Spring Merriam's · Updated 2026
A gobble off the roost at first light, a hen call from the cover, and a tom strutting in with his tail fanned and his head flushed red. How spring Merriam's hunting works in Colorado — the season, the calling, the decoys, and the private-land early opener.
The spring game
Spring turkey hunting is the breeding season turned into a hunt. Toms gobble at dawn to advertise to hens; the hunter sets up close, imitates a hen, and a fired-up tom struts in looking for her. It is one of the most interactive hunts in North America — a conversation you win or lose by sounding right, setting up right, and holding dead still at the moment of truth.
On the south slope of Pikes Peak, the birds are Merriam’s — the white-tipped mountain turkey of the ponderosa country — and the private-land early opener means hunting them before the public-land pressure makes them call-shy.
Five tactics
Locate gobbling toms on the roost at dusk or first light using the terrain and a locator call. Knowing where a tom sleeps lets you set up close in the dark and be the first thing he hears at fly-down.
Get within a couple hundred yards of the roost before light, with good cover at your back and a clear shooting lane. Too far and another hen pulls him away; too close and you spook him off the limb.
Soft tree yelps at first light, then a few excited yelps and clucks as he gobbles back. Once he's committed and coming, call less — a real hen would go quiet and let him close the distance. Over-calling is the most common mistake.
A hen decoy (sometimes with a jake) gives an incoming tom something to commit to and focus on instead of pinpointing your position. In open ranch meadows it can be the difference; in tight timber, sometimes calling alone is cleaner.
A turkey's eyesight is extraordinary. Once a tom is in range or working in, the hunt is won by stillness. Movement kills more turkey hunts than bad calling. Wait for the shot; don't reach for it.
Frequently asked
Colorado's main turkey season is spring, running from roughly early April through the end of May, timed to the breeding season when toms gobble and can be called. A limited fall season also exists. Private-land seasons open about a week ahead of public-land seasons. Elk Glade hunts spring Merriam's on the private-land early opener on the south slope of Pikes Peak.
Colorado is primarily home to the Merriam's wild turkey, the mountain-West subspecies distinguished by white-to-buff tips on its tail and rump and its association with ponderosa-pine high country. Rio Grande turkeys are also present in some lower, eastern parts of the state. Elk Glade hunts Merriam's on the ponderosa benches of GMU 59.
Spring turkey hunting works off the breeding season. You locate a gobbling tom on the roost, set up within a couple hundred yards in cover before light, and imitate a hen's yelps and clucks. A fired-up tom struts in looking for the hen, often to a decoy, and the hunter takes the shot when he's in range. Stillness and matching the call to the tom's mood are the keys.
No — turkey hunting is accessible to DIY hunters with a license and public-land or private access. But a guided hunt on private land with an early opener, known roosts, and patterned birds raises the odds and shortens the learning curve, especially for a first turkey. Elk Glade runs three-night spring Merriam's hunts with the private-land early opener.
In Colorado, spring turkey season on private land opens roughly a week ahead of the public-land season. Hunting that early window means less-pressured birds that haven't yet been called to and spooked by public-land hunters — toms are more responsive and more callable. Elk Glade hunts its private ground on the early opener, which is a real advantage for spring Merriam's.
Hunt the early opener
Three-night spring Merriam’s hunts on the south slope of Pikes Peak, with the private-land early opener a week ahead of public seasons. From $1,975.
