I have not witnessed any impact of the turkey on ruffed grouse populations where I hunt in Vermont. It is very common to see flocks of turkeys there numbering over 100 at certain times of the year but normally about two-dozen at any time. We can kill two bearded birds in the spring hunt and one of either sex in the fall. The ruffed grouse populations there seem to fluctuate in accordance with the hawk and barred owl population and this, I believe, is the standard throughout the range of the ruffed grouse.
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