First-day Turkey Harvest Tops 2007 Figure
With better weather, hunters checked 17 percent more turkeys on the
first day of the spring hunting season than they did last year.
 JEFFERSON
CITY-Flawless weather permitted hunters to shoot 7,004 turkeys on the
opening day of Missouri’s three-week spring turkey season, setting the
stage for another strong turkey harvest.
The opening-day harvest was 17 percent larger than last year, when a late
freeze set back turkey mating and nesting behavior by weeks. Hunters
checked just 6,010 birds on opening day of the 2007 spring turkey season.
Nevertheless, this year’s first-day harvest still was lower than in other
recent years. Resource Scientist Tom Dailey, the Missouri Department of
Conservation’s turkey expert, said this reflects the poor nesting success
the Show-Me State’s turkey flock experienced in 2007.
“The severe cold weather really cut into production last year,” said
Dailey. “You can see it in the percentage of young birds in the
opening-day harvest. One-year-old male turkeys accounted for 14.5 percent
of the birds shot the first day of this year’s season. In contrast, we
normally expect jakes to make up more than 20 percent of the harvest. They
have accounted for 22 percent of the total spring harvest in the past two
years.”
Dailey noted that turkeys are prolific breeders and can quickly make up
lost ground when favorable nesting conditions return. He said he hopes
that will happen this year.
“So far, it looks really good,” said Dailey. “If we have normal
temperatures and rainfall, we could see a significant rebound in turkey
numbers this year.”
Top counties for opening-day turkey harvest were Franklin with 159 birds
checked, Callaway with 151 and Ste. Genevieve with 132.
Missouri’s spring turkey season continues through May 11. Hunters are
allowed to take one bearded turkey during the first week of the season and
one per day during the remainder of the season, up to a season limit of
two. Details of hunting regulations are found in the 2008 Spring Turkey
Hunting Information booklet, which is available wherever hunting permits
are sold or online at
www.mdc.mo.gov/793.
The Conservation Department recorded one firearms-related hunting accident
on opening day.
-Jim Low-
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