Split turkey season slated
The first part of a split fall turkey season opened Saturday and runs through Friday in WMU 2D as the Pennsylvania Game Commission tries a new format. The season then returns Nov. 25 to 27.
Sandwiched between these season dates will be the black bear firearms hunt that will open on a Saturday to be more convenient for hunters who work or attend school.
The fall turkey season is for either sex and hunters are reminded they can’t use live decoys, drive turkeys or use electronic-calling devices.
Man-made blinds can be used if they enclose the hunter on all sides, including the roof. This is to protect hunters from being mistakenly identified as a turkey.
All firearms and bows are allowed in the fall season, except for semiautomatic or automatic rifles.
The fluorescent orange rule of 250 square inches on the head, chest and back is in effect as well. Once stationary, a 100-square-inch flagging from 360 degrees is acceptable.
Some of my most memorable hunts have been in the fall season, when the double duty of exploring the woods and hunting for a turkey has paid off in both deer and turkeys.
At times, turkeys are perhaps the wiliest critters in Penn’s Woods. At other times, they can appear almost oblivious to danger.
The young of the year still are in flocks with mature hens, and many broods often will join to make some flocks that are quite large. I have seen flocks of 50 to 100 birds, but most gather in groups of a dozen or so.
The gobblers are either loners or in small bachelor groups and harder to locate.
Fall turkey hunting takes a lot of scouting and walking to locate the birds. If there isn’t a ready food source in your locale, you’d better plan to move from that area because the birds won’t stay if food sources are lean.
Turkeys can travel far, and if you ever saw a turkey run on their powerful legs, you can imagine the distances they cover. Once they locate a food source, they will hang around until the food is gone or hunting pressure pushes them out.
Turkeys have a lot of enemies in the forest, and humans are just one of them. Coyotes, foxes, horned owls, red-tail hawks, domestic dogs, bobcats and raccoons take their share of young and mature turkeys. You can see why they need sharp eyes, keen hearing, fast legs and an explosive flush into flight to escape all of their foes.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to study wild turkeys close up and have learned a lot about their behaviors. They are creatures of routine and many times choose predictable paths and patterns.
They choose to roost in large trees each night and one tree could hold dozens of birds or a dozen trees could hold one bird.
They will return to a roost area night after night if they feel safe or abandon the area in an instant if alarmed.
A good supply of water is needed daily and they prefer springs, seeps and small runs of fresh water for their hydration.
If you do run into a flock, a tried-and-true method of hunting the birds is to bust up the flock, settle in to a seat and call the flock back together.
Small clucks and locater purrs work best and can fool many birds eager to gather together. Gobblers aren’t likely to be called in during the fall and generally are likely to be flushed or ambushed out of thickets or grapevines.
If I had my choice of a fall bird, I would choose a jake male turkey because he is as large as a mature hen and much more tender than a gobbler.
Until we meet again, hunt safe, be sure of your target and enjoy the Indian summer weather!
Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.
