The wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) which may be hunted, along with whitetail deer, in the appropriate season, by holders of a hunting lease for the Oak Creek Ranch, are Rio Grande wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia).
The more than 2,000 contiguous acres of the ranch includes grassland, wooded canyons, oak trees, a 40 acre lake, numerous ponds, springs and Oak Creek. This article, The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), explains many of the reasons why the ranch provides ideal wild turkey habitat.
The photos on this web page are of turkey hunters with wild turkeys they have bagged at the Oak Creek Ranch.
For information on Kansas turkey hunting regulations and seasons, see this page of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks web site.
Wild turkeys are recorded as being hunted in the vicinity of the Oak Creek ranch since 1871, though indubitably they were hunted earlier.
In his memoir, A Christmas in the Wilderness, 1871, buffalo hunter and poet Scott Cummins tells about a buffalo hunters' Christmas dinner near where Medicine Lodge, Barber County, Kansas, was established a few years later.
Those hunters chose to eat wild turkey instead of the bobcats Cummins had bagged for the meal, despite the advice of a passing band of Cheyenne Indians who said "the turkeys were not for eating -- only the feathers were to be used for decorating purposes." Cummins said: "But their talk did little good as all of us had previously decided that turkey was good picking, on Christmas and at other sittings."
In the article Green Adams Describe Things As He Saw Them In Barber County In The Early 1870's, an early settler describes his arrival in the county: "At the head of Elm Creek we camped all night and our teams went on for Sun City and six or eight of us came down Elm Creek. Wild turkey were very numerous. We killed a large turkey and cooked and ate him right south of the Lodge. That was April 2, 1873."
Contact Ronnie Hoagland in regard to leasing hunting rights for the Oak Creek Ranch, preferably by the acre on an annual basis, for both whitetail deer and Rio Grande wild turkeys.
Please note that this offer is only open to independent experienced hunters, as we do not guide hunts or allowed guided hunts on the Oak Creek Ranch. We can't guarantee you'll even see deer, wild turkeys or other wildlife on the ranch, but we're certain they'll be watching you.
The Oak Creek Ranch will not grant hunting leases to hunters who want or need guided hunts, even if they hire their own guide, and will not lease rights to hunting guide services who want to bring guided hunters to the Oak Creek Ranch.
We are interested in hearing from groups of independent experienced hunters in regard to leasing hunting rights, preferably by the acre on an annual basis. We want this group of hunters to have such enjoyable and productive hunts that the lease will be renewed year after year.
Rio Grande wild turkeys at the Oak Creek Ranch, 31 March 2008.
Turkeys eat a wide variety of grasses. Around 80% of a turkey's diet is made up of grass.
Hunting, hiking, bird-watching and photographic opportunities in historic Barber County, Kansas.
Birds
Deer Hunting
Feeders
Flowers
Geology
Hiking
History
Lake
Maps
Oak Creek
Quail Hunting
Ranch
Turkey Hunting
Visitor's Information
Contact Us
HOME
Contact: Ronnie Hoagland, 201 Sherlock, Lake City, KS 67071
Phone: (620)-247-6222 Fax: (620)-247-6223
All images and site content copyright Oak Creek Ranch LLC unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Site design by Jerry Ferrin.
