out of state spring turkey hunt!! Where?

[jer42]

Hello, I'm new here. Thought this would be a good forum to get some tips on where to go for an out of state hunt. I'm from west-central Illinois and want to go some where different to hunt. I'm looking for a place with a good amount of turkey (prferably not Easterns), good state land to hunt on, and maybe a state park with cabins near by to stay in. If anyone has any good ideas I would appreciate hearing them. Thanks.

[Gobblerman]

Welcome jer42,...you have come to the right place! There are lots of places that you can travel to and find turkeys to hunt on public lands, and there are a number of individuals here that I'm sure can point you in the right direction. From what you have said, I would say your best bet is to hunt either Rios or Merriams out here in the west somewhere. Here in NM, we have some outstanding public lands hunting for Merriams, and some more limited opportunities for Rios.

[Gopherlongbeards]

Black Hills of South Dakota offer a lot of public land opportunities for Merriams turkeys.

[dewey]

I would highly recommend Kansas for Rio hunting. Most zones have a bag limit of two as well as WIHA land which is private land open to the public. This KDWPT has maps of the WIHA land via GPS and Google earth. They also have numerous state parks that have cabins you can rent.

If you want any help in KS send me a pm. I have only hunted their once but it was awesome.

Dewey