Wednesday, January 5, 2011







Billie R. Cooper

FIVE HOTSPOTS FOR FALL TURKEYS
If you can’t decide where to tag your tom this fall, may we suggest one of these great hunting spots?

INTRODUCTION TO FALL TURKEY HUNTING
Fall turkey hunting is the Roger Dangerfield of the bird hunting world. It just doesn’t get the respect it deserves. It has long baffled me why more hunters don’t turn out for fall turkey hunting. The colors are brilliant in the oak hickory forest. The air is cool and crisp and it is the time of harvest.
“It is simply a matter of not understanding the nature of fall turkeys,” says turkey hunting expert Ray Eye. “I hear it at the seminars I present all over the country every year. Hunters say that turkeys don’t gobble in the fall and are not as much fun to hunt. Then I show them film footage I have shot of turkeys not only gobbling in the fall, but fighting as well. Turkeys work on the pecking order all year long and they are more vocal in the fall than in the spring, because large groups of turkeys are flocked together. Turkeys vocalize more in the fall than at any other time of the year because the numbers are at their annual peak and birds are flocked up in big groups. They can be heard for long distances when flying up to the roost or when they are flying down in the morning. Hens are cackling and yelping trying to round up their young of the year. And the young ones make lots of noise while trying to find mama. It’s just a great time to be in the turkey woods.”
The hunting outlook in terms of turkey numbers will most likely be up for this fall. Resource Scientist Tom Dailey, the Conservation Department’s turkey specialist indicated in April (at the time of this writing) that the mild temperatures and relatively dry weather that prevailed the first three weeks of April made him optimistic about a good turkey hatch for 2010. He further commented that if those conditions held through May, this year could mark the start of a turkey population recovery in north Missouri where hatches have been below the long term average for several years running.
Dailey also noted that even though turkey populations have dwindled a little in recent years, Missouri still leads the nation in turkey abundance and harvest.
Fall harvests have fallen below the 10,000 mark in recent years, the product of lower populations and seemingly lower interest in the sport. “To me, it all adds up to the perfect time to hunt turkeys,” says Marty Eye a professional turkey hunter from Mountain View. “Numbers of turkeys are at their annual high in the fall and there are not that many hunters out. What more could a turkey hunter ask for?”
Regardless of all the talk about highs and lows of turkey population numbers in the Show-Me State, fall harvest numbers have never been significant enough to impact the success of hunters the following spring. Bird populations are at their highest in the fall after the spring nesting seasons. A certain percentage of turkeys will succumb to predators, disease and other natural causes. These combined mortalities are what biologists call the annual surplus in the population. The future of the overall population is not harmed as long as there is sufficient brood stock left for breeding the following spring. Fall turkey hunting is a method for hunters to harvest a part of the annual population excess without harming the future of the turkey population.
TOP SPOTS FOR FALL TURKEYS
Hunting where the turkeys are located is a common sense way to approach the sport. Missouri hunters are very fortunate in this regard. Turkeys are fairly well dispersed in much of the state. Still, some areas stand out in each region of the state as better than the average turkey hunting spot. Following are a few picks, but they do not, however, exhaust the list of hotspots available to fall turkey hunters.
Truman Lake – This 200,000 acre U.S. Corps of Engineers land and water project in Benton, Henry and St. Clair counties in west-central Missouri should be on every fall turkey hunters list of places to hunt. Vast stretches of hardwood forests, old growth fields and openings surround the massive Truman Lake. Other than the rough and brushy areas around the lake, the Missouri Department of Conservation also manages 55,000-acres of Corps lands in the area. Managed food plots scattered around the project are another food source for the lake’s population of wild turkeys.
Many hunters discover the fine turkey hunting at Truman just as I did over 20 years ago. While on a spring time, week-long crappie and bass fishing trip at Truman, I was astounded at the number of gobblers I heard sounding off on surrounding ridges while my family and I were out on the lake fishing. It didn’t take me long to decide that I should combine a few turkey hunting excursions with my fishing trips.
A few years later, I began combining fall turkey hunting trips with fall fishing and bow hunting trips which I made to Truman Lake.
