🦌 Turkey & Small Game Trivia Questions & Answers

Spring gobblers, squirrels, rabbits and the pursuit of small game. Below are 30 free turkey & small game trivia questions with answers — part of Hunting trivia on BUZZ. Want a real challenge that adapts to what you know? Play the Hunting quiz — no signup needed to start.

30 Turkey & Small Game trivia questions

1. Q1. What is a male wild turkey called?

   Answer: Tom

   💡 A male turkey is a 'tom' or 'gobbler.' A juvenile male (1–2 years) is a 'jake.' Females are 'hens' and babies are 'poults.'

2. Q2. NC's wild turkey has which of these two seasons?

   Answer: Spring and fall

   💡 Spring turkey season targets breeding-season gobblers responding to hen calls. Fall season uses different techniques — locating flocks and calling scattered birds back.

3. Q3. What firearm is most commonly used for small game like squirrel and rabbit?

   Answer: A .22 rifle

   💡 Small bores like the .22 rifle or a small-gauge shotgun suit squirrel and rabbit. NC squirrel season runs into February, offering late-season hunting after deer.

4. Q4. What's the fleshy flap of skin hanging under a turkey's chin called?

   Answer: Wattle

   💡 The wattle, also called a dewlap, swells and reddens on a strutting tom — one of several fleshy displays turkeys use to show off.

5. Q5. Which wild turkey subspecies is most widespread across the US, found throughout all of NC?

   Answer: Eastern

   💡 The Eastern subspecies ranges across 38 states and parts of Canada — by far the most abundant of the five North American turkey subspecies.

6. Q6. What's an immature male turkey — too young to be a full tom — commonly called?

   Answer: Jake

   💡 A jake's beard is short and thin compared to a mature tom's, one of the easiest ways hunters tell the two apart in the field.

7. Q7. Which turkey subspecies do Grand Slam hunters find in dry Texas brush country?

   Answer: Rio Grande

   💡 Rio Grande toms show tan-tipped tail and rump feathers instead of white ones.

8. Q8. A turkey's 'beard' is made of what?

   Answer: Modified, stiffened feather fibers

   💡 A turkey's beard is made of modified feather filaments called mesofiloplumes. Beards grow throughout life, reaching 10+ inches in mature toms; hens occasionally grow shorter ones too.

9. Q9. Where is a turkey's 'spur' located?

   Answer: A bony projection on the lower leg

   💡 Spurs, used in fighting, are a key age indicator. Jakes (young males) have small button spurs, while mature toms can have spurs exceeding 1.5 inches.

10. Q10. Which call is most commonly used to locate turkeys at first light?

    Answer: Crow call

    💡 A crow call elicits a 'shock gobble.' Turkeys shock-gobble at loud noises — crow calls, owl hoots, even car doors — helping hunters locate gobblers.

11. Q11. What does a turkey tom do when 'strutting'?

    Answer: Fans his tail and puffs up

    💡 Strutting toms fan their tail, puff their body and drag their wings to impress hens, making a drumming hum and a spit. The head shifts white to red to blue.

12. Q12. NC's mourning dove season traditionally opens on:

    Answer: September 1

    💡 Dove season opening day is one of the most anticipated hunting days in NC. Doves are the most popular migratory game bird hunted in the US.

13. Q13. What shot size is most commonly used for dove hunting?

    Answer: 7½ or 8

    💡 Doves are small and fast — averaging 55 mph — requiring dense patterns of small shot. Lead shot is allowed on private land for doves, but steel must be used on some public lands.

14. Q14. A group of quail is called a:

    Answer: Covey

    💡 Bobwhite quail populations in NC have declined about 80% over 40 years due to habitat loss, changing farming practices, and invasive species.

15. Q15. What species of game bird has seen the most dramatic population decline in NC over the past 40 years?

    Answer: Northern bobwhite quail

    💡 Bobwhite quail have declined by about 80% in NC since the 1970s. Loss of early successional habitat (brushy field edges), fire suppression, and fire ants are primary causes.

16. Q16. What is a turkey 'box call'?

    Answer: A wooden paddle scraped across a box edge to mimic turkeys

    💡 Box calls are loud and effective for long-distance calling. Many hunters carry multiple call types (box, slate, diaphragm) to vary sound and avoid call-shy birds.

17. Q17. What is a turkey 'diaphragm' or 'mouth call'?

    Answer: A latex reed held in the mouth and blown to mimic turkeys

    💡 Mouth calls have a steep learning curve but keep the hunter's hands free, critical when a turkey is close. They're the most used call among serious hunters.

18. Q18. What is 'strutting zone' turkey hunting?

    Answer: Setting up near open areas where toms strut for hens

    💡 Classic strutting zones include field edges, logging roads, pastures, and power lines. Setting up where toms show off to hens can be highly effective.

19. Q19. The fleshy growth that droops down over a tom's beak when he's fired up is called the:

    Answer: Snood

    💡 A relaxed snood is short and pale, but it can rapidly elongate and flush bright red or blue when a tom gets excited.

20. Q20. How far can a wild turkey's gobble carry across open, calm terrain under ideal conditions?

    Answer: Up to about a mile

    💡 The same gobble might carry barely 250 yards through thick timber — terrain and cover matter as much as the bird's lungs.

21. Q21. Why do wild turkeys fly up into tall trees every single night, rain or clear?

    Answer: To escape ground predators

    💡 Turkeys see poorly in the dark, so the nightly climb onto a high, open limb is their main defense against nocturnal hunters.

22. Q22. What's a turkey's 'cluck' call mainly used to do?

    Answer: Locate another turkey nearby

    💡 Hunters compare a cluck-and-answer exchange to a turkey-style game of Marco Polo.

23. Q23. What does squirrel 'cutting' sign in a hickory tree actually consist of?

    Answer: Chewed nutshell bits falling to the ground

    💡 Falling cuttings patter down like light rain, giving away a feeding squirrel's spot.

24. Q24. What term describes the small, bumpy fleshy nodules covering a turkey's head, neck, and throat?

    Answer: Caruncles

    💡 Both sexes have caruncles, but they're far larger and more vividly colored on a mature tom than on a hen.

25. Q25. A wild turkey's eyes sit on the sides of its head, giving a field of view how wide without turning?

    Answer: About 270 degrees

    💡 A slight head turn closes the gap to nearly a full 360 — one reason a turkey almost never lets a hunter sneak up unseen.

26. Q26. Osceola turkeys, prized by Grand Slam hunters, are found almost exclusively in which state?

    Answer: Florida

    💡 Osceolas live only in the southern half of Florida's peninsula, making them the rarest and most geographically restricted of the five subspecies.

27. Q27. What do turkeys look for in a good roost tree beyond just height?

    Answer: Open limbs with a clear flight path

    💡 A roost tree with an open understory lets turkeys launch and land cleanly at dusk and dawn — clutter around the trunk is a dealbreaker.

28. Q28. Which rare turkey subspecies survives mainly in Arizona and Mexico's Sierra Madre?

    Answer: Gould's turkey

    💡 Fewer than 1,000 Gould's turkeys are estimated to exist within the US.

29. Q29. What's a turkey hen's basic 'yelp' call mainly used for?

    Answer: Everyday contact calling

    💡 Yelping is usually the very first call new turkey hunters learn to make.

30. Q30. A turkey's loud, sharp 'cutt' calls mixed with yelps usually signal what?

    Answer: Excitement, not alarm

    💡 Aggressive cutting is often what finally pulls a hung-up gobbler the last few yards.

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