re: First time hunting Rios

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anyone got any pointers on hunting rio grande turkeys in South TX? What shells do I need, camo, how to clean, cook etc?

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Where abouts in south Texas? I live in and hunt Karnes County. I have a hunt I'm going on 3/24-3/25 in Sandia Texas.

I lived in MS for a few years and hunted Easterns and the biggest difference in my experiences with hunting Rios is how patterned they are. The birds near my property roost in the same spot fly down and feed the same field and go to the same watering hole, every day. The only other difference in my hunting experiences is that the Rios seem to be a little more aggressive.

I hunt them on my buddy’s deer lease in Jim Hogg County. We are the only ones that hunt them, and they are happy for us to stack them up. No trouble getting our limits in a day or two of hunting. We hunt from the ground in blinds we make out of native brush. Way more time spent brushing up a really good blind than in getting the birds. They are vacuum cleaners when it comes to corn, so hunting them around your deer feeders is almost too easy. But as stated, it’s hard to avoid 25-30 sets of eyes. I use my Browning Gold Hunter 12ga with #4 Turkey loads. I usually try for head shots, my buddy shoots low to knock out their landing gear. Definitely bring a face mask, and whatever you do, pretreat your clothes with Permethrin to keep the ticks away. They are, thick as ticks where we hunt.

Haven’t fooled with anything but the breasts, generally breast out and leave the carcasses away from where we hunt to get the coyotes eating that instead of the live ones. I guess now that I’ve been shamed for that, I’ll give the lower end a try. Pound out and soak overnight in buttermilk and fry in strips as shown, or cube up and make Turkey and venison sausage gumbo (off the chain good).

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pretreat your clothes with Permethrin to keep the ticks away.

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Solid advice and I'm glad you mentioned it. I came back last year from our trip and for the next 5 days were finding them on me. and I was about as sealed up as I could be in terms of the clothing I had on. I hadn't had that happen on that trip before but me and my buddy sat in just the right spot. Will be treating my clothes in the next week or two.

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. I usually try for head shots, my buddy shoots low to knock out their landing gear.

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bro what?!

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my buddy shoots low to knock out their landing gear

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Ive been doing it wrong for 48 years.