Eastern Turkey

Eastern Turkey range is marked in green and covers where MAHA holds turkey hunting leases in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Within our approach to do it yourself hunts each member may hunt all three states with 5 tags total and all for the same cost.

Kansas also has wild Rio Grande Turkey.

This maps reflect the first hand experience of the MAHA staff and many hunter/members the last several seasons.

Amongst these three states Missouri has the most turkeys overall, Iowa the least and Kansas in-between. With each state comes different habitat and bird densities adding adventure to each trip.

With MAHA leases accounting for 200,000+ private land acres there is much opportunity across the three states and room a plenty for our turkey hunters. Iowa while having plenty of birds greatly limits their turkey tag access and most members do not hunt Iowa. Missouri due to its national ranking does receive the most pressure and Kansas even with its liberal season and the Rio Grande Turkey receives much less spring season pressure than Missouri.

If there is an Eastern Turkey hunting pressure time of the spring season it is during the last two weeks of the Missouri season that allows two toms overlaps that of the Kansas spring turkey season. The Associations majority non-resident hunters seek this overlap to maximize the number of tags that may be filled on a single trip.

Spring season toms or fall flocks offers long seasons, many birds and typically occupy the same area from season to season.

Our central mid-west habitat consist of wood patches from 5 to 50 acres connected by wooded creek bottoms on slowly rolling hills. For the ridge runner of the Appalachians our small hills and large flock size may seem like heaven. The same is true for the southwest and western hunter that may be pleased to harvest one tom in the spring and is surprised to find the larger number of tags available for over-the-counter purchase. Northern hunters are similarly fascinated that our seasons are open to all that can buy a tag and not wait to see if drawn through a competitive application process.

Iowa habitat is similar to Missouri's more open ground, however the birds are less densely populated and the tags far more expensive. Those that have hunted Iowa to date have a 100% success rate.

Eastern Turkey flock size generally is above 30 birds with many of the flocks numbering more than 50 both in Kansas and Missouri. Iowa's flocks are smaller. Kansas Rio Grande Turkey flocks range from a dozen to over 100.

One concern expressed by some turkey hunting applicants is that all the best turkey hunting places will have been reserved by the older members. This does not occur. All members are limited to a maximum of three reservations on the books at any one time. Before another day can be booked after the three, one of the original days must be consumed. This creates open days for all leases.

However, the real issue is that the Association limits its membership by both an overall cap and a subordinate cap based on the primary and secondary hunting interests of the applicant compared to the current membership profile. The idea is not to have too many of any one type of hunter. The bottom line is that as long as we sustain these two key facets about this Association, i.e., no one is ever denied a hunt and all may hunt on their schedule without competition from others, the Association will sustain its membership.

When we allocate a membership it is due to the applicant's qualities and that there is room for that applicant's hunting interest. We expect all of our hunters to return each year as a tradition and the members will only return if they get the hunt they expect. We work towards that at all times.

Trophy turkey hunting potential exists within all three of our states. However, more importantly our reservation system separating hunters across individually numbered and mapped turkey leases adds a great deal of assurance the hunt will be safe. This same reservation system also ensures during the spring turkey season we never over pressure any one lease and that all that hunt are on as un-pressured birds as is possible.

What we bring to turkey hunting is the private land access we all desire for a more leisurely approach to self guided turkey hunts than can be achieved through public land or knock on door access.

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