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Cost of Rio Grande, Gould’s, Merriam’s, Florida Osceola, Ocellated and Eastern Wild Turkey Hunts
Prices for a guided turkey hunt average between $1,000 and $3,000, considered semi-affordable for most hunters. Most hunts can be scheduled as half-day hunts, full day hunts, multi-day hunts and weekend hunting trips. The final total ultimately depends on the number of days, taxidermy fees, quality of accommodations, amenities and services available.
Turkey Hunting Season
There are many options.
Visit the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department website for Turkey hunting season information.
Texas Turkey season offers the opportunity for a great family outing. Turkey Season in Texas is almost year ‘round, depending on your weapon of choice, the age of the hunter, and the specific location. There are some gaps, so check with your Turkey hunt guide.
Since seasons vary by weapon, you should know that turkey hunting is done with a bow and arrow or a shotgun. 12-gauge shotguns are most often used, though some people use 20-gauge or 28-gauge shotguns. For adults, the perfect barrel length is 26″.
• For bow hunting, the season usually goes from October to November.
• For Fall shotgun, in North and South Texas, the main season is from November to January.
• For Spring, in the North, South and East Texas, the main season is from April to May.
Hunting Wild Turkey
The Wild Turkey is one of the most challenging game birds to hunt. They are extremely wary animals with sixth sense that makes them incredibly difficult to take down. Hunters have to dress in full body camo using a bow, a 20 or 28-gauge shotgun.
While it lives at ground level and walks most of the time, it will fly when threatened and roost in trees where it is hard to spot. Turkeys roost in trees at night, too. Hunters will often look for them in the evening, remember where they roost, and hunt those areas in the morning when they come down from the trees.
Physical Characteristics
A male turkey can be a fairly large bird, weighing as much as 30 pounds and measuring up to 48 inches. Typically, a turkeys feathers are dark brown, shot through with black and copper. Turkeys have wide, fan-shaped tails. The feathers on the wings have white bars that stand out against the brown coloration. The males have a bit more color, with their red heads, throats and beards. These beards are one of their defining characteristics.
The wild turkey has long legs that have a variety of tones, ranging from grayish-green to reddish-yellow. Both feet have three toes facing forward, and then they have one more toe facing backward, on the back of the foot. This toe is a bit shorter than the other three. Male turkeys also have spurs.
Native Habitat and Countries
The wild turkey is descended from the southern Mexican wild turkey, but and is now found all over Texas and North America. Wild turkey typically live in a forest thats a mix of hardwood and conifer-trees. It likes to have some open space, as it will often go out into fields, pastures, orchards and even marshes to feed, but they also want bushes and trees nearby, giving them quick escape routes. Turkeys are very good at adapting, needing only dense native plants and tall trees for cover.
Behavior/Social Characteristics
The wild turkey is polygamous, and males create flocks of females in the spring, when they mate. A male will puff out his feathers and strut around to get the females attention, showing off bright red, gold, white and blue feathers.
Turkeys also communicate vocally. They use the familiar gobble most often, but theyll also cluck, purr, yelp and cackle. Gobbling is part of the mating ritual, which is why hunters turkey calls mimic this sound. A gobble from a male turkey can be heard a mile away.
Turkeys eat nuts, acorns, and a handful of different kinds of trees: the hazel, hickory, chestnut and more. They also eat berries, seeds, roots and even insects. On occasion, theyll eat a snake or a lizard.