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Ohio's wild turkey hunters have tough season
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
The 2007 spring wild turkey season ended Sunday with a lot of hunters wondering why they couldn't find the birds.
"I didn't hear much gobbling," said some of the hunters.
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"No turkeys were seen where I found them in previous years," others remarked.
"I didn't hear much shooting," some commented.
Hunters killed 17,005 turkeys during the spring hunt. That represents a nearly seven percent decrease over last year's total of 18,262.
The Division of Wildlife did report that during the first week of this year's hunt 9,114 gobblers were harvested, 1,683 fewer than the number of birds shot the first week in 2006.
Some hunters blame a cold snap about the time the hunting began. Others question whether Ohio really has as many wild turkeys as claimed by the Division of Wildlife.
Randy Dyer of Sinking Springs, about 30 miles southeast of Hillsboro, has his own theory. And after taking two gobblers during the first week of the season, it's obvious this hunter knows something about the great game bird.
"The problem is not a shortage of turkeys. I think the growing numbers of birds is making hunting more difficult," Dyer said.
Does that sound hard to believe? It's not if you consider what this turkey hunter observed between March 1, when he started scouting, and the fourth week of April when he filled his two turkey tags.
When Dyer started scouting in early March the males were not gobbling, but the hens were calling. If one learns where the hens are you will see gobblers in the same area when the mating gets under way.
"I do my early scouting from a tree stand and I see large flocks of turkeys," Dyer said. "We have seen as many as 75 turkeys in one bunch. One day I counted 106 turkeys in a single flock."
Dyer believes there is such an abundance of hens in the big flocks that gobblers find it very easy to locate a mate, or as many mates as they want. Turkeys are polygamous.
"In my opinion that's why we hear less gobbling and hunters find it harder to call in a gobbler," Dyer stated.
Dyer said this year his best hunting occurred when he was able to locate a place where turkeys roosted at night. The next morning the hunter would take a position close to the roost and yelp to the gobblers soon after they flew down from the roosting trees.
The first gobbler bagged by Dyer weighed 23 pounds and had a 10-inch beard. His second turkey weighed 21 pounds and also had a 10-inch beard.
Dyer also assisted a young hunter during the special youth season held the weekend prior to the regular hunt. The outdoorsman called in a gobbler for the young hunter who was shaking with excitement. The youngster managed to fire his 20-gauge gun and hit the turkey.
"That boy really had a smile on his face," Dyer said.
Contact Jim Robey at Dayton Daily
News, 1611 S. Main St., Dayton, Ohio 45409.
