Toughest place to kill turkeys in the US?

[TauntoHawk]

the hardest turkey to kill is the turkey that isn't there.. we've all had those morning where you're in the woods by 4am sitting at the base of a tree by 4:15 and its DEAD silent all day and you wonder if theres anything within miles

[drenalinld]

 I have been on those "easy" NE hunts, but let me assure you it is changing. I have seen the progression in several states now. Find some new ground covered in strutters that pay you no mind when you stop on the hwy just 50 yards away and even gobble when you call from the truck or honk the horn. Then a few more turkey thugs hear of this sacred ground and a couple years later you don't see as many strutters and when you stop to look at them, they walk away. Then many more turkey killers and turkey chasers come to see what all the fuss is about and before long you see very few strutters and they run if you start to slow down. Other than terrain the only difference is density and hunting pressure in my opinion. I like them all tough and easy, flat and steep, field or timber. I hunt some private leased ground that is difficult because the lease is full of turkey killers.

[pcgobbler]

Eastern NC swamp birds are pretty tough.  I also have hunted FL public land easterns and they are tough as well.

[Flydown]

ALASKA! Only Mike Miller can do that!

[Clif Owen]

After reading this; I now know I'm hunting in a tough area. And to think I just thought it was because I'm not good at it!! Seriously, I thought I had a decent area but a bit of pre-season scouting had me scrambling because the areas that had lots of birds last year were completely deserted this year. Not even a few tracks in the dust or mud. Not sure what happened but thought maybe they had a die-off of some type. I then had to do some in-season scouting/hunting to make it through.

[Cove]

Southeastern gobblers. If you can kill them here you can kill them anywhere

But in all honesty, I havent found one anywhere too easy for me to kill yet. They're all tough.

[Turkeyman]

I don't think there's any one toughest state. What makes turkeys difficult to hunt is their degree of "humanization". Take any of the states that have been mentioned and give me a few thousand contiguous acres absolutely devoid of humans and those turkeys will be relatively easy to hunt...they've never seen or heard a human and have never heard an artificial turkey call. That's why birds out west tend to be easier to hunt...less humanization.

[coyotetrpr]

Missouri this past season. Or maybe it was just me.

[mightyjoeyoung]

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

This!!  It's not the BIRDS that make them tough to kill on the PA SGL's...it's all the friggin "hunters" stalking you and your calling, moving in on a bird you're working, the stumbling around with no thought for stealth or working the terrain and the general poor sportmanship that can be found on a lot of the game lands.  I go to the game lands when I want a challenge kind of like when I fish the Lake Erie tributaries during a hot run...I like to see what I can do with all competition.  If you can kill a bird on PA game lands the first weekend of the season, with all the doofuses running around the woods, you can kill one ANYWHERE.

[stinkpickle]

...I have to say that the hardest turkeys to hunt are the turkeys that are hunted the hardest...

THIS!  I've ruined a few good honeyholes by pushing them too hard in my younger years...and a few more recently, too.   Oops.   

[Basin_hunter]

I have only hunted turkeys in LA and KS. The hardest ones I have found are the river bottom turkeys on public land in LA. The population has been down in recent years due severe spring flooding to make matters worse. Seems like there is always an obstacle in the way when trying to work a bird IF you can find one....

[timberjack86]

Hard hunted public land birds anywhere!

[Calikev]

That's why birds out west tend to be easier to hunt...less humanization.

A lot of humanization in California.  Most populated State out of all 50.  Couple that with pockets or bands of turkeys with only so many on the lower elevation public lands, you have Rio's that can be tougher than the average Rio.

Again......a turkey is going to be tough regardless of where he is if he is being pressured.  Some of the dumbest turkeys I've seen live in subdivisions with people everywhere.  They are used to people.  However, you start hunting them and they get the fear put in them, they suddenly wisen up very quickly.

There is private land that can be equally as tough to kill birds on that receives pressure.  To me it is all about pressure and less about location and species.

Kevin

[jblackburn]

Public land MO birds are tough and I have had difficulties with some public land Rio/Eastern crosses near cities in KS and OK, but the toughes place I have hunted is Eastern/Southeastern Oklahoma.  Between pressured birds and TOUGH terrain, it makes for tough (but fun) hunting.

[slamman]

I would have to say Nevada birds are few and far between there.