When I used to live in Arizona, one of the things I liked most was going up onto the Mogollan Rim to hunt turkeys in the high piney woods.

When I retired, I came here to Oregon, mainly for the steelhead fishing and the elk & bear hunting. (And secondarily to get away from the brown tide of felons that comes in every night now down there.)

In Arizona the major part of the turkey hunting fun for me was the trying to find the birds, calling them within shooting range, and potting them without their spotting me first.

When I moved here, it was pretty generally accepted that turkey hunting was very minimal...hardly worth the trouble here and in a lot of miles from here. Finding the birds was a major challenge. So, it was still a lot of fun.

About 15 years ago, the fella who owns the little cattle ranch just north of me imported some turkeys from somewhere in the SW (AZ, NM, or Texas, I think). Merriams. He turned them loose on his place...which is about 5 sections all told, I'd guesstimate.

His is a nice little place, very few weeds in his pastures, and all the land is rolling hills covered with native grasses and small stands of mainly oak trees. One little ridge is a denning area for rattlesnakes, but other than that the whole spread is nice easy walking (very few rocks, though a lot of fairly steep hillsides) for man and beast. Lots of year-round water....one good sized river, quite a few streams and ponds. Some dense thickets of Madrone & Poison Oak provide heavy deer and elk cover.

Anyway, the turkeys did fine on his place at first. then they seemed to die off over a couple of years.

But they hadn't. They had started moseying southward. First they were seen on my neighbor to the west's place at his gravel pit. About three or four years ago they started showing up on my place.

One day I counted 63 of them in a pasture just about 75 yards from my highest back deck.

Next it was realized they had REALLY increased their numbers. They are now in good sized (BIG) flocks for about 7 miles west of me and 10 miles south.

And every time I go out front to feed the deer or put water out for them, the turkeys hear the barn door open and come running. Are a real hazard for cars passing on the road by my place.

They ARE pleasant to have around. Every morning I am awakened by their gobbling. And when I look out my 4'x8' bedroom window at the back of the house, there will be from 25 to 50 of them, sometimes more, on the pea gravel next to the lower deck, with their lookouts posted in the big 60-70 foot Alder right next to my bedroom window, and in the 50' Maple tree just below that. They'll also have sentries on both the fences that make the corner between our back yard and our horse pasture and arena out there.

I usually open the window and yell at them to knock it off, but they are no longer scared by that. They just look up, say to each other "Oh its just him and his cranky way again", then go back to stuffing their gizzards with gravel.

Anyway, has become a real pleasure for me to watch them and see how they stick together and do their things for each other's safety. A really big one (est, 28-30 lbs) leads them everywhere. A slightly smaller one guards the rear of their column. The smallest ones are always right in the middle. When it comes time for them to move, they always go single file when travelling.

When they first start somewhere, the leader goes first (duh!), and they all fall into line, passing between two large ones which seem to be responsible for counting everyone, then the "roll-takers" themselves fall into line, then the big,lone "rear guard" at the tail end (pun intended).

When they get to an open pasture where they want to feed, or sit in the sun, they will spread out shoulder to shoulder and walk along perfectly abrest of each other, picking up whatever they each find to eat.

If down in the naturally-irrigated horse pasture, they will spread out checkerboard fashion, and each will make a nest out of the still live native grass there. Then each will sit on the nest just like an old brood hen and go to sleep (sorta) in the bright sun. The sentries, of course, will stay alert, usually one or two every 50-60 feet apart on the top rail of the fences.

Its like having a great bunch of giant banty chickens.

Completely ruined my desire to kill any of them, Dammit!

Now I'm running a poor-house for wild turkeys and at the same time am gonna have to buy a ham or domestic turkey at the store for Easter in a few weeks!

Life just ain't fair....

I know a gent who, like yourself, has lost the desire to hunt a certain game animal for similar reasons. A taxidermist friend nearby used to be an avid duck hunter......but one night I mentioned something to him about ducks and he said "You want to see ducks?" and took me to the back of his shop and opened a garage door.......there were about 250 ducks of several species milling around waiting to be fed. He seemed to be pretty fond of them.....not sure if they made a mess(not to mention health hazard).

On another note, the record Merriam's per NWTF is 31.5 lbs.......your's is pretty close, huh?

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:
I know a gent who, like yourself, has lost the desire to hunt a certain game animal for similar reasons. A taxidermist friend nearby used to be an avid duck hunter......but one night I mentioned something to him about ducks and he said "You want to see ducks?" and took me to the back of his shop and opened a garage door.......there were about 250 ducks of several species milling around waiting to be fed. He seemed to be pretty fond of them.....not sure if they made a mess(not to mention health hazard).

On another note, the record Merriam's per NWTF is 31.5 lbs.......your's is pretty close, huh?

Mine is the biggest wild turkey I've ever seen anywhere. But then, it should be. Eats about a pound a day of "All Breed" before the deer can get to their feeder.

I know how your friend feels about those ducks. Egyptian Geese are the same way on the river down about 300 yards below my barn. No body hunts on the river down there, as the geese hang out right in the middle of one of the best steelhead holes on this particular 14-mile long section of the river. Don't figger the pro guides or their clients would appreciate me shooting the place up.

Nor would the 8 or 10 folks who've put up homes on the riverbank in the last 20 years.

we have them coming in every day. not only do they eat their own goodies but get bold enough to get into the bird feeders. frequently they come right up on the patio and peekinto the windows

Wow...you guys are talking some giants here. Biggest one I ever seen was a 27 pounder Eastern turkey from Iowa. I never thought Easterns were found that far out west...but they are there and they are big.

Time to start a Turkey thread with pics