04-12-2012, 06:10 PM
HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Game Commission officials are reporting that the unusual seasonal conditions being experienced throughout much of Pennsylvania will present turkey hunters with a mixed blessing as they plan for the upcoming spring gobbler season.
"On the positive side, a higher proportion of hens likely will be incubating nests by opening day thanks to the unusually early spring, making gobblers more vocal in search of hens," said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. "Also, gobblers are in good condition this spring because of the very mild winter, which means those healthy males may just continue gobbling and looking for mates throughout the hunting season.
"However, on the negative side, the early spring means leaves already are emerging, which will make it more difficult for hunters to hear and see their target, which will make it even more important to consider using a fluorescent orange band to alert other hunters to your stationary location or while moving."
Game Commission Game-Take Survey results show that spring turkey hunting has become so popular that there now are more spring turkey hunters (230,000) than fall turkey hunters (163,000). Spring harvests average 38,000 to 45,000 bearded birds, while fall harvests average 16,000 to 25,000 birds of either sex.
The state's one-day youth spring gobbler season is April 21, and will run from one-half hour before sunrise until noon. The general spring gobbler season is April 28-May 31, with the traditional noon closure for the first two weeks (April 28-May 12), and from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset for the remaining two weeks (May14-31).
"By the second half of the season, hunter participation decreases significantly and nesting hens are less prone to abandon nests," said Mary Jo Casalena, Game Commission wild turkey biologist.
The 2011 spring gobbler season was the first year of all-day hunting during the second half of the season, and the overall harvest was a slight decrease from the 2010 harvest. Afternoon harvest comprised six percent of the total reported harvests and 22 percent of the harvest during the all-day portion of the season. During the all-day season, 78 percent of the harvest occurred before noon. For the afternoon segment, the majority of the harvest occurred between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., with the last reported harvest at 8:35 p.m. (NOTE: Hunting hours closed between 8:39 p.m. in the eastern part of the state, and 9:11 p.m. in the western part of the state.)
Casalena noted the Game Commission will continue to monitor the afternoon harvest in relation to population trends and age class of gobblers to gauge the impact of all-day hunting. Of the 49 states that conduct turkey seasons, 34 have all-day hunting for all or part of the season, including Maryland, Ohio and Virginia.
Hunters who have purchased a second spring gobbler season license may harvest up to two bearded turkeys, one per day. (See second article about availability of second spring gobbler license.)
In 1968, the first spring gobbler season started on a Monday and ran only six days so biologists could get a pulse on hunter success and the season's impact on the more than 60,000 wild turkeys inhabiting about half of Pennsylvania's forestland at the time. It worked! More hunters were afield on the last day of the season - a Saturday - than the opener, and hunters took a total of 1,636 turkeys in the new season.
Comparatively, in 2011, preliminary harvests show hunters took 43,957 bearded wild turkeys in the spring gobbler seasons from an estimated statewide spring population of about 341,000.
Pennsylvania manages one of the most prolific wild turkey populations in America. It is an accomplishment that is directly related to both previous and ongoing research and management practices, the state's outstanding tapestry of turkey-friendly habitats and the resiliency of Pennsylvania's wild turkeys.
"The preliminary 2011 spring gobbler harvest (43,957) was the seventh highest preliminary harvest on record, and only three percent below the previous three-year average," Casalena said. "This decrease most likely was due to the rainy weather throughout much of last year's spring season and below average summer reproduction two of the last three years in many WMUs, both of which decreased gobbling activity."
Recent spring and fall harvests are: 44,788 spring gobblers and 15,884 fall turkeys in 2010; 44,639 spring gobblers and 20,934 fall turkeys in 2009; 42,437 spring gobblers and 24,288 fall turkeys in 2008; 37,992 spring gobblers and 25,369 fall turkeys in 2007; and 39,339 spring gobblers and 24,482 fall turkeys in 2006. While the final 2011 harvest estimates won't be available until this summer, the preliminary 2011 spring gobbler harvest was 43,957 and the preliminary fall turkey harvest was 17,017.
