Need an Eastern Bird towards my slam

nv-hunter

Veteran member
Feb 28, 2011
1,566
1,292
Reno
So I need 2 more birds for my grand slam an Eastern and an Osceola. Not ready to pay the cost of the last one yet. But what chance of being successful on a diy hunt for an Eastern does a guy have? Where would you start your research state wise? Seems to be about $1000 bucks for a 2 day hunt if I go guided.
 

go_deep

Veteran member
Nov 30, 2014
2,650
1,982
Wyoming
Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, (not in any particular order) would be the three DIY destinations I'd aim for. If you get real serious and choose Wisconsin I'd be happy to give you a couple starting points.
 

Timr245

Very Active Member
Jul 21, 2016
586
400
Northcentral PA
Where I live in PA is currently overrun with turkey. I don’t hunt birds but I live near tons of State Game Lands and the Allegheny National Forest, all public, with thriving turkey populations. Very likely to call in a fisher or coyote in the process too.
 
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Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
3,796
2,161
Eastern Nebraska
You can come shoot 3 spring and 4 fall Easterns in Nebraska. Very liberal limits and fairly easy to get permission. Nebraska does have some mixing of the species and in reality the state holds 3 different species, Eastern, Merriams, and Rio. However, the eastern end of the state is primarily populated with Eastern Turkeys. Permission is typically fairly easy to gain or you can go with a guide for fairly reasonable prices if you shop around. Attached is a picture of my son with a double, one eastern and one hybrid Merriams.
 

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boiler

Active Member
Dec 26, 2015
302
130
Indiana
Lots of places to go diy for an eastern cheap and with good success rates. Doubt you want to come all the way to Indiana, but if you do I can give you some ideas.
 
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dan maule

Very Active Member
Jan 3, 2015
987
1,210
Upper Michigan
Where I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan there are turkeys everywhere. I had 40 in my yard today. I don't usually hunt them because the season always lined up with my busiest time at work. Check it out, I used to let a gentlemen from Wisconsin hunt on my property and he always got a decent Tom.
 

Fink

Veteran member
Apr 7, 2011
1,961
204
West Side, MoMo
Go to Kansas, hunt a WIHA. You'll have Rios in the far western and southern portions of the state. Everything east of Hays or so will be Easterns. I'm from Missouri, and have great ground here to hunt, but I'd rather hunt some of the WIHA's in Kansas than I would some of my own private access in KS or MO.
Kansas turkeys are FUN, I don't know why, but they just do it better than birds do further East. If you're a bow hunter, KS offers an archery season, usually about a week long or so, that goes right up to the shotgun opener. You'll have a lot of public to yourself if you go during archery.
Regarding your chances - I'd guess that my chances on a KS public bird, in 5 days of hunting would be better than my chances on a 2 day hunt further East. And cheaper too...

I can't speak for some of the other Midwestern states, but Missouri has had some rough hatches the last few years, and our populations are down. The birds just seem to do better in some of the dryer climates like KS and NE.
 

THelms

Administrator
Staff member
Any of the mid-western states are crawling with turkeys and populated with great people... door knocking can still get you onto birds pretty easily. Plus there is an awful lot of public land back there, the West doesn't have a monopoly on that. My wife killed a huge gobbler on public ground in Iowa last spring. I'd look hard at Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin but I'd start with eastern Iowa.
 
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marcusvdk

Veteran member
Dec 13, 2011
5,381
1,653
Michigan
Where I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan there are turkeys everywhere. I had 40 in my yard today. I don't usually hunt them because the season always lined up with my busiest time at work. Check it out, I used to let a gentlemen from Wisconsin hunt on my property and he always got a decent Tom.
Same here on southern michigan they are all over the place. I have a few state game areas and places I could point out to you near me I'd you choose to come out here.
 
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swampokie

Veteran member
Jul 29, 2013
1,164
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45
Haworth Oklahoma
I live within 100 miles of the Easterns far western range. Ive killed at least one eastern here in Oklahoma each year since 2003 except the dreadful 2018 season. vast majority on public and im as close to Nevada as eastern range gets.
 

mallardsx2

Veteran member
Jul 8, 2015
3,811
3,011
If you want any information on hunting birds in PA I can point you to the right location on Game Lands. I killed a lot of birds on public ground there BUT know this, you will have company, and you will likely want to knife somebody by the time you leave there. lol
 

Dark Mavis

Active Member
Mar 6, 2015
237
17
Vernon Parish, LA
If you want an Osceola look into the wma draw hunts in Florida. Odds are not as good as a guided hunt on private land, but you'll save yourself $2500 in guide fees. Turkey populations are down in Louisiana right now, I wouldn't recommend coming here for a eastern.