Turkey season opens Wednesday
By DENNIS APRILL, Outdoors Columnist
Another spring wild turkey season opens this Wednesday, and it appears that the number of birds is not only on the increase, but the flocks themselves are expanding their ranges.
The key, I have been told, to successful spring turkey hunting is, first and most obvious, locating the birds. That for some of us is the easy part; to find them is one thing, to put one down is another.
My calling experience is very limited, and I use only a slate call, but I have found our gobblers to be less wary than the ones described by the outdoor magazines further south. Professional level calling is not needed to bring in a bird.
For example, on opening day last May, I heard a gobbler not far from my house. I wasn’t even prepared to hunt that day, but quickly gathered gear and set up. After I worked the slate with a series of "keows" and "putt, putts," in an attempt to imitate an amorous hen, the tom turkey finally came in after a prolonged period of silence. Either he was not a very sophisticated bird, or my calling has greatly improved.
Spring is the key season for a newborn turkey’s survival. A wet May and early June before the poults can fly means losses of young birds from various diseases. Once they are old enough to fly, the fledgling turkeys can roost above the damp ground conditions.
Last spring, after the initial heavy run-off from the deep snow pack, the weather dried out, making for good wild turkey survival conditions. This is reflected in the statewide fall season take, the fifth highest on record. The harvest last spring was 9274 statewide, 47 coming from Clinton County, 45 from Essex County and 49 from Franklin County. St. Lawrence County hunters took 287 turkeys.
Avid turkey hunters (and I put myself in this category) know of the wild turkey’s wariness and excellent eyesight. Just when you have a gobbler coming, he decides something is wrong and takes off, rarely in flight. I don’t know if there is a weirder looking sight than a turkey taking a couple of steps, then flying off like a sort of jumbo jet of the bird family. Surprisingly though, turkeys have been recorded flying 45-50 miles per hour, but their flight distance is never far, just to the nearest roost or safe haven.
The statewide wild turkey season runs from May 1-31. There is a two-bearded bird limit. A $2 permit is needed to hunt wild turkeys.