Due to below average summer reproduction during the last three years, the 2012 harvest is expected to be 15 to 25 percent lower than the previous three-year average.
Casalena encourages spring gobbler hunters to spend time scouting, which always plays an important role in hunter success, especially for those experienced older toms.
"Scouting can improve hunters' chances, especially if they line up multiple locations for the spring season," Casalena said. "Prior to the season, however, hunters should consider not using turkey calls to locate gobblers, because it will educate birds and cause them to be less inclined to respond to the early-morning calls of in-season hunters.
"If you're trying to locate a gobbler, it's best to head out at first light to listen for calls. Birds have been active for weeks! On a still morning, a gobbler's call often can be detected a mile away or more."
Hunters are reminded that it is illegal to stalk turkeys or turkey sounds in the spring gobbler season. Given the wild turkey's keen senses, it's not a wise move anyway, but more importantly, it makes a tremendous difference for the personal safety of everyone afield. Every year, hunters are shot in mistake for game while approaching hunters calling for turkeys, and/or callers are shot in mistake for game by stalking hunters.
"Safety must be the foremost consideration of every turkey hunter," emphasized Keith Snyder, Game Commission Hunter-Trapper Education division chief. "If every hunter followed the state's hunting regulations and positively identified his or her target as legal game before squeezing the trigger, we could nearly eliminate hunting-related shooting incidents during the spring gobbler season. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way.
"The Game Commission encourages all spring gobbler hunters to hunt safely and defensively. Consider wearing fluorescent orange clothing at all times - even though it is no longer required by law - and treat every sound and movement as if it is another hunter until you can positively confirm it is a legal turkey. Be patient. Wait until the bird is fully visible before you squeeze the trigger."
Legal sporting arms are: shotguns plugged to three-shell capacity in the chamber and magazine combined; muzzleloading shotguns; and crossbows and bows with broadhead bolts or arrows of cutting-edge design.
Shot size must be no larger than No. 4 lead, No. 2 steel or No. 4 of any other composition or alloy of nontoxic shot approved by the Director of the Unites States Fish and Wildlife Service or an authorized representative under 50 CFR 20.134 (relating to nontoxic shot). Rifle-shotgun combinations also may be used, but no single-projectile ammunition may be used or carried.
Carrying or using rifles, handguns, dogs, electronic callers, drives and live decoys is unlawful. The use of blinds is legal so long as it is an "artificial or manufactured turkey blind consisting of all manmade materials of sufficient density to block the detection of movement within the blind from an observer located outside the blind."
While not required by law, hunters are encouraged to wear fluorescent orange material when moving, as it overlaps with groundhog hunting season. Agency officials also recommend that hunters wrap an orange alert band around a nearby tree when stationary, especially when calling and/or using decoys.
Coyotes may be harvested by turkey hunters. However, turkey hunters who have filled their spring turkey tag or tags may not hunt coyotes during the legal shooting hours of the spring gobbler season, unless they have a furtaker license.
Woodchuck hunting is legal during spring gobbler season. Hunters also may hunt starlings, English sparrows, opossums, skunks, porcupines and weasels during legal hunting hours of the spring gobbler season.
Successful spring gobbler hunters must properly tag their turkey and report the harvest to the Game Commission within 10 days, using the postage-paid report card provided with their Digest, through the toll-free telephone number (1-855-PAHUNT) or through the Pennsylvania Automated License System. Information to be reported includes the hunter's name and address; date and location of kill (WMU, county, township); time of kill; beard and spur length; and sporting arm used.
Hunters also are encouraged to report all leg-banded turkeys they take or find to assist the Game Commission in ongoing research, by calling the toll-free number listed on the leg band. Hunters may keep the band; the agency just needs the information on the band. With our current hen turkey study, some bearded hens are equipped with leg bands and/or radio transmitters. Bearded hens are legal game for the spring season and hunters are encouraged to report these birds.
