I personally do not have any empirical data showing one way or the other in the turkey vs. grouse debate. All I can provide is what I have seen in the woods. Turkeys and grouse are absolutely competing in and around the grape thickets for the same food. Do I think a flock of turkeys could out-compete a few grouse for the same food in these areas? Yes. Do I think large flocks of turkeys during nesting season are roaming the woods devouring grouse young? I could not say. However, in PA we have an autumn turkey hunting season which is very much different from spring gobbler hunting. In autumn, you can hunt for either sex of turkey and the tactics are much different with a lot more stalking (and blaze orange) involved. Perhaps, this autumn turkey season may provide the opportunity to keep both populations in a sort of balance. Again, just an observation and not based on any kind of data. An additional note (and probably an obvious one) - as grouse woods age, mature and become bigger and larger hardwood stands, turkeys will thrive whereas grouse numbers will decrease. On the converse, if much of the forest is clear cut and replaced with young, dense low story tree groves and tangled greenbriar and grapevine, would the turkeys do as well as the grouse? I doubt it. However, I am not a biologist...
