Going for the Gould’s

By: Doug Howlett

The Gould’s wild turkey is the largest of the five subspecies and somewhat resembles the Merriam’s due to its white tail feathers. They have longer legs, larger feet and larger center tail feathers than any other type of wild turkey. The Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains are at the center of the bird’s range with Gould’s found in the Mexican states of Sonora (where I was hunting), Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco and Coahuila. Though Arizona did make available through drawings two tags for that subspecies, Mexico will still be the Gould’s-seeking hunters best bet for many years to come.

The season generally runs from early April through early May and there are a number of quality outfitters, located in Chihuahua and Sonora. Transporting firearms into the country can be a real hassle and many outfitters provide hunters with guns to use. If you want to hunt with your own gun, outfitters can also help you complete the appropriate paperwork and fill you in on the necessary procedures to bring a gun into the country. Like the American southwest, the region is arid with plenty of cactus, but the weather isn’t at all unpleasant during the spring season. For info on hunting in Sonora with El Cajoncito Adventures, call or write to P.O. Box 1145, Douglas, AZ 85607.

*Content courtesy of The National Wild Turkey Federation.