1970s. When you’re hunting Rio Grande turkeys in the Midwest, you’ll usually be hunting wide-open ground. Rio Grande gobblers are also very susceptible to a large decoy spread. Wild turkeys have very powerful legs and can run at speeds up to 25 miles per hour.
The hen incubates her eggs for 28 days, and most poults have hatched by late April, mid May or early June. Its range is from Texas and Oklahoma, to New Mexico, Utah and Oregon.
When I’m calling to Rio Grande turkeys, I’ll put out a strutter decoy, a jake decoy and three or four hen decoys. When you’re hunting Rio Grande turkeys in the Midwest, you’ll usually be hunting wide-open ground. WINTER ROOSTING ECOLOGY OF RIO GRANDE WILD TURKEYS IN THE ROLLING PLAINS OF TEXAS by RYAN MATTHEW SWEARINGIN, B.S. Of the five subspecies of wild turkeys, only the Eastern, Rio Grande and Merriam’s wild turkeys occur in Texas. Figure 3. The Merriam's wild turkey is found primarily in the ponderosa pine, western mountain regions of the United States. They are average in most categories. Recently, birds have even been introduced to California and Hawaii. Let’s talk about the differences and what to expect on your first hunt for the beautiful Rio Grande … The Rio Grande Wild Turkey is more than just a Texas bird.
The Rio Grande species is the primary target, and the state is home to roughly a half-million birds, although Eastern and Merriam’s are also present in the Lone Star State. I have seen blogs of people doing this but I can't find where to get the first birds or eggs. Difference in color can be noted between female and male Rio Grande wild turkeys. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Rio Grande Mating activities for the Rio Grande starts in March with nesting peaking toward the end of April. The panhandle suffered through a drought during the late 1990’s that kept the population in check, but once the drought ended the numbers of turkeys have increased to an all time high. You have to be able to adjust to hunting Rios and quiet frankly, hunt a Rio like a Rio instead of like an Eastern. The population of Rio Grande turkeys in the Texas Panhandle is exploding! The Rio Grande turkey, at full maturity, is approximately four feet tall with a slightly smaller body size than the Eastern wild turkey. Rio Grande Turkeys are approximately 4 feet tall, with legs that seem long for their body size. The Rio 411 Of the 49 states that allow turkey hunting, the Rio Grande subspecies is found in 14 of them. Texas, due to its massive size, management model and ideal habitat, leads the charge when it comes to overall population of these butterballs. I am interested raising Eastern or Rio Grande Wild turkeys in north Texas for purpose of re-stocking the wildlife in that county and eating a few. While all states calculate turkey populations differently, Oklahoma boasts a state population of nearly 140,000 turkeys, with a majority of them being of the Rio subspecies. Within its suspected historic range in Arizona Within its suspected historic range in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, the Merriam's was relatively isolated from the other subspecies of wild turkey. This effort was successful as the Rio Grande turkeys seemed to adapt easily to Nevada’s arid climate. Our company was established in 2011 and operates in 1 territory.. It is pale and copper-colored having tail feathers and tail/rump coverts (short feathers located at the base of the tail) tipped with a yellowish buff. Hans -Owner Operator. Their top speed in flight is 55 miles per hour. Figure 4. You searched for: rio grande turkeys! Ohio has a great amount of birds with an estimated population of over 200,000.The 2016 harvest was over 17,500 birds and all of the tags are over the counter.A non resident will have $125.00 in a hunting license and $24.00 for each tag up to two per hunter depending on the county. We surveyed 70 free-living Rio Grande wild turkeys from Bandera and Kerr counties,