A Turkey Hunter's Dream

Eastern Wild Turkey photo credit: National Wild Turkey Federation.

For some, completing a wild turkey grand slam can be the pinnacle of a hunting career. There are five wild turkey subspecies in the United States. A grand slam is achieved by taking a gobbler from four of them: Eastern, Merriam's, Osceola and Rio Grande subspecies.

Eastern Wild Turkey
Typically the largest of the subspecies, the Eastern, is most prolific with an estimated population of five million ranging from the east coast across the Mississippi River. The color of the body feathers of an Eastern gobbler cast an alternating metallic bronze and copper color and the tips of the tail feathers area are a chestnut color. Eastern turkeys thrive in hardwoods and evergreen forests.

Merriam's Wild Turkey
Merriam's are easily distinguished from other turkeys by the nearly white feathers on the lower back and tail. They are comparable in size to the Eastern, but appear blacker with blue, purple and bronze reflections. Merriam's live in the mountainous western states, preferring a ponderosa-pine forest habitat.

Osceola Wild Turkey
Found only in Florida, Osceola turkeys are smaller and darker in color than Eastern birds. Osceola feathers show more iridescent green and red colors and not so much the bronze and copper of their eastern cousins. The Osceola turkey relishes palmetto hummocks, flat pine woods and swampy landscapes.

Rio Grande Wild Turkey photo credit: National Wild Turkey Federation.

Rio Grande Wild Turkey
Outnumbered only by the Eastern turkey, the Rio Grande turkey is native to the central plains and Texas. They're similar in size to the Osceola, but with longer legs. They inhabit mesquite, pine and scrub oak forests near streams. You can tell a Rio from an Eastern by the lighter tipped tail feathers. Where the ranges of the Rio and Eastern meet, cross-breeding occurs and produces a hybrid variation. Hybrids are not generally considered part of a grand slam.

Spring hunting for wild turkeys is very comparable, regardless of the subspecies and area. Locating gobblers on the roost early in the morning and then trying to call them in close by imitating a hen generally works best.

You can try for a grand slam by going after an Eastern in Virginia, an Osceola in Florida, a Rio in Texas and a Merriam's in Montana. Another approach would be to take your Merriam's in New Mexico, travel across the border into Oklahoma to take a Rio and possibly a hybrid or Eastern. Or take your Eastern across the state line in Arkansas and then drive down to Florida for your Osceola. A real challenge is taking all four within the same year!

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Gould's Turkey
The Gould's is the fifth wild turkey subspecies and is similar to, but larger than, a Merriam's. They are lightly distributed in New Mexico and Arizona and are not part of a grand slam, but if you take one in addition to the grand slam birds, you've got what's called a royal slam. Less than 1,000 are thought to be in the United States. Hunting Gould's turkeys by special permit does happen and the funds generated are helping to reestablish this subspecies.