cascades.  WDFW says there is no where in the state where easterns intermingle with Merriam's. No big deal, as I stated it's a nice bird regardless of species.  Well done on your hunt!
That's great information. Appreciate that. Just tells me how much they differ in color variation. I'd assume age has a lot to do with it. Good to hear all the other stories and success.  I love having something to hunt in the spring.

I think if you look online you'll see the various color differences. Eastern WA has a mix of Rios and Merriams and many appear to be a mix of the two.  I think the further north you go the Merriam's are more common while the southern parts of the units feature more Rios. We've taken many birds that I'm pretty sure were mixed species.  Unlike whitetails and mule deer, turkeys seem quite willing to inner breed. Your first bird really does look very characteristic of a true rio. All I know for sure is their calls all sound the same and they're fun to hunt in the spring!

[brokentrail]

I pretty much say actually white tipped tail fan feathers = Merriams, anything else, buff, tan, etc, are Rio's or mixed in NE. WA.  Eastern's, at least ime, usually have more rust or chesnutt colored secondary tail fan feathers and then the main tail fan feathers are either colored the same as the secondaries or can be lighter, more buff/tan.

I think your picture is of a Rio but no matter, every bird is a nice bird!  Love me some turkeys!

[ShedHead20]

Just back from a week over in the Northeast corner with my oldest son.  We were able to fill two tags a piece but it definitely took a lot of time/work/effort to do so.  Was still a great trip, even if we hadn't been successful, I just love to hear those birds gobble...  If I found a pocket of birds on the west side, I wouldn't even hunt them, I would just go there to drink coffee in the morning and listen to them do their thing.
Ok well I'll show one more pic of another that we called Easterns. Tips are not white like other birds I brought over a buddy from Missouri that has killed them for 40 years and was convinced mine were easterns copared to the others we killed. This is why I brought it up tho. I want to be informed. Thanks for the input.

100% a rio or a Merriam/rio hybrid. No Easterns around North Central WA for 150 miles and high country in the middle of that. Easterns are dark. No white, no cream coloring at all. Just black and brown.

[ZagHunter]

Weren't there easterns released in Idaho near the Dworshak Reservoir years ago that made their way into WA? I read rumors of that on another forum.

[baldopepper]

Weren't there easterns released in Idaho near the Dworshak Reservoir years ago that made their way into WA? I read rumors of that on another forum.

It's my understanding that easterns were released in that Area in 2012 or 2013. Supposedly they didn't do well and there are no verified harvest reports on them for a number of years.  I suspect they inner breed like Merriams and Rios and there are probably very few, if any at all, true easterns left.  It seems to me every year we harvest fewer and fewer true Merriams or Rios with most being hybrids. Of the over 30 birds our group harvested last year only 4 or 5 appeared to be pure rio or merriam.The rio traits seem to be the dominant.

[ZagHunter]

Weren't there easterns released in Idaho near the Dworshak Reservoir years ago that made their way into WA? I read rumors of that on another forum.

It's my understanding that easterns were released in that Area in 2012 or 2013. Supposedly they didn't do well and there are no verified harvest reports on them for a number of years.  I suspect they inner breed like Merriams and Rios and there are probably very few, if any at all, true easterns left.  It seems to me every year we harvest fewer and fewer true Merriams or Rios with most being hybrids. Of the over 30 birds our group harvested last year only 4 or 5 appeared to be pure rio or merriam.The rio traits seem to be the dominant.

Interesting. I appreciate the context!