If I wanted to shoot a Merriam....

[nbadger23]

Where would some of my better options be? I was toying with the idea of heading to South Dakota or Nebraska this year in hopes of shooting a Merriam turkey but in the research I've been doing I wasn't entire sure on the areas where I'd truly be into Merriam's as opposed to Eastern turkeys?

I'm not sure if it's even doable on such short notice but I've been thinking about it for a few years and I think I have to at least get myself out there and give it a try to get my feet wet or I'll never go. I started looking at the possibility of getting tags over the counter in both South Dakota and Nebraska and it looked possible for both although I have to do some further research.

I'm going to try to use some google terrain maps today to start narrowing down areas as I'm guessing there's a lot of open territory where there's no where for the birds to roost. Hopefully I can also find some statistics about bird kill numbers by unit to try to match those up but if anyone has any advice on areas to avoid or to focus on I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.

[Cheetah]

Black Hills in SoDak.

[sticknstring]

You most likely won't find pure merriam blood until the far western part of Nebraska. The majority of the birds we saw in the Black Hills were hybrids as well - Rio, Eastern, & Merriam mix. Pure merriam birds will show up in both places but don't be surprised if all you see is hybrids.

[Nightcrawler]

Gosh, Stickstring , I always thought I was hunting Merriams in the Black Hills.

[leech~~]

I have a buddy who hunted on the Rosebud Res and picked up two Merriam's out there in SD.