texas turkey hunting or varmint hunting, the choice is yours!

Why Hunt Texas?

Texas is home to over 600,000 Rio Grande turkeys. That is why so many hunters who travel to Texas experience such high success rates. Also, Texas has liberal bag limits and a lengthy spring season.

Why Hunt With Us?

Spring turkey season first opened in Texas in the mid 1970's and I began hunting them at that time and have hunted them every spring for the past 26 years. Over the past 17 years we have professionally guided over 1,152 hunts for these allusive birds with a success rate of approximately 140% per 2 bird limit. During the past several seasons our staff of guides have logged as many as 30 days a field per season hunting these Rio Grande Gobblers and have called in hundreds of birds for our clients. An average gobbler weighs 20 lbs. and has a beard length of 9 1/2 inches. Our guides are very experienced. We lease approximately 120,000 acres for spring turkey season. The ranches that we hunt are vast in size with one as large as 35,000 acres, while most average 5,000 acres in size. Each trip is 3 days in length and we only hunt our pastures on each ranch from 1 to 3 times out of a 6 week season. This allows our birds not to become call shy and unhuntable to our clients. All birds are wild and free ranging. Hunters should hear anywhere from 10-15 different gobblers per day depending on the ranch and wind conditions.

Hunting Methods

Guides take both guided and semi-guided hunters into the field well before daylight. Birds have been roosted the night before, and hunters are dropped off in proximity to the roost areas. We hunt for approximately 4-5 hours then everyone is picked up and taken back for lunch, then we hunt 4-5 hours in the afternoon. Most hunts consist of a fair amount of walking and calling, trying to raise a bird, and setting up on him when the distance closes. Travel areas between roosts and feeding areas are the first and last places to try. Late morning and early afternoons are filled by hunting near watering holes and wooded thickets where the birds can escape the heat. Working along ridge lines is very productive. Because our ranches are so large we are able to separate our hunters out to approximately 400-1000 acres per man. Many times, individual groups of hunters can have their own separate pastures to hunt away from other hunters.

Weather Conditions

The weather in early to mid April consists of cool mornings in the upper 40's to low 50's with afternoon highs in the upper 70's. Wind is frequently a factor as is some late night thunderstorms. Later in the season hunters can expect to have morning lows from 60-70, with afternoon highs in the upper 80's. The winds have died down considerably but the threat of thundershowers remain. Temperature extremes during the spring season may vary from 28 to 104 degrees.

What Is Furnished

All of our turkey hunts are 2 1/2 days of hunting and include 3 nights of food and lodging, airport transfers from the San Angelo, TX airport, freezer facilities, and taking of your birds to a local taxidermist if necessary. Guided hunts are 1 x 1, and semi-guided hunts include a guide to take the hunters into the field and place them in areas where the birds frequent and or roost. Both guided and semi-guided hunts are conducted on the same ranch. 75% of our hunters are semi-guided. Snake leggings, turkey decoys, and folding chairs are available for rent. Click here to view photos of two of our hunting lodges.

What Is Not Furnished

Personal hunting gear, decoys, hunting license, transportation to San Angelo, TX, liquor, and tips.

Hunter Expectations

Hunters should expect to hear birds daily and be able to work several gobblers throughout each day depending upon their hunting ability and weather conditions. Hunters should be aware of the fact that poisonous snakes live throughout Texas and should watch where they walk or sit. Hunters may choose to wear snake proof leggings. Ticks are numerous but I know of only two persons in the state who have come down with lime disease. Hunters should come prepared with tick spray to repel these critters.

Questions, comments or problems
with this web page, please contact jroche@magnumguideservice.com
Copyright © 2003 Magnum Guide Service, LLC
707 N. US Hwy 277
Eldorado, TX 76936
325-853-1555 (lodge)
325-853-1556 (fax)