Just To Pass Some Time

[GobbleNut]

We're all waiting for the spring hunts to arrive so just to pass the time and have something to chat about, here's three questions for you:

How many states have you hunted?
Which state was the hardest to kill a gobbler in?
Which state was the easiest?

My answers:
I have hunted 20 states and Mexico
The hardest (two, tie): Tennessee and Michigan (U.P.)...hunted each for about a week and didn't kill a bird
The easiest: (also two): Texas and Florida (private land hunts) killed gobblers in both (several times) within the first couple of days   Mexico Goulds right up there with these

[Dtrkyman]

I'm at 13 states, haven't added any new ones in a while.  Hardest Mississippi, easiest Nebraska back in the day and a couple specific private pieces in Illinois. Indiana public has gotten the better of me more than once late in the season.

Have not hunted anything easy in a while! Although the days you kill one they often come easy!

[Gooserbat]

I've hunted 21 states, taken a bird in 18.  I'm going to say that Oklahoma, Arkansas and Montana have been my hardest.  Not that the turkey are harder but circumstances are my enemy. My easiest have been Oklahoma and Missouri simply because of the law of average as I hunt here the most.  Florida, Louisiana and Idaho all gave me easy birds in about an hour or less of hunting but just as well could have been hard to impossible.

[eggshell]

Gosh Gobblenut the hardest and easiest kind of depends on when you hunted them. Some I hunted in the 70s wouldn't be that tough now. My easiest hunts came as a result of having outfitter help. Like Florida only took me two hours because I was put right on birds by a outfitter.

I have hunted 10 states
my hardest, the mountains of Virginia, 1992 Montana was no piece of cake either.
my easiest, Florida (guided) My home state of Ohio unguided and this should be true of most

[Greg Massey]

Just 2 states TN / Mo. never really had a desire to hunt a bunch of states. Back in my early years it was all about working and raising a family. I worked in the Elect. Utility field so back in those days not a lot of leisure time.. After retirement I was too old to care about going to other states. I have always been satisfied with getting my state limit around home.. I guess you could say now, i'm not as mad at the wildlife.

For all of you who like to travel and hunt different states I wish well and safe travels.

[captpete]

I've only hunted my home state. At one time I would have liked to hunt South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, but never did. Now that desire is gone. I like turkey hunting, but I don't love it. I'm not a diehard like most here on OG. I'm happy just getting my wife a bird. Her and I hunt different seasons, so after about 7-8 days in row of hunting it starts to become a job and not fun anymore.

[Yoder409]

I believe 9 states (2 of them Mexican states)

Hardest was probably Wyoming (2nd week of season on a small-ish tract of public land)

Easiest was probably Nebraska.  Maybe Florida a close second.

I really don't think any one state is inherently "harder" than another.  Pretty much, boils down to the attitude of the birds at the particular time period you happen to be there.

[Tail Feathers]

I've turkey hunted in 10 states.  Easiest was my local birds here in E. Texas (Eastern turkey).  Especially in the early years.  But those birds had never been hunted before.
Hardest, for me, is public land in FL.
I hope to add a couple of more states to that total this spring.  I'm not chasing 49, I just like seeing new ground and hunting turkeys in new places.

[ElkTurkMan]

I've hunted 9 states and taken birds in 8 of them. If I had to pick the easiest state for me it was South Carolina. In all fairness though I hunted on a prime piece of private  ground with a ton of birds. The hardest I have to say are in my home state of Georgia. They just get so much pressure and here recently the numbers have been down. So they get my vote for the toughest state I hunt.

[Swampmonkey]

Hunted in 21 and have killed in 19 and Mexico.
Easiest: Florida, Texas and Nevada. Granted those were on prime private ground.

Hardest: South Carolina. These are the same birds and same ground I've hunted my entire life and they're just different. If I averaged all the days afield vs successful days afield it would be down right dismal. Also Nebraska last year was surprising in its difficulty especially for being on private.

[bbcoach]

5 States (South Dakota once, Kansas once, Wisconsin 4 times, Florida twice and North Carolina Home State).  Merriam's in South Dakota was the easiest state to call up and kill birds for me, and Wisconsin has been my hardest (get good responses but hard to finish for me).  I love each Challenge though!

[MS TurkeyHunter]

I have been fortunate to hunt 32 states and like to hunt some more that are on my personal list. Outside of my home state. Illinois was the most difficult from just years of horrible bad luck. Easiest was a one hour hunt in Vermont the first time i was there.

All being said my home state of MS is statistically my most difficult when you compare the time i put in.


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[Roost 1]

Have killed birds in 36 states and Canada.
Alabama has been the hardest so far(3 trips) and Iowa the easiet(17 minutes).
I have been fortunate to have had great access to some wonderful properties however time is always a limiting factor. I never have more than 2 or 3 days to hunt any one place with KY/TN being the exception.

[deerhunt1988]

Hunted in all 49 all but a couple were on public land.

Its tough to name a state the "Easiest", as too many factors are at play, now more than ever with the increase in public land pressure. Being somewhere for opening week is more important than ever before in many places if you want to maximize your efficiency.

One of my easiest states was LA. Got beat to the spot I wanted to hunt (rarely ever happens) so just drove to another nearby gate. Went in 100% blind with no intel on the region other than "you'll get on birds around the opener ". Heard nothing off the roost, struck one up on my way out and killed him. Three more days and id killed #2. A notoriously tough state that was easy for me.just luck.

But there are definitely criteria that make for easier birds. Rios/Merriams are way easier to roost in the evenings thans eastern so often times im within 100 yards of them when they wake up. States that have later season openers, which may not open til.the woods are about greened up..birds are often ready to die. And theres a few more criteria I'm not gonna share. Haha.

Hardest.. like someone else previously mentioned, my home state of Mississippi. I often put way more hours/effort into getting my MS birds than my out of state birds. And I hunted neighboring states every year too. The early opener has birds often not fired up and ready to play. Theres so much pressure they are boogered nearly to death before they get to acting right.

The same can be said for a couple other deep south states, but now they open later making the birds more eager to die on the openers.

Some "hardest" criteria in general: late season birds anywhere. Especially in states not known for turkey abundance. Public land birds in the deep south.

It took me multiple trips to TN to kill a bird there. My mistake was going too late in the season. Finally went for the opener and no issue.

Took me 2 trips to Delaware public land to get a bird. First trip was last week of the season.

ALMOST took me 2 trips to California to get a bird. Took til day 6 on a 7 day trip. I Was in turkeys but I never dreamed the pressure would be as bad as it was there! So we moved and wasted a couple days trying to find more turkey.


In conclusion, any state can end up easy or hard if you only go there once! Really takes a lot of time hunting specific states/regions to get an accurate assessment.