Turkey Hunting in Lincoln County: Spring Gobblers in the Breaks Above the Snake River

There is nothing in hunting quite like a Merriam's turkey gobbling off a rimrock wall at first light.

The sound bounces off the canyon walls and fills the whole drainage. You can't tell if he's fifty yards away or five hundred. You set up against a juniper, scratch the slate call twice, and wait.

That's spring turkey season in Lincoln County, Idaho — and it is something special.

Merriam's Turkeys in the Canyon Country

Lincoln County's terrain — rimrock benches, juniper-covered breaks, ponderosa pine edges along the higher drainages — is classic Merriam's turkey habitat. These birds roost in the timber, fly down to the open benches to strut and feed, and travel the canyon edges throughout the morning hours.

The key to hunting them here is roosting birds the evening before. Get in close enough before dark to hear them fly up, mark the trees, and be set up downhill and downwind before first light the next morning. Merriam's are vocal birds and they respond to calling — but they'll hang up on the edge of a clearing if something doesn't feel right.

The Season and the Tags

Idaho's spring turkey season typically opens in late April and runs into May. Tags are available over the counter for most units in Lincoln County — no draw required. That's increasingly rare for quality western turkey hunting and one of the reasons hunters are paying attention to this part of Idaho.

I Organized a Turkey Shoot Before I Ever Hunted One

When I first moved to southern Idaho, I put together a "Turkey Shoot" day for the guys at work — clay pigeons, rifle plates, compound bows, the whole spread. It was the kind of afternoon that reminds you why you chose to live somewhere that has enough open country to shoot in.

That event was a warm-up. The real thing — calling in a spring gobbler at sunrise in Lincoln County — is the main event.

Your Turkey Camp in Lincoln County

I'm Dr. Ron Jones, a Magic Valley real estate agent and outdoorsman who has called this country home. Let me help you find a property that puts you minutes from the best turkey habitat in the region.

Dr. Ron Jones | Rim & River Real Estate | rimandriver.com | 208-712-8386