|
 LITTLE
ROCK - Spring turkey hunting season is rapidly approaching in Arkansas,
and many outdoors people will participate for the first time.
For others, a first turkey hunt in the past wasn't successful or as
enjoyable as it could be. But it's the form of hunting that's fastest
growing in Arkansas - in numbers of participants.
One item that should be included in preparations for this year's hunt
that opens early in April is the 2005 Turkey Hunting guidebook of the
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
It's free, and it contains a wealth of information. It won't locate the
elusive wild turkey for you, but it can improve your knowledge of the
game bird and its pursuit. The guidebooks are free and are available at
any hunting and fishing license dealer in the state as well as at any
AGFC office.
Some of the tips and rules found in the guidebook:
* Bait cannot be used for turkeys. Bait is anything that may attract a
turkey - food of any kind. If someone else put out the bait, a hunter
still cannot use the area.
*
Turkey hunting in Arkansas is with shotguns or archery equipment
(including crossbows) only.
You can't use a shotgun larger than 10 gauge, if you have such a museum
piece, and on the other end of the size range, .410 shotguns are
allowed. Buckshot or BB shot is not allowed; No. 2 shot is the largest
load that's legal. And .22 rifles or pistols are forbidden.
* Shooting turkeys from a boat is not allowed. But traveling a shoreline
by boat, finding turkeys then landing and hunting them on foot is OK.
This is a technique used on some of the state's large and remote lakes.
* The hours for hunting turkeys are a half hour before sunrise to a half
hour after sunset. Check the official sunrise-sunset tables published in
most daily newspapers for the exact times. If in doubt, don't shoot.
* Decoys are allowed for turkey hunting. So are hand- or mouth-operated
calls. Mechanical or electronic calls are not legal.
* You cannot shoot across a public road, nor can you hunt turkeys or
anything else within 100 feet of the center of a public road.
* Coyotes are also legal game during the Arkansas spring turkey hunting
season. But you have to use the same shotgun ammunition as for turkeys.
You can't carry a pistol "for coyotes" or buckshot loads "for coyotes."
*
Only bearded turkeys can be taken in the spring season.
Just one jake,
a young male turkey, can be taken during the season. How do you tell a
jake from an adult gobbler in the field? Read the guidebook carefully.
It spells out in words and photos the difference.
* Resident hunters 16 and older must have a $25 sportsman's license or a
$35.50 combination sportsman's license to hunt turkeys, not the basic
$10.50 wildlife conservation "hunting" license |
