Favorite Turkey Species

[Gobbler428]

Easterns, especially southeast Easterns.

X2

[Happy]

I have an extremely limited perspective. However, an eastern Appalachian mt gobbler with a little age on him that has scratched out an existence without the help of cornfields, and grainfields has an edge to him that I appreciate. He ain't the biggest, with a long beards and sharp spurs, but when he gobbles, he gobbles like he owns the world, and you typically gotta go earn him. I have killed and had a hand in helping get some really nice lowland easterns killed. While they were trophy sized birds, they didn't give me half the battle these mountain birds do. That's where I get maximum fun.
I have never hunted them, but I can imagine a hard hunted swamp eastern or Osceola being on that level.

[CALLM2U]

I'll start with my least favorite.

Osceola - I hate the territory they call home.  (everything bites and stings)
Rio - They are fun, but again, the territory they call home isn't as interesting as others.
Merriam - The Rockies are a really cool place.
Eastern - In my opinion, it doesn't get much more enjoyable than chasing an Appalachian mountain Eastern. 

[GobbleNut]

Interesting replies.  I suspect most of us favor the subspecies we are most familiar with and in the habitat we have gravitated towards preferring. I am no different.  I "cut my teeth" hunting Merriam's gobblers in the high, public-land mountains in the southwest and they are most dear to my heart.

Having hunted all five subspecies a bit, I have determined for myself that all of them have their ups and downs...depending on where, when, and how you must hunt them.  Put a guy on any of them in ideal circumstances and when they are in the right frame of mind and they can be pushovers...and conversely, hunt any of them when they are not and all of them can be frustratingly difficult.  Regardless, I think most of us are gonna "dance with the one that brung us". 

[EZ]

I have an extremely limited perspective. However, an eastern Appalachian mt gobbler with a little age on him that has scratched out an existence without the help of cornfields, and grainfields has an edge to him that I appreciate. He ain't the biggest, with a long beards and sharp spurs, but when he gobbles, he gobbles like he owns the world, and you typically gotta go earn him. I have killed and had a hand in helping get some really nice lowland easterns killed. While they were trophy sized birds, they didn't give me half the battle these mountain birds do. That's where I get maximum fun.
I have never hunted them, but I can imagine a hard hunted swamp eastern or Osceola being on that level.

X100!!!

[Jfowler82]

Give me the eastern all day, every day , and twice on Sunday . All kidding aside that's all I've known.

[Tailwalk]

Hunted them all. Something about Osceolas in the Everglades that feels the most wild!

With that being said a gobbling hardwoods eastern is exciting.

They are all great who am I kidding


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[OJR]

For the experience and the beauty of the land there is nothing like hunting the Gould's in the Sierr@   Madre Mountains of Mexico. For my go to, it's the Eastern due to the fact that that's what is available to me on a daily basis.  I have hunted them all and the one I'm on is my favorite!

[PharmHunter]

Got to love those hard gobbling and "come in from a mile away" Rios.

This!

But nothing beats an Eastern's gobble.  Just wish they did it all day long at any and everything like Rio's lol.

[Yoder409]

For me, it's more a matter of what scenery I hunt them in than which color tail feathers I most prefer.  There's chapters to be written on each and every one......both pro and con.  Thought I'd share a pic of a place where I've hunted each of the 5 subspecies of Meleagris gallopavo.

The Eastern:



The Rio Grande:



The Merriam's:



The Osceola:



The Gould's:



Hopefully, a pic for Meleagris ocellata coming in the near future...........   

[Beards and Hooks]

For me, it's more a matter of what scenery I hunt them in than which color tail feathers I most prefer.  There's chapters to be written on each and every one......both pro and con.  Thought I'd share a pic of a place where I've hunted each of the 5 subspecies of Meleagris gallopavo.

The Eastern:



The Rio Grande:



The Merriam's:



The Osceola:



The Gould's:



Hopefully, a pic for Meleagris ocellata coming in the near future...........   

That's awesome yoder, love Easterns (all I've ever hunted) and hope to hunt turkeys in a few of them locales in the future....

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[Brinkcalls]

For me, it's more a matter of what scenery I hunt them in than which color tail feathers I most prefer.  There's chapters to be written on each and every one......both pro and con.  Thought I'd share a pic of a place where I've hunted each of the 5 subspecies of Meleagris gallopavo.

The Eastern:



The Rio Grande:



The Merriam's:



The Osceola:



The Gould's:



Hopefully, a pic for Meleagris ocellata coming in the near future...........   

These pics speak volumes. I'd love to put myself there. Super jealous!


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[Paulmyr]

Yoder's 1st pic suites me just fine. All I know are easterns. There was a time when I can fancied the idea of bagging one of each sub species but those days have long since fallen to the wayside. Gobblers in the hardwoods  puts me at peace.

[Chad Gus715]

Merriam's in the hills/mountains of the west is where it's at for me.

[Bolandstrutters]

Easterns, specifically in the ozark mountains.