Junior hunters who participate in the youth spring gobbler day (April 21) are required to have a junior hunting license. On this one-day hunt, junior license holders under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult, who cannot carry a sporting arm. Accompanying adults may only provide guidance, such as calling or scouting. All other hunting regulations are the same as those for the general spring gobbler season, including the hunting hours of one-half hour before sunrise until noon and only bearded turkeys may be taken.
Youths under the age of 12 years may participate in the spring gobbler seasons through the Game Commission's Mentored Youth Hunting Program. They can hunt with a mentor during either the one-day youth or general spring gobbler season. Mentored youths need to obtain a permit ($2.70), and must be accompanied by an adult mentor who is a properly licensed and at least 21 years of age. A field harvest tag is provided with the mentored youth hunting program permit.
For additional information about the Game Commission's Mentored Youth Hunting Program, visit the agency's website at www.pgc.state.pa.us, put your cursor over "HUNT/TRAP" in the menu bar under the banner, click on "Hunting" in the drop-down menu listing then choose "Mentored Youth Hunting Program FAQs" in the "Related Links" section, or consult pages 15 of the Digest.
To Connect with Wildlife, visit the Game Commission at the following:
Website: www.pgc.state.pa.us
Twitter: www.twitter.com/PAGameComm
YouTube: www.youtube.com/pagamecommission
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaGameCommission
Also, subscribers to the agency's monthly magazine - Pennsylvania Game News - can read their Game News issues online at www.penngamenews.com. A Game News subscription offers free access to all online issues, including the most recent before it arrives in the mailbox. Issues more than a year old are accessible without a subscription. With the digital edition you'll enjoy links to more information, archived issues, the ability to share your favorite reads and perks like bookmarking and making notes "in the margins." Users of iPads and iPhones will like reading via the Nxtbook Nxtstand app. Download it for free, click on "P" in the catalog, then the PA Game News cover.
Contact:<br />
Jerry Feaser<br />
717-705-6541<br />
PGCNews@pa.gov
"On the positive side, a higher proportion of hens likely will be incubating nests by opening day thanks to the unusually early spring, making gobblers more vocal in search of hens," said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. "Also, gobblers are in good condition this spring because of the very mild winter, which means those healthy males may just continue gobbling and looking for mates throughout the hunting season.
"However, on the negative side, the early spring means leaves already are emerging, which will make it more difficult for hunters to hear and see their target, which will make it even more important to consider using a fluorescent orange band to alert other hunters to your stationary location or while moving."
Game Commission Game-Take Survey results show that spring turkey hunting has become so popular that there now are more spring turkey hunters (230,000) than fall turkey hunters (163,000). Spring harvests average 38,000 to 45,000 bearded birds, while fall harvests average 16,000 to 25,000 birds of either sex.
The state's one-day youth spring gobbler season is April 21, and will run from one-half hour before sunrise until noon. The general spring gobbler season is April 28-May 31, with the traditional noon closure for the first two weeks (April 28-May 12), and from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset for the remaining two weeks (May14-31).
"By the second half of the season, hunter participation decreases significantly and nesting hens are less prone to abandon nests," said Mary Jo Casalena, Game Commission wild turkey biologist.
The 2011 spring gobbler season was the first year of all-day hunting during the second half of the season, and the overall harvest was a slight decrease from the 2010 harvest. Afternoon harvest comprised six percent of the total reported harvests and 22 percent of the harvest during the all-day portion of the season. During the all-day season, 78 percent of the harvest occurred before noon. For the afternoon segment, the majority of the harvest occurred between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., with the last reported harvest at 8:35 p.m. (NOTE: Hunting hours closed between 8:39 p.m. in the eastern part of the state, and 9:11 p.m. in the western part of the state.)
