Turkey hunting season is upon us

Adjusting the turkey season three years ago in an attempt to stabilize the population of birds, the season now goes from April 16 to May 16 with a limit of one tom turkey statewide. The youth season will be open this Saturday and Sunday.

The wild turkey is Oklahoma’s largest game bird and their chief predators are bobcats and coyotes.

For hunters, the one thing I’ve learned about turkeys is that many times there’s no rhyme or reason for some of the things they do. I’ve witnessed a mature and very wild tom turkey, seeing his reflection, peck the chrome bumper of a Ford F150 pick-up truck, which happened to be mine.

Also, and not funny at the time, a gentleman, with a classic 1956 or 1957 Chevrolet, was staying in an area state park. He requested a report be taken for his auto insurance. You guessed it, a tom had indeed done some serious damage having pecked off the paint almost to the point that it looked as though someone had peppered it with buckshot.

As with most hunting, nothing takes the place of scouting and boots on the ground.

If you don’t have access to private property, there are a number of opportunities and resources available to hunt turkeys on public land.

There are a number of easy-to-use calls on the market.

If you have time to practice and have an understanding family, including your loyal canine, the diaphragm mouth calls are some of the most practical simply because they reduce movement and free up both hands.

If you own a set of shooting sticks, by all means take them with you. Speaking from experience, a gun gets awfully heavy when you’re having to sit motionless for any length of time and a good rest is not to be found.

The keys to a successful spring turkey season are locating an area with turkeys and scouting to learn the terrain looking for turkey tracks and turkey scat. Find areas along creek bottoms or ridges where they tend to roost in mature trees.

Having a plan in place and knowledge of the area will help swing things your way. If you can hear a turkey gobble, he is closer than you think. Hen and tom decoys work well together or even a hen decoy by itself.

One rule of thumb that I’ve learned over the years is, the less you call, the better off you are. Overcalling is tempting, but doesn’t always yield results. Let the tom dictate the conversation.

If you have a bird coming your way and hasn’t gobbled in some time, the chances are he’s coming in silent.

In the Green Country area of Oklahoma, we have the Eastern, Rio Grande and Eastern/Rio Grande hybrid breed of turkeys. The Rio Grande breed tends to be more vocal than the Eastern breed. A Rio Grande tends to be easier to call in, at least in my experience. Throughout the central and western of Oklahoma, you will find the Rio Grande breed. In the far western panhandle, there are a mix of Rio Grande’s and Merriam’s breed of turkeys.

The Osceola breed is located only in parts of Florida. If you complete the harvesting of all of these four breeds of turkey, it is considered a “grand slam.”

For a “world slam,” you add in Gould’s wild turkey which is found in Mexico, and small parts of New Mexico and Arizona.

Generally, turkeys many times will hang up just out of range.

Another bit of advice — patience, patience, and patience.

As with any hunting, gun safety is paramount. Make sure of your target.

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John Kilgore is the former Greenleaf State Park manager. He can be reached by emailing him at jkilgoreoutdoors@yahoo.com.