Advice on TX Rios

[TurkeyMann]

Me and a couple of guys are thinking about heading to TX next year with an outfitter on an unguided hunt.  All we have ever hunted are Easterns and not really sure what to expect with the rios.  We sure would appreciate any advice. 

Also, when would you say is the best time to go?  I've heard that the best time to go is after April 15th.

[Tomspur]

I have hunted Texas rios for years and will share with you what I know. They are a very chatty bird. During this past season I hunted all but 6 days of our season.  I heard birds gobbling from February until the end of the season, April 26th.
I am one of those that doesn't call very much but like to get as close to them on their roost and go from there.
Can't say any time is better than another but seems to me early season has been best for me. I do a lot of preseason scouting in order to locate roost sites as well as travel routes after flydown and also strut zones. Once those have been established normally just wait until the season gets here and hope to get lucky. Rios are fun to hunt since they do like to gobble a lot so you guys should have a great time. Good luck

[TurkeyMann]

I have hunted Texas rios for years and will share with you what I know. They are a very chatty bird. During this past season I hunted all but 6 days of our season.  I heard birds gobbling from February until the end of the season, April 26th.
I am one of those that doesn't call very much but like to get as close to them on their roost and go from there.
Can't say any time is better than another but seems to me early season has been best for me. I do a lot of preseason scouting in order to locate roost sites as well as travel routes after flydown and also strut zones. Once those have been established normally just wait until the season gets here and hope to get lucky. Rios are fun to hunt since they do like to gobble a lot so you guys should have a great time. Good luck

Thanks!  That's exactly the kind of info I'm looking for!

Keep it coming fellas.

[West Augusta]

This year wasn't very good at least for us.  We didn't have many birds and the weather was terrible.

[BC]

For years all I had ever hunted was hard headed Easterns in Alabama. Years ago I took my first out of state trip to hunt Rio's in Texas with a buddy. He and I drove the 18 hours to Texas and were worried that we wouldn't be able to limit in the three days we were alloted. We both limited on the second morning and were shed hunting the second day of the hunt.

If you are proficient at hunting Easterns in the south, then you can kill any of the other sub species without much problem. The last morning we were there we went out with our bows trying to kill a javelina and we called one up into our lap by whistling at him.

[stinkpickle]

My father-in-law and I used to hunt around Brownwood, and we would go the season opener, because it's usually a little cooler, and he HATES snakes.  The turkey populations on the ranches we had permission to hunt on varied widely depending on how was much rain they received early in the year.  Our first trip was a little dry, so the birds congregated around the rivers and reservoirs.  Fortunately, these ranches had plenty, so we were knocking down.  The next year was cooler with some localized flooding.  They stopped gobbling and we didn't get anything...a total 180.

[El Pavo Grande]

Having skipped a Texas trip the last two years, I hunted the previous 3 years which were my first with Texas Rios.  The best advice I can give is to not try and get too close if they are responding to your calling.  They have no problem covering ground coming to you once they commit.  You will bump a few if you aren't careful.  They tend to travel once on the ground, so don't be suprised if they leave a property you are hunting, but at the same time you catch others traveling through from other properties throughout the morning.  We had high expectations of roost gobbling the first morning we hunted TX, and were shocked at daylight to hear zero roost gobbling on the land we were hunting.  We could hear some a mile away it seemed.  But, throughout the morning we had turkeys cross onto the property we were hunting.

It's a neat experience if you haven't ever been.  We plan on going back next year. 

[TRKYHTR]

My son and I hunted TX  several years ago. We killed 6 in 2 days of hunting, 3 a piece. To be totally honest it was to easy. I'm glad I went but don't think I'll go back. It could have just been that we hit it perfectly and thats why it was easy or the place we hunted was ripe for the picking. Some times a blind hog finds a nut. Either way it was good experience for my son who killed his first solo gobbler on that trip and called one in for me which was also a first.

TRKYHTR

[TrackeySauresRex]

My son and I hunted TX  several years ago. We killed 6 in 2 days of hunting, 3 a piece. To be totally honest it was to easy. I'm glad I went but don't think I'll go back. It could have just been that we hit it perfectly and thats why it was easy or the place we hunted was ripe for the picking. Some times a blind hog finds a nut. Either way it was good experience for my son who killed his first solo gobbler on that trip and called one in for me which was also a first.

TRKYHTR

TRKYHTR,PM Sent

Great Info everyone. I'm also looking to take a trip next spring with my son as well. Please keep it comming if ya have some information.

[stinkpickle]

My son and I hunted TX  several years ago. We killed 6 in 2 days of hunting, 3 a piece. To be totally honest it was to easy. I'm glad I went but don't think I'll go back. It could have just been that we hit it perfectly and thats why it was easy or the place we hunted was ripe for the picking. Some times a blind hog finds a nut. Either way it was good experience for my son who killed his first solo gobbler on that trip and called one in for me which was also a first.

TRKYHTR

Yeah...we almost pulled off a triple from two different setups within the first hour of daylight on the first day of the first trip.  It was insane!  Unfortunately, that trip set our expectations way too high for the seasons that followed. 

[El Pavo Grande]

I second the importance of water and how it can affect the hunting.  The driest year we hunted, the turkeys were piled in on the neighboring property that had a natural spring and other man made water sources. 

Timing is a factor too, as with most hunting trips.  When time is limited, even in the best of places the quality of hunting can vary a little.  We had one year down there that was a struggle.  Don't get me wrong there were a good bit of turkeys where we hunted an I'm not comparing it to other areas of the country, but it wasn't like hordes of kamikaze gobblers were tripping over their beards and begging us to shoot them. 

[Tail Feathers]

In my experience, Rios will take a little more calling than any Eastern.
Under public land pressure, maybe not so much, but generally I've found that to be true.
They do like to gobble a lot.

[TRKYHTR]

What I have found over the years is that if an Eastern gobbles at you he is interested. If a Rio gobbles at you it's because he can and it has no bearing on whether he is interested in you or not. If an Eastern double gobbles at you, you better get your gun up. If a Rio double or triple gobbles at you it's because he can and it has no bearing on whether he is interested in you or not. He could run in or he could just keep gobbling as he moves to the other county.

TRKYHTR

[TurkeyMann]

My son and I hunted TX  several years ago. We killed 6 in 2 days of hunting, 3 a piece. To be totally honest it was to easy. I'm glad I went but don't think I'll go back. It could have just been that we hit it perfectly and thats why it was easy or the place we hunted was ripe for the picking. Some times a blind hog finds a nut. Either way it was good experience for my son who killed his first solo gobbler on that trip and called one in for me which was also a first.

TRKYHTR

Did you use an outfitter?

If anyone knows of any good outfitters with a lot of birds then post up the names of those outfitters!

[TRKYHTR]

No I hunted with a friend of a friend.

TRKYHTR