Casalena noted the Game Commission will continue to monitor the afternoon harvest in relation to population trends and age class of gobblers to gauge the impact of all-day hunting. Of the 49 states that conduct turkey seasons, 34 have all-day hunting for all or part of the season, including Maryland, Ohio and Virginia.
Hunters who have purchased a second spring gobbler season license may harvest up to two bearded turkeys, one per day. (See second article about availability of second spring gobbler license.)
In 1968, the first spring gobbler season started on a Monday and ran only six days so biologists could get a pulse on hunter success and the season's impact on the more than 60,000 wild turkeys inhabiting about half of Pennsylvania's forestland at the time. It worked! More hunters were afield on the last day of the season - a Saturday - than the opener, and hunters took a total of 1,636 turkeys in the new season.
Comparatively, in 2011, preliminary harvests show hunters took 43,957 bearded wild turkeys in the spring gobbler seasons from an estimated statewide spring population of about 341,000.
Pennsylvania manages one of the most prolific wild turkey populations in America. It is an accomplishment that is directly related to both previous and ongoing research and management practices, the state's outstanding tapestry of turkey-friendly habitats and the resiliency of Pennsylvania's wild turkeys.
"The preliminary 2011 spring gobbler harvest (43,957) was the seventh highest preliminary harvest on record, and only three percent below the previous three-year average," Casalena said. "This decrease most likely was due to the rainy weather throughout much of last year's spring season and below average summer reproduction two of the last three years in many WMUs, both of which decreased gobbling activity."
Recent spring and fall harvests are: 44,788 spring gobblers and 15,884 fall turkeys in 2010; 44,639 spring gobblers and 20,934 fall turkeys in 2009; 42,437 spring gobblers and 24,288 fall turkeys in 2008; 37,992 spring gobblers and 25,369 fall turkeys in 2007; and 39,339 spring gobblers and 24,482 fall turkeys in 2006. While the final 2011 harvest estimates won't be available until this summer, the preliminary 2011 spring gobbler harvest was 43,957 and the preliminary fall turkey harvest was 17,017.
Due to below average summer reproduction during the last three years, the 2012 harvest is expected to be 15 to 25 percent lower than the previous three-year average.
Casalena encourages spring gobbler hunters to spend time scouting, which always plays an important role in hunter success, especially for those experienced older toms.
"Scouting can improve hunters' chances, especially if they line up multiple locations for the spring season," Casalena said. "Prior to the season, however, hunters should consider not using turkey calls to locate gobblers, because it will educate birds and cause them to be less inclined to respond to the early-morning calls of in-season hunters.
"If you're trying to locate a gobbler, it's best to head out at first light to listen for calls. Birds have been active for weeks! On a still morning, a gobbler's call often can be detected a mile away or more."
Hunters are reminded that it is illegal to stalk turkeys or turkey sounds in the spring gobbler season. Given the wild turkey's keen senses, it's not a wise move anyway, but more importantly, it makes a tremendous difference for the personal safety of everyone afield. Every year, hunters are shot in mistake for game while approaching hunters calling for turkeys, and/or callers are shot in mistake for game by stalking hunters.
"Safety must be the foremost consideration of every turkey hunter," emphasized Keith Snyder, Game Commission Hunter-Trapper Education division chief. "If every hunter followed the state's hunting regulations and positively identified his or her target as legal game before squeezing the trigger, we could nearly eliminate hunting-related shooting incidents during the spring gobbler season. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work that way.
"The Game Commission encourages all spring gobbler hunters to hunt safely and defensively. Consider wearing fluorescent orange clothing at all times - even though it is no longer required by law - and treat every sound and movement as if it is another hunter until you can positively confirm it is a legal turkey. Be patient. Wait until the bird is fully visible before you squeeze the trigger."
Legal sporting arms are: shotguns plugged to three-shell capacity in the chamber and magazine combined; muzzleloading shotguns; and crossbows and bows with broadhead bolts or arrows of cutting-edge design.
