Do people pay to shoot turkeys in 'Merica, (as President Bush calls it),and if so how much?

Yes they do, and it depends on the area and the amenities. The big thing here is to take a "Grand Slam" of wild turkeys. One each of the five sub-species here in N.A., Eastern, Osceola, Rio Grande, Merriams, and Gould's.

Lots of folks, me included, feel that spring turkey hunting is one of the biggest "Rushes of Adrenilin" a person can get. JMO.

Yes, people do pay and like most things involving money, it depends. High end guided hunts with a "name" guide and very nice lodging and food can easily cost $1000 or more. Lower end, unguided, no lodging but with a reasonable chance at a turkey over a few days may run anywhere from $50 to $100 a day. And, of course, if you are hunting on public land, there are normally no fees except for the applicable hunting license costs. You might find someone who would let you hunt on their private land for free, but it would take some groundwork, time and probably a bit of luck.

Also, there are 4 types of turkeys in the US. Since the SE US one (the Osceola) is by far the rarest and hardest to kill to complete the "slam", hunting costs for them can be higher than the above prices.

Kind of strange to pay for hunting those things huh? Here's a flock out in the middle of the paddock that we saw when I was hunting in New Zealand.

PS: if you know anything about turkey hunting (or even if you don't, but I'm not a turkey guide and don't care to hunt them, so you'd be pretty much on your own, except for the very valuable local knowledge as to their whereabouts, to wit, mine.... ) and you want to fly up from New Zealand to NE Texas, you can hunt Easterns on my place for free. We have a decent population of the feathered rats. Shotgun only and all laws will be obeyed. Season is month of April.

yes, About $18 for the first one and $12 for the next two.......

IV

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:
PS: if you know anything about turkey hunting (or even if you don't, but I'm not a turkey guide and don't care to hunt them, so you'd be pretty much on your own, except for the very valuable local knowledge as to their whereabouts, to wit, mine.... ) and you want to fly up from New Zealand to NE Texas, you can hunt Easterns on my place for free. We have a decent population of the feathered rats. Shotgun only and all laws will be obeyed. Season is month of April.

That's mighty generous of you, but should I want to shoot a turkey or two there are a mob of the buggers floating around one of my paddocks as I type. Like your good self I don't bother to shoot them unless the make more mess than their presence warrants then they get a couple of rounds of shot, more to discourage than kill them.
I did shoot a couple a few years ago and stir fried the breast meat, it was quite nice.
We have a small number of pheasants and California Quale too but they are left to their own devices. The only birds I shoot are Paradise duck. More to keep the buggers from pooing in the water troughs, which can lead to dead cows. That I can't tollerate.

Turkeys are a truly great bird to hunt, especially in the spring, when the breeding season is on. Here in the state of New York, they are usually hunted with a shotgun firing #4, #5, or #6 shot. We have a spring and fall season, with a limit of 2 "bearded" birds in the spring and 2 either sex birds in the fall. A small game license plus a turkey permit (4 birds) is required here ($16/$5 resident, $55/$30 non-resident).

Everything from free public land hunts to guided hunts available. It's my favorite hunt, and they make a great dinner! Here's one I got this fall with my bow:

quote:

Originally posted by oldun:
Do people pay to shoot turkeys in 'Merica, (as President Bush calls it),and if so how much?

I would assume you're trying to figure out how much to charge folks when they come your way hunting eh?

MG

erict,
Thats a nice stag!
Madgoat,
Not at all, I would not charge any one to shoot the turkeys. If the numbers built up I might do a cull and ask a friend or two if they would like to help out and let them take a free dinner home with them.