OUTDOOR CORNER: TURKEY SEASON TO SPRING INTO ACTION

Missouri spring turkey season opens tomorrow, April 22, and runs through May 5. This year, turkey hunters need to take some extra equipment along. In addition to camouflage and calls, they should include an ink pen and knife.

Because of the Point-of-Sale (POS) permit system, this will be the first season where turkey hunting permits are separate from transportation tags. Prior to hunting, the permit holder should use their ink pen to fill out the left side of the transportation tag (name, address and signature). Also, each person hunting with a shotgun should affix to the receiver of the gun, where it will be in the line of sight when shooting, the "Be Safe" sticker from the transportation tag. This sticker should be left on the shotgun when hunting.

Any person killing a turkey must immediately invalidate the harvest log portion of their permit (see illustration) by writing the date and time of kill and punching or notching the edge of the permit. Also, the hunter must immediately affix to the turkey the transportation tag, which shall remain attached to the carcass until it has been submitted with the permit by the taker at an established checking station.

Another change in this year's turkey hunting regulations is that legal shooting hours will be from one-half hour before sunrise to 1 p.m. This means that legal shooting time will be 5:45 a.m. on opening day for hunters in the Cape Girardeau area. For locations west, add one minute for each 13.5 miles of airline distance. In previous years, shooting hours began at 6 a.m. for each day of the season.

A person possessing the prescribed turkey hunting permit may take two male turkeys or turkeys with visible beard during the season, provided only one turkey may be taken during each week of the season. Turkeys may be taken only by shotgun, with shot not larger than No. 4, or longbow, without the use of dogs, bait, recorded calls or live decoys.

Successful hunters shall submit their tagged turkey with head and plumage intact, along with their permit for inspection and marking at an established checking station in the county where taken or an adjoining county between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the day taken.

A landowner or lessee, as defined in the Wildlife code of Missouri, may take and possess turkeys according to regulations without a permit. The landowner/lessee must tag the turkey with their full name and address and the date immediately upon taking and shall personally deliver the turkey to a check station.

Larry Vangilder, who handles wild turkey management for the Missouri Department of Conservation, predicts a good turkey kill. He says that statewide we had a strong hatch in 1994 (the best in several years). "Those birds will be two years old this year, so there should be plenty of gobbling activity," said Vangilder.

The "late" spring this year could make hunting difficult early in the season. Gobblers may still be occupied with hens on opening day so hunters will be in competition with the "real thing." A late spring could knock four or five thousand birds off the statewide harvest, but Vangilder says we can still expect a good turkey kill, probably over 30,000. Last year hunters took 37,472 birds during the two-week season.

In southeast Missouri, turkey populations appear to be spotty. Conservation Agents report good numbers of birds in Madison, Wayne and Iron counties. Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties have fewer birds overall but still offer excellent hunting in some locations. Scott and Stoddard counties continue to see a steady increase in their turkey populations.

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