Shot size must be no larger than No. 4 lead, No. 2 steel or No. 4 of any other composition or alloy of nontoxic shot approved by the Director of the Unites States Fish and Wildlife Service or an authorized representative under 50 CFR 20.134 (relating to nontoxic shot). Rifle-shotgun combinations also may be used, but no single-projectile ammunition may be used or carried.
Carrying or using rifles, handguns, dogs, electronic callers, drives and live decoys is unlawful. The use of blinds is legal so long as it is an "artificial or manufactured turkey blind consisting of all manmade materials of sufficient density to block the detection of movement within the blind from an observer located outside the blind."
While not required by law, hunters are encouraged to wear fluorescent orange material when moving, as it overlaps with groundhog hunting season. Agency officials also recommend that hunters wrap an orange alert band around a nearby tree when stationary, especially when calling and/or using decoys.
Coyotes may be harvested by turkey hunters. However, turkey hunters who have filled their spring turkey tag or tags may not hunt coyotes during the legal shooting hours of the spring gobbler season, unless they have a furtaker license.
Woodchuck hunting is legal during spring gobbler season. Hunters also may hunt starlings, English sparrows, opossums, skunks, porcupines and weasels during legal hunting hours of the spring gobbler season.
Successful spring gobbler hunters must properly tag their turkey and report the harvest to the Game Commission within 10 days, using the postage-paid report card provided with their Digest, through the toll-free telephone number (1-855-PAHUNT) or through the Pennsylvania Automated License System. Information to be reported includes the hunter's name and address; date and location of kill (WMU, county, township); time of kill; beard and spur length; and sporting arm used.
Hunters also are encouraged to report all leg-banded turkeys they take or find to assist the Game Commission in ongoing research, by calling the toll-free number listed on the leg band. Hunters may keep the band; the agency just needs the information on the band. With our current hen turkey study, some bearded hens are equipped with leg bands and/or radio transmitters. Bearded hens are legal game for the spring season and hunters are encouraged to report these birds.
Junior hunters who participate in the youth spring gobbler day (April 21) are required to have a junior hunting license. On this one-day hunt, junior license holders under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult, who cannot carry a sporting arm. Accompanying adults may only provide guidance, such as calling or scouting. All other hunting regulations are the same as those for the general spring gobbler season, including the hunting hours of one-half hour before sunrise until noon and only bearded turkeys may be taken.
Youths under the age of 12 years may participate in the spring gobbler seasons through the Game Commission's Mentored Youth Hunting Program. They can hunt with a mentor during either the one-day youth or general spring gobbler season. Mentored youths need to obtain a permit ($2.70), and must be accompanied by an adult mentor who is a properly licensed and at least 21 years of age. A field harvest tag is provided with the mentored youth hunting program permit.
For additional information about the Game Commission's Mentored Youth Hunting Program, visit the agency's website at www.pgc.state.pa.us, put your cursor over "HUNT/TRAP" in the menu bar under the banner, click on "Hunting" in the drop-down menu listing then choose "Mentored Youth Hunting Program FAQs" in the "Related Links" section, or consult pages 15 of the Digest.
To Connect with Wildlife, visit the Game Commission at the following:
Website: www.pgc.state.pa.us
Twitter: www.twitter.com/PAGameComm
YouTube: www.youtube.com/pagamecommission
Facebook: www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaGameCommission
Also, subscribers to the agency's monthly magazine - Pennsylvania Game News - can read their Game News issues online at www.penngamenews.com. A Game News subscription offers free access to all online issues, including the most recent before it arrives in the mailbox. Issues more than a year old are accessible without a subscription. With the digital edition you'll enjoy links to more information, archived issues, the ability to share your favorite reads and perks like bookmarking and making notes "in the margins." Users of iPads and iPhones will like reading via the Nxtbook Nxtstand app. Download it for free, click on "P" in the catalog, then the PA Game News cover.
Contact:<br />
Jerry Feaser<br />
717-705-6541<br />
PGCNews@pa.gov