OUTDOOR CORNER: TURKEY SEASON OPENS MONDAY

Fall Firearms Turkey Hunting season opens tomorrow morning and runs through Monday, Oct. 29. Statewide, hunters can expect conditions to be similar to the 1994 season when they harvested 19,842 birds.

Last year, Perry County led the southeast region with 213 turkeys checked. Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties were next with 184 and 154 birds respectively. Scott County is closed to fall firearms turkey hunting.

The all-time record harvest for fall firearms turkey occurred in 1987 when hunters checked 28,139 turkeys. Since then a series of poor hatches has resulted in declining harvests. Juvenile (young) turkeys comprise a large percentage of the fall firearm harvest and poor hatching success means fewer young birds are available.

Statewide, surveys indicate that heavy rainfall during the late spring nesting season was not conducive to producing large numbers of poults. As expected, some local areas will have better nesting success than others but in general the statewide hatch was well below average.

Wildlife biologists indicated that even with poor hatch results, our fall firearms season is conservative enough that it has limited impact on the turkey population in general.

Fall Firearms Turkey Hunting hours are from on-half hour before sunrise to sunset. Hunters may take not more than one turkey of either sex from Oct. 16 through Oct. 22 and not more than one turkey of either sex from Oct. 23 through Oct. 29. Successful hunters may check their birds at an established checking station in the county where taken or an adjoining open county not later than 8 p.m. on the day taken.

~Gene Myers is a Missouri Conservation Agent in Cape Girardeau County.