Every hunt is different. Wild turkeys have incredible vision, that is what keeps them alive. They also have very good hearing. When it seems like everything is going against the hunter, any mistake gives the big bird an added advantage.
A successful turkey hunter has to be able to adapt to changing circumstances. There is no way that every time you go out, you will get a turkey. Hunters learn from each hunt and when things change they need to adapt to the situation. Ken White writes about hunting and fishing for the News-Leader. Contact him at kdwhite7 windstream. Facebook Twitter Email. Missouri is a prime hunting spot for turkeys. Ken White for the News-Leader.
Once the flock is under the net, the team is able to grab the turkeys and place the trackers on them. Tyl, who has been capturing turkeys since , says there were instances when she was waiting to shoot off the net when a deer or feral cats joined the turkeys feeding on the bait.
She had to wait until the other animals moved away from the turkeys before setting off the net. Alisha Mosloff, a first-year doctoral student in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources , will be field tagging for the project and monitoring the turkeys. Mosloff is studying to be an upland game bird research scientist.
Upland game birds are non-waterfowl birds such as quail, pheasant and grouse. Now coming full circle, she says tagging turkeys will be time-consuming but fascinating fieldwork. She anticipates the most challenging task will be catching poults when they are 1 day old, she says. Back on his Jefferson County farm, Williams says he is looking forward to learning the results of this study. This would include the herbicides they use on the plants that the poults feed on. By the early s, wild turkeys in Missouri were almost completely wiped out, due to overhunting and habitat loss, Tyl says.
Restoration efforts began in the s and s after wildlife management agencies began reintroducing the birds to establish a healthy population. After peaking in the early s when Missouri had around , turkeys, the numbers started falling again.
There is no way to determine the exact turkey population, Burk, of the wild turkey federation, says. In , when the Missouri wild turkey population was robust, the MDC raised the limit of turkeys a permit holder can harvest from one to two, Tyl says. That limit continues today. Spring permit holders could take up to two male turkeys, according to season-specific limits imposed by the agency. Williams has been hunting turkeys near his eastern Missouri farm since he was 5 years old.
Born and raised in De Soto, he says he remembers going on hunts with his uncle, father and grandfather. His family also participated in turkey calling competitions, in which hunters are judged on their imitation of various turkey vocalisations. Harvesting turkeys has not only been a cultural tradition for families since the s, but it is also an important revenue source for rural towns, Williams says. If hunters notice lower turkey populations in Missouri, they might turn to bordering states.
He distinctly remembers shooting his first spring gobbler in the Lake of the Ozarks area, he says. It was during the early s when the woods were teeming with gobblers. As the morning sun hit the trees, a jake, a young male turkey with a short beard, came waddling out. Jacob nodded. Later that morning, he and his uncle found an adult gobbler and shot the bird. It was a hunt that he will never forget, he says. With the turkey population declining across Missouri, if Williams and the children spot a jake, that might be the only turkey around.
Turkeys are most famous for their gobbling calls, but they make many other vocalizations as well. One male turkey or turkey with visible beard Youths who take a turkey during the youth season may not harvest a second bird until April This is because the bird taken during the youth season counts as the first bird for the first week of the regular season.
Longbows, recurve bows, or compound bows. Hand-held string releasing devices, illuminated sights, scopes, and quick point sights are allowed. Use of bait, which includes grain or other feed placed or scattered so as to attract turkeys. An area is considered baited for 10 days even after complete removal of the bait. A hunter can be in violation even if he or she did not know an area was or is baited.
It is illegal to place bait in a way that causes others to be in violation of the baiting rule. Two male turkeys or turkeys with visible beard may be taken during the season, with the following restrictions:. Archers hunting deer or turkeys during the archery season may not be in possession of a firearm. Some exceptions apply. See 3 CSR Anyone hunting turkeys during the fall firearms turkey season may not be in possession of both a firearm and a bow.
Species Description. Topic Category. Biological Information.
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