# Whats the big difference in the 3 species of wild turkey?



## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

*Rio Grande's*









*Merriam*









*Eastern*









Other than a few feathers, is there a real difference at all?


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## birdman (Nov 21, 2007)

Average size, banding on wing feathers, length of legs, etc....in other words, there is not a lot of difference to most folks. They all taste the same to me.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

You're right, there isn't much difference between the birds. As you said, "only a few feathers". There are actually 6 *SUBSPECIES* that we call wild turkeys; Eastern, Rio Grands, Merriams, Goulds, Southern Mexican and Oceola (Florida). Much of what separates them are things like origin, and preferred habitat. BUT, none the less...you wouldn't call a Mallard a Pintail. Other than a few people that seem to think Easterns are smarter...actually they are quite a bit more weary...there is hardly any difference in all the wild birds...not counting Osceola's. 
No one should start any goofy stuff like Merriams are better than Rio's or Goulds are better than Merriams or crap like that, cause when it come to hunting them you're going to find they are about the same. The only thing that I will say is this...the Merriams is simply the prettiest of them all! Period, end of conversation! If you don't believe this, you just have never shot a Merriams! It is sometimes hard to tell the different subspecies apart until after you have shot a few of the different birds and also there are hybrid birds out there messing up the mix. In Utah we have Merriams, Rio's and Hybrids (Merriam/Rio mix) and it is virtually impossible to tell a Hybrid from a Rio. The only Utah bird you can identify visually is the Merriams...the best way for me to describe him is that he is WHITE and INKY JET BLACK!


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

> Other than a few people that seem to think Easterns are smarter...actually they are quite a bit more weary...


Good post BP.

The reason the Eastern bird _seem_ smarter is because of their environment. They aren't any smarter, they just get a LOT more pressure. Most Eastern turkeys live within a one hour drive of any number of huge citys with millions of people. They get the crap hunted out of them on public land and take quite a beating on private land. Compare that to the turkeys I hunted this spring in Montana on a private ranch that NO ONE gets to hunt, and the eastern turkey is a genius compared to the stupid turkeys that came running in gobbling every time I called. Now lets look at how Utah's turkeys have evolved. Used to be if you drew a tag you were out there with may be 20 other folks in an area like the Cache unit and it was more of a shoot than a hunt. The turkeys were unbelievably gullible and dumb. Now, with several hundred Utards with Cache tags, they are very quickly becoming more and more like their eastern cousins. The other day I chatted with a guide that has be taking turkey hunters out in the Cache unit for the past 10 years and he said this year the birds were extremely cagey and smart. He actually had to "hunt" for them to get his clients tags filled.

Turkeys to me are just like geese. They seem dumb until you burn em a couple times. Then, all bets are off. They can be the hardest thing to kill, or the easiest gimmy in the world depending on where you hunt them. :wink:


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## duckhunter1096 (Sep 25, 2007)

The big difference is the taste. Kind like beer. They all have subtle differences, but for the most part, they're all exactly the same. Just shoot whichever ones you see.....
























Okay....if anyone thought I was serious.....calm down. I do not condone shooting random sh*t. Know your target.....know your species. I am glad this person asked the difference....sounds like they want to learn....Knowledge is king. Unfortunately, ignorance is the queen.


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## Bergy (Apr 3, 2008)

+1 to what Tex said..... I dont think that the Easterns I hunt here in Virginia are any smarter then the Rio's or Merriams. They just get the crap shot out of them here on the East coast. We have a Spring season that lasts 6 weeks AND a Fall season that goes from October-December, and OTC tags. Thats the only reason some folks claim they are smarter... they've been hunted extremely hard and educated.


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