Kansas is well known for its trophy deer hunting, with many bucks of monstrous proportions being entered into the record books each year. Its pheasant hunting harvest often trails only a state or two, and the quail population usually attracts plenty of attention.

But one other species, the wild turkey, can offer hunters the best of both worlds, and a chance to fill half their grand slam in one state with a Rio Grande and an eastern.

Wild turkeys, like other now-common species such as whitetails and Canada geese, weren't always familiar features to the Kansas landscape. Virtually absent at the turn of the century in many states, the wild turkey has made a remarkable recovery in Kansas and elsewhere, thanks primarily to the efforts of conservation organizations and state natural resource agencies.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks jumped on the turkey restoration bandwagon in the 1960s when they acquired Rio Grande turkeys from the King Ranch in Texas. Releases made in suitable habitat throughout the state saw these turkeys flourish. Rio Grande turkeys typically inhabit stream and river corridors and prefer wide-open spaces rather than dense timber. The Rios can be distinguished by tail and rump feathers edged in buff or off-white.

The eastern is the most widely distributed, abundant and most hunted turkey in the United States. When obtained in trade from Missouri and released into the easternmost reaches of Kansas, these birds prospered as well, and now are commonly found in dense, timbered regions. They're generally darker in overall appearance than are Rios, with tail and rump feathers edged in bronze or chestnut brown. The gobblers can easily reach weights greater than 20 pounds.

The first Kansas turkey season was held in 1974, and our hunters have been chasing them ever since. The 2006 season opens April 12 and runs through the end of May. A special youth season open to hunters 16 and younger runs April 7-9.

The Rio Grande population stronghold is in the western three-fourths of the state, while the eastern subspecies haunts the eastern quarter. An interesting mix of both species, as well as a hybrid cross of the two, is found in the central third of our state.

Since the two species are often difficult to distinguish, and as their ranges overlap considerably, Kansas doesn't differentiate between them as far as hunting is concerned. The state is divided into several turkey units, but hunters can buy permits at any KDWP regional or state park office, or online at www.kdwp.state.ks.us. A Kansas resident can buy a spring turkey permit for $22.15 and a second turkey tag for $12.15. A non-resident will pay $32.15 for the spring permit and $22.15 for a second turkey tag. These permits and tags are good for one bearded bird each; no hunter can get more than two in the spring (the additional turkey tag is valid in the eastern half of the state, roughly).