Big Game Species

Merriam's turkey are found throughout the Western United States primarily in the ponderosa pine forests of Colorado, New Mexico, and northern Arizona. They have been transplanted into the pine forests of Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Merriam turkey can be found not only in ponderosa pine forest but also other vegetation types in elevations ranging from 3,500 to 10,000 feet. In Arizona, they are found in much of the ponderosa pine forest north of the Gila River.

Life History
The onset of breeding is heralded by the commencement of gobbling as the temperatures warm in the spring. Gobbling may start late in February and early March. With a second peak of gobbling occurring in early May. Toms may continue to gobble into June. Hens mate once and may fertilize all of the 8 to 12 eggs from one union. Incubation takes 28 days. The hen does not begin to incubate until all the eggs are laid and all the eggs hatch within a single day. The young are capable of moving from the nest soon after hatching. The hens and poults spend the rest of the summer eating, loafing, and gaining weight. As winter approaches hens and poults begin to form flocks with other hens and poults. These become winter flocks. These flocks winter as high up on the mountain as snow permits. The cycle begins again in the spring.

Hunt History
Wild turkeys have been classified as big game since 1913 when the first state legislature established a bag limit of three birds to be taken between October 1 and December 15. Turkey populations appeared to hold up fairly well, at least in northern Arizona, as the season was still a month long and the bag limit was only reduced to two in the new "game code" of 1929. After World War II, however, hunt pressure gradually increased, and hunt regulations became more stringent. Fall hunting was the only turkey hunting allowed, and by 1950 a hunter had to draw a permit to even hunt turkeys. Annual harvests ranged from a few hundred birds to more than 1,300.

Turkey populations were fairly robust in the early 1960s, and the permit requirement was dropped in 1963; tag sales jumped from 8,050 in 1962 to 17,479 in 1963, but the turkey harvest only increased from 1,363 to 1,462. The first spring gobbler hunt was authorized in 1965 (100 permits), and by 1969 the annual turkey harvest had climbed to 2,480 birds, with another 138 turkeys taken earlier that spring. That number remains an annual high.

Wild turkey populations have since been in a general decline. Current estimates number the population between 15,000 and 20,000 birds, depending on conditions. Fall hunting is again by permit-only, and in the spring the number of gobblers taken is equal to or greater than the fall harvest.

Turkey Hunter Gun Selection

Behavior
During winter Merriam's turkey congregate in the pinyon pine-oak habitats at the interface with ponderosa pine. If weather permits they may even winter in the ponderosa pine. Deep snow forces them to move to lower elevations. During spring snow melt they again move up slope following the snow line and breeding activity begins. Toms begin to gobble and form harems. After mating, hens move into denser habitat at higher elevation to lay and incubate eggs. Toms and hens are not usually seen together except during the breeding season which is late March to early June. The remainder of the year they are in similar habitat, but do not flock together.

During the summer months hens and poults spend much of their time searching for bugs and seeds in small forest openings and forest meadows. As winter approaches, oaks and pinyon ripen. The hens, poults, and toms feed on these mast crops. With the onset of winter they begin to move out of the snow into pine stringers at lower elevations.