Colorado Public Land Merriam's

[clubandfang]

Curious if anyone has a recommendation on where to hunt Merriam's on public land in Colorado. We're looking to get in some pretty country as well so the more mountainous the better. Thanks!

 

[MiStickSlinger]

I honestly don't know of the public land spots down there, but I've hunted around Walsenburg, Trinidad and Aguilar and it seems like every river bottom down there is flooded with turkeys... I guess if you could find where those rivers run you'd be on the right track

 

[jimss]

West of Pagosa also has a pretty good concentration of turkeys. I'm not sure if they are merriams though? I live farther north on the Front Range. There are only a few scattered turkeys in miles of forest service so it's pretty thin pickings up this way. There are a few scattered flocks on private that I can find any day I look but they tend not to wander onto public.

 

[utah400elk]

Horse tooth resevoir has public land turkey hunts

 

[hobbes]

Pagosa is a beautiful place to hunt them, lots of public land, and they are Merriam's turkeys. There are multiple locations across the western half of CO in the mountains to hunt them. The SW corner of the state probably has the highest concentration. Colorado produces a distribution map for wild turkeys in CO that is color coded according to the subspecies (Merriam's or Rio). Generally speaking, west of the Front Range you will find Merriam's and east of there in the riverbottoms of the plains are Rio's.

 

[JohnCushman]

Did Colorado transplant Easterns and Rios in Merriam territory like they did in Nebraska due to declining populations and now you get the hybrids?

 

[jimss]

Colo Merriams

Here's a map: http://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/TS-MerriamsTurkey.aspx

I'm color blind so both colors look the same to me! I've only seen pure white merriams along the north Front Range. Most of the turkeys I've seen in the foothills tend to move around quite a bit unless they hang out on private land or areas not open to hunting.

 

[hobbes]

I've not lived in Colorado the last four years, but I think I'm safe in saying that Colorado has not planted Easterns. Merriam's turkeys are native to the southern mountains of Colorado. I believe most Merriam's in the state were transplanted from that region of CO.

Merriam's wild turkeys do not always have pure white feather tips. Merriam's vary from a buff color to an almost snow white with somewhere in between being the norm.

 

[JohnCushman]

From what I just read, they released Rios into the San Luis valley and they are flourishing there and starting to spread out. I was curious about the Easterns since they are being transplanted in other places. I would hate to see a guy going for a turkey slam and come all the way here and shoot an Eastern or Rio or a hybrid where there should be a Merriam's.

 

[phutch30]

Ive always wanted to shoot a merriams and rio within historic native range. All my rios and merriams have been in introduced range

 

[JayCO]

I'm headed out this spring for my second turkey hunt ever. We have about 400 acres of land in the family west of Trinidad, so I usually get a tag for that GMU. Last season I didn't see or hear any turkeys though.... Despite it being "prime" turkey territory. I plan on being more mobile within the unit this season and give up on the family land if don't hear any gobblers.

 

[CoHunt]

I saw a flock while elk hunting unit 54 and they were near a creek, not sure what creek it was but we went in to the NF near Crawford.