Toughest place to kill turkeys in the US?

[Hooksfan]

I know what you mean about Nebraska.

[TRKYHTR]

I have killed turkeys in 15 states from FL to SD. I have to say that the hardest turkeys to hunt are the turkeys that are hunted the hardest. I think thats why alot of people would say AL, MS,FL etc... Because those states are hunted the hardest by some of the best turkey killers in the world. Dumb turkeys in those states don't get to pass on many dumb genes. That said if you can find some turkeys in those states that are not hunted very hard they would be easier to kill, I did not say easy to kill. I know most turkey hunters would say that the Rio and Merriams are easy turkeys to kill but I can put some very good turkey hunters on some turkeys in NM, and AZ, where the turkeys are hunted pretty hard, that would have a hard time killing turkeys. I didn't say they couldn't kill one but it wouldn't be easy. I believe that a turkey is a turkey. If you push him and hunt him hard he will be hard to kill and it doesn't matter where he lives.

TRKYHTR

[Calikev]

I believe that a turkey is a turkey. If you push him and hunt him hard he will be hard to kill and it doesn't matter where he lives.

TRKYHTR

I gotta agree with Joe on this one.  I don't have a lot of experience hunting turkeys outside of California but the public land places I hunt in California are tough places to kill birds.  Mainly because the turkeys are pressured hard daily by folks who like to chase them.  These birds learn very quickly to go silent and are very difficult to pattern.

My brother moved to Iowa a few years back after hunting since the mid 80's in California.  While Easterns are generally tougher to hunt than our Rio's in CA, the amount of good public land that holds turkeys in IA compared to  public land in California makes tagging out much easier in his opinion.  He has put two toms down every year without a problem and even goes over to MO to get another bird.  What he has found is most of those States hold birds throughout the States whereas in CA the turkeys are spread out more into specific areas.  Most of those areas are private so NF and BLM lands are usually crowded at the elevations where the turkeys reside in CA.

Any place can be tough if turkey are constantly molested.  I've seen good private grounds turn into really tough places to hunt as soon as permission is granted and birds start getting hunted.

Kevin

[NYbassman]

My opinion- a turkey is a turkey, no matter what state he lives in. There are things that make them tougher, terrain and hunting pressure being the most common. A turkey that lives on heavily hunted land will be much tougher than one on strictly managed private land, no matter which state you are in. A heavily hunted bird in the Northeast will likely be harder to kill than an Alabama bird on land that sees little to no hunting pressure, and vice versa.

Some states obviously have more hunters than others (like many in the southeastern USA), which in turn creates more pressure on more land. You can hunt unpressured land in those same states though, and hunt birds that act totally different. But the same is true in states like NY or WI, and there are plenty of areas in every state that have hard hunted land which results in difficult birds. To say that birds are harder to kill in your state is just ignorant IMO.

The difficulty of the turkeys you hunt depends not on the state (turkeys know no political boundaries), but on the terrain they inhabit and the hunting pressure they recieve. A good turkey killer will adapt and put birds on the ground anywhere, while a poor hunter will probably struggle anywhere.

[WildTigerTrout]

I know gobblers in Pennsylvania can be very tough to bring to bag! Lots of hunting pressure here.

[lonnie sneed jr.]

I have hunted in WV, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, KY, and TX. The toughest places to get on gobblers and call them in and kill them for me is Mingo Co. WV, and Bath Co. and Highland Co. VA. If you can kill gobblers in these places you can kill them anywhere. Gobblers are very wild natured everywhere but seems to me that gobblers in Bath Co. VA are the smartest and wildest turkeys in the world. Along the Bluestone and New River here at home in Mercer and Summers CO. is running a close 2nd in tough places to kill gobblers, but I don't care how tough a place is to hunt if there are  gobblers in it I will hunt them.

[YELPA]

I'll join in with the vain of thought that a conditioned turkey makes for a tough turkey, wherever he is.  That being said, I'll put a properly conditioned Alabama turkey up against any takers.  But I killed a public land Kentucky gobbler this May that could certainly hold is own. 

[Ol'Mossy]

I know gobblers in Pennsylvania can be very tough to bring to bag! Lots of hunting pressure here.

I''ll second that 

[lonnie sneed jr.]

I have set here and read everyones post about tough gobblers. Looks to me like anywhere you hunt them they are tough. OLD GOBBLERS are smart anywhere you hunt them, I can see that from everyones post. Glad to see that I am not the only one that thinks gobblers are tough. Keep posting guys I like to read what everyone thinks about how tough they are where ever you  hunt.

[wildturkey6]

In my humble opinion you have not hunted a hard to kill turkey until you come south to the Florida everglades and hunt the Everglades Oseola.Find one is a major task Killing him is a even harder task.They have to survive the swamp as poults which is full of Pythons hungry for anything that moves,Florida Panther ,Bobcat ,numerous hawks and eagles,not to mention High water and very little to forge on every thing they eat here is natural there are not crops growing in the everglades. They are killed ever year but they are by far the hardest I have ever hunted. Put an Everglades turkey hunt on yer bucket list ,I promise you it will be a memorable experience.

[Devastator]

I know gobblers in Pennsylvania can be very tough to bring to bag! Lots of hunting pressure here.

yea,no kidding.plus the 6-7 hen's that are still with them as of today,unreal.

[Eric Gregg]

Anywhere that I go hunting

[wingbonehntr]

I live and hunt the Florida parishes of La. I have killed turkey in : Ms, La, Tx, Ks and Mo. I would have to say public land in sw Ms is the hardest place with the florida parishes coming in a close second.

[West Augusta]

I would say that a mountain bird anywhere in the Appalachian mountains are pretty tough. You better be in shape.

[Shotgun]

AR...it's hard to kill them if they arn't there.