Turkeys test every hunter’s skill

JOE NELSON

Turkey hunting in Colorado is an overlooked gem. Turkeys do not get nearly the attention that big game species do with out-of-state hunters and Colorado residents. And those people are missing a great opportunity for a hunt that combines a fun challenge with a reasonable chance of success.

I have been hunting turkey in Southwestern Colorado since 1992. Over the following 30 years I have enjoyed a turkey batting average of about .750, a hit in anybody’s league. Believe me, if I can manage to do that, you can too!

The turkey is a species that is deeply rooted in American culture and symbolism. Yet, its existence faced an unlikely future in the early 1900s. Like most game species in North America, turkey populations were dwindling due to unregulated hunting and habitat destruction. By 1920, there were slightly less than 30,000 wild turkeys on the entire continent. The sight of a wild turkey in the woods and fields was almost out of living memory for most. However, thanks to successful conservation efforts by a variety of groups, the United States is now home to over seven million wild turkeys. Turkeys were effectively extinct in Colorado, but after a vigorous reintroduction campaign we have a population of over 35,000, found in every county. The Western Slope of Colorado is home to a variety of public lands managed by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the state of Colorado. As a result, finding some open space with a good turkey population is usually not a problem. All licensed hunters can harvest two turkeys a year, one during the spring season and one during the fall. (That’s perfect for both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, and wild turkey tastes exactly like domestic turkey. It really does!) Some years, in some locations, the DOW may add a chance for a third turkey if they feel the population warrants it.

Turkey’s keen eyesight, high intelligence and nomadic habits all combine to test hunting knowledge, skills and physical endurance. In southwest Colorado, turkey country is rugged country. Prepare for serious hiking through heavy timber, exposed rock and steep grades.

Wild turkeys are not like their overfed, overbred, domestic cousins who can barely stagger across a small barnyard. The wild varieties can cover an astonishing amount of ground at a “turkey trot.” If you spook them, they will fly 50 to 75 feet in the air at an incredible speed, all the more amazing when you consider they always stay below treetop level and have to contend with brush, branches, etc. It’s highly unlikely that a hunter will be able to sneak up on a turkey without them taking evasive action before you have them within shotgun range. I have always found tracking something that flies to be extremely difficult, so in my opinion it’s best to stay very still and try and convince the turkeys to come to you.

A turkey’s incredible eyesight means head to toe camouflage is a necessity. Many times I have called a turkey nearly within range, only to have them spot something and casually wander away. One of my hunting partners claimed after one of these incidents that the turkey saw the brass shoelace eyelets on my hiking boots. Maybe he was right, because I got a turkey the next weekend, and the only variable from the unsuccessful attempt the week before was that I blacked out the brass eyelets on my boots with a sharpie.

Aside from the accoutrements de camouflage, as my Quebecois hunting friend says, unless you’re Gary Cooper in the movie Sergeant York, you’re going to need a good call. Most calls imitate a lonely jenny, or mature female turkey, looking for a tom, or sexually mature male turkey. “Object: matrimony” as they used to say in the personal ads. There are six common types:

Push button calls. Basically you push a button or a rod and something rubs against another object, usually covered in chalk.

Many experienced hunters turn up their nose at these calls because the perception is they are for beginners. While they may be easy to use, this doesn’t make them not work. They can be effective in areas with high hunting pressure from the so-called experts due to the fact that turkeys learn to avoid repetitive sounds, and the “beginner” call may sound different. Slate calls. These consist of a rod and a round piece of slate. The advantage of this type is that you can make a few different sounds with one call. A disadvantage is that it takes two hands to operate. Locator calls. These calls, unlike other calls, are not meant to imitate turkey sounds. You are using a call that sounds like an owl, crow or a woodpecker, and hopefully gets the gobbler to gobble to scare the upstart bird from another species out of his territory. Now you know where he is, and you use your jenny call of choice to get the tom within range. Box calls. A box call is easy enough for beginners and multifaceted enough for the experienced. These calls are traditionally made out of wood, walnut, mahogany or cedar. If you know what you’re doing, you can make a gobble call as well as a lonely jenny with this call. I use a box call that I found on a shelf in a house I bought 20 years ago. My son has a beautiful Southwesternstyle box call made from cedar on the Dine reservation, which I purchased from its maker at a flea market in Chinle, Arizona many years ago. Diaphragm calls. Also called mouth calls, they are small half-circle shaped devices that fit in your mouth that use a rubber or latex reed that vibrates to create sound. These are, by far, the hardest to learn to use. I believe that’s why people who can use them swear by them.

Even with a shotgun, camo and a call, many turkey hunters opt for using decoys. The usual decoy scenario is either two or three jennies with another decoy that’s made to look like a jake, or an adolescent male, about to initiate a romantic overture. The idea is that sight enrages any passing tom, who comes crashing over without their usual caution. A similar situation plays itself out at freshman homecoming dances across the country.

Not all turkeys are alike! There are five types of wild turkey in the U.S.:

Eastern turkeys are the most populous in the U.S., with a population of about 5.5 million. They’re found in every state east of the Missouri river, with transplant populations in Montana, Oregon and

Washington. These turkeys are the heaviest, and they have the longest beards and loudest gobbles. They have darker feathers than their western cousins, the Merriam’s.

Merriam’s are widely distributed, with strongholds in every state west of the

Missouri river, including Colorado. With more predators and less habitat that the

Easterns, their population is a bit lower, and they are scattered across the west from

Idaho to New Mexico. Merriam’s have lighter color in their tail feathers, a quieter gobble and shorter spurs. Rio Grande turkeys have a more limited distribution. Their primary range is along rivers in the plain states and transplant populations in California and Hawaii. Rios can be found in the plains counties of

Colorado. Rios have medium sized beards and spurs and tan tail feathers. They tend to be nomadic. They’ll seldom be found in the same place a couple of days in a row and roost somewhere different most nights.

Osceola turkeys are only found in Florida.

Their estimated population is around 90,000 birds, with most flocks being found in the interior of the state. They have the longest spurs of any turkey, and have bronze colored tail feathers.

Gould’s turkeys are found mainly in Mexico, with their northern range including southern

Arizona and New Mexico. They have longer legs and feet than most other turkeys. They are easily identified by their snow white tail feathers. They live in mountainous areas deep in desert country, and as far south as the jungles of Central America. Hunting turkeys can be challenging. But the reward is beautiful, delicious, and as American as apple pie. Channel your inner Daniel Boone or Annie Oakley and go hunt that turkey.

2021 TURKEY HARVEST ESTIMATE

Estimated population: 35,000 in Colorado Diet: seeds, fruits, insects, vegetation Average life span: 2.5 years Average size: 40 inches tall Average weight: 17 pounds Flight speed: over 55 mph Run speed: 25 mph

County Harvest Hunters

La Plata 448 1301

Archuleta 320 1024

Montezuma 43 427

San Miguel 64 469

Dolores 43 256