3/24/2005
Plenty of Spring Turkey Hunting Permits Available - Tom Keith

Lincoln, Neb. – Hunters still have time to purchase their 2005 Nebraska spring turkey hunting permits before the season opens. Permits can be purchased online at www.outdoornebraska.org, or at any Nebraska Game and Parks Commission permitting office.

The statewide archery season will be March 25 - May 22. Last year bowhunters enjoyed a 39 percent hunter success rate as 1,837 of 4,759 archery permit holders harvested a bird.

This year the state is again divided into two shotgun turkey hunting units - the West Unit, located west of U.S. Highway 81, and the East Missouri Unit, located east of U.S. Highway 81. The dates of the West Unit shotgun season will be April 16 - May 22.

There will again be early and late shotgun seasons in the East Missouri Unit: The early season will be April 16 - 24 and the late season will be April 25 - May 22. There is an unlimited number of permits available for both the archery and shotgun seasons.

In 2004, 11,021 of the 22,891 hunters who had shotgun turkey permits took a bird for a hunter success rate of 48 percent.

The new youth turkey hunting permits make it possible for hunters ages 12-15 to hunt statewide during both the archery and shotgun seasons. In addition to allowing hunting during the regular shotgun and archery seasons for adult hunters, the youth permit allows the youngsters to use shotguns during the week prior to the regular shotgun season. Youths age 16 may hunt on a youth spring turkey permit provided they are age 15 on the opening day of the archery turkey season. The youth archery turkey season will be March 25 - May 22 and the youth shotgun turkey season will be April 9 - May 22.

A hunter can have only two turkey permits of any type for the spring season. Only one shotgun permit for the East Missouri Unit may be obtained, except that a limited landowner permit for the East Missouri Unit will not count toward the one shotgun-permit limit in that unit.

You can never be sure what the weather will do during the spring turkey hunting season, but whether it is hot or cold, hunters should remember that when they shoot a turkey they must care for it promptly and properly to insure good quality meat at the table. As soon as the bird is down and dispatched, open the body cavity and remove the entrails to help the meat cool and help eliminate the chance that the viscera punctured by shot will fill the body cavity with blood and digestive fluids that can taint the meat. Remove the innards and wipe the body cavity with a clean dry cloth. In hot weather get the bird on ice as quickly as possible. Some hunters carry an ice chest in their vehicle for that purpose.

Nebraska resident turkey hunting permits for both shotgun and archery hunters are $21.00, non-resident permits are $66.00. A current Nebraska Habitat Stamp is required of every resident 16 years of age or older who hunts game species or takes furbearers in Nebraska. All nonresidents, regardless of age, must have a Habitat Stamp to hunt game species or to harvest furbearers. Habitat Stamps may be purchased for $13 from Commission offices, online, or from permit vendors across the state. During the spring shotgun and archery turkey hunting seasons hunters are allowed to take one male or bearded female turkey. Shooting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset.

Here’s a great way to prepare the turkey you take during Nebraska’s spring season:

Grilled Wild Turkey (adopted from “Wild Game Cooking Made Easy”)

1 wild turkey, skinned

2 cups herb dressing

2 cups sliced onions

½ cup dry white wine

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbl. fresh lemon juice

3 bay leaves

Fillet the turkey breasts. Remove the legs and bone the thighs. Place breasts and thighs in a nonreactive bowl. Top with herb dressing, onions, wine, garlic, lemon juice, and bay leaves to make a marinade. Cove tightly and refrigerate for three days, turning the pieces several times per day. Grill over medium-high heat, basting often with marinade. Slice the meat thinly across the grain and serve with hollandaise or bearnaise sauce or mushroom gravy.

“Grilled Wild Turkey,” is just one of a multitude of mouth-watering recipes found in the NEBRASKAland Magazine Wild Game Cookbook. Intended to be used in the kitchen and at the campsite, there are recipes for dozens of fish and game species, along with valuable tips from NEBRASKAland experts on field care, aging game, enhancing the flavors and selecting the right cookware.

The cookbook originally sold for $12.95, but is available from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission while supplies last for only $5 plus shipping and sales tax at the subscriber’s address. It makes an ideal gift for the sportsman in your family. To order, go to the Commission’s web site at outdoornebraska.com, then click on NEBRASKAland, then on Gift Catalog; or call the NEBRASKAland toll-free hotline at 1-800-742-0056, 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday.



 

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