It’s an exhilarating experience, that happens during the gobbler-only spring hunting season.

Story and photography by Bob Zaiglin

When it comes to spring, a deer hunter’s attention is focused on shed antlers.  However, to a bird hunter, spring is all about calling in a long beard and perhaps finding a few shed antlers along the way.

Like their deer hunting brethren, turkey hunters utilize an array of tools from slate to box calls, and a variety of mouth calls, in their attempt to draw a gobbler into shotgun range.  Like rattling up a trophy buck, calling in an old tom is an exhilarating experience, and it all happens during the spring gobbler-only hunting season.

Two subspecies of wild turkey occur in Texas, and a third is questionable.  The Rio Grande can be found in the northern reaches of Mexico through Texas to portions of New Mexico and southern Kansas.  More than half the total area inhabited by the Rio Grande turkey is in Texas.  The Eastern turkey occurs in the Piney Woods and Post Oak Savanna ecoregions in East Texas.

Merriam’s were released into the Guadalupe Mountains in 1955 and the Davis Mountains in 1983 according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.  Hybridization occurred when Rio Grande birds stocked nearby moved in.

The Rio Grande turkey is the most abundant big-game bird in the Lone Star State, representing a challenging outdoor experience, and if lucky, exquisite table fare.

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