Rio Grande Turkey Taxidermy

About the Rio Grande turkey

Meleagris gallopavo intermedia. The Rio Grande is the turkey of the Texas plains and the American Southwest. Its range covers Texas (all six major regions), Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and pockets of the Great Plains, plus reintroduced populations in California, Oregon, and Hawaii. If you hunt Texas turkeys, you've almost certainly hunted Rios.

How to identify a Rio Grande

• Buff, tan, or yellow-brown tips on the tail fan and lower back feathers.
• Body plumage sits between the pale Merriam's and the dark Eastern.
• Long, thin legs and a slightly slimmer build than an Eastern.
• Beards commonly 8–11 inches on mature toms; spurs typically 1–1 3/8 inches.

Mounting a Rio Grande turkey

A well-mounted Rio Grande shows off the warm buff-and-copper tone of the fan tips against the darker body feathers. On a full strut mount, we carefully preserve the barred wing feathers and the iridescent bronze-and-green breast, and we build habitat bases in native Texas materials — post oak, mesquite, sandstone, or cedar — to reinforce the Rio's regional identity.

Hunting the Rio Grande

Rios are spot-and-stalk birds as often as they're set-up birds. Big-country hunts along river bottoms, brush country senderos, and open oak flats are classic Rio scenarios. Because they roost in the same trees night after night — usually cottonwoods along water — we hear a lot of stories that end with a gobbler pitching down at first light onto a well-placed decoy.

Book your Rio Grande turkey mount

Whether you're hunting one at home or on the road, we're set up to receive birds from anywhere in the U.S. Reach out early — request a quote and we'll walk you through prep, shipping, and pose options.