The lake sprawls through several counties. I studied lake maps to determine where the largest land mass areas were around the lake. I figured if I launched my turkey hunts from the water side of my chosen hunting area, there would be less hunter competition. I chose some of the areas which would be a long, tough walk for anyone approaching from the parking lot side. My method has worked marvelously over the years. I have never encountered another fall turkey hunter while hunting at Truman. My hunting methods have a great deal to do with my success of avoiding other hunters. I have found that I can hit the lake at daylight, fish for a couple of hours and then turkey hunt. Hunters often leave the woods after only two or three hours. I also make sure I cover some ground on the lake while fishing. I constantly scan the bank and woodline for feeding turkeys. I generally bank my boat just out of sight of a flock of turkeys and either attempt to call in the entire flock or approach close enough to them to run at them and scatter them out. I have been successful using both methods.
I choose my hunting method according to what the makeup is of the flock of birds which I encounter. If I find a small flock of adult gobblers, I setup on them and begin calling with a series of coarse clucks, or gobbler yelps. An unusual method, which I learned from Ray Eye, involves sounding like a gobbler fight. Yes, gobblers fight in the fall, too. They are constantly working on their position in the pecking order and teasing their egos is a good way to put one on the dinner table. When I find flocks of hens with young of the year, I like to scatter the birds out, let them calm down for 10 minutes or so and then begin hen yelps and kee-kees to bring the group back together. These hunts often last only a few minutes, because young birds don’t like to be alone and often come to the call very quickly. A young bird makes a delicious turkey dinner, too.
For information about fall turkey hunting at Truman Lake call the Missouri Department of Conservation at: 1-660-885-6981.
Scotia-Marcoot Walk-in Turkey Hunting Area – This 3,700 acre area in Dent and Reynolds Counties is one of 21 such areas in the Mark Twain National Forest of Missouri. All roads in the interior of walk-in areas are closed during turkey season. Scotia is bounded on the east by Highway 72, Forest Road 2340 to the south and private properties on the west and north.
J. R. Lanham, of Bunker, cut his fall turkey hunting teeth at the Scotia-Marcoot Area. “I have been turkey hunting there since I turned 16 and became legal to drive myself out there,” Lanham said.
The young Lanham is a pro staff member for Rut and Strut Outfitters out of West Plains, Missouri. He is fanatic about turkey calling and recently won the U.S. Open Calling Contest in Nashville, Tennessee. The National Turkey Calling Contest in Yellville, Arkansas fell to his calling prowess in 2008.
Lanham lives in the midst of tens of thousands of U. S. forest Service lands but indicated that he chose to hunt the Marcoot Area for one reason. “It holds lots of turkeys and I have never encountered another hunter there during fall turkey season,” he stated.
The area is made up of oak-hickory forest with scatterings of shortleaf pine. Old fields and ponds dot the area, but Lanham pointed out that many of the hollows hold water as well.
Access to the area is via a network of gravel roads and old fire lanes. Forest Road 2795 enters the area by the fire tower and is a good travel route into the area according to Lanham. “I like to hit the ridges when hunting turkeys there in the fall,” he began. “I generally head to the ridges above the fields on the east side. These are old farm fields near the headwaters of the Meramec River. If I don’t strike birds on the ridges, they will almost always head to the fields some time during the day.”
The Scotia-Marcoot Area has experienced good hatches the last two years according to Lanham. “When I hunt there, I know there is a good possibility that I will be the first human many of those birds will have ever seen. I like that.”
A grand feature of the Scotia Area is the fact that the ridges are fairly flat and the hollows are not too steep. “Between the roads and fire trails leading into the area and the gentle terrain, this area is relatively easy to hunt,” Lanham said.
Maps of the area may be printed from the USFS web page at: www/fs.fed.us. Navigate to the recreation page and to walk in turkey hunting.
Peter Cave Hollow – World renowned turkey hunter Ray Eye spent much of his early days of turkey hunting on the Peter Cave Hollow Walk-in Area. At 7,700 acres in Iron County the rugged area gives hunters room to stretch their legs.
“I always find turkeys at Peter Cave,” Eye said. “It is a big area and very rugged terrain. I found it was to my advantage not to use the main roads leading into the area. Most people like convenience and that includes access to the turkey woods. Most hunters will walk the biggest road into an area. I always look for an old road or a fire trail well away from the main artery into an area. I eliminate a lot of the competition by putting in a little more effort to access the area.”
Eye likes to hunt later in the morning as well. “Most hunters leave in two or three hours and I often can have the area to myself by waiting until nine or ten o’clock to go out. Besides, we can hunt all day during the fall season. And if I do go out early, I burn some shoe leather to get away from other hunters. Most turkey hunters will hunt within one-quarter mile of a road, parking lot or their vehicle.”
“There are some big ridges in Peter Cave,” said Eye. “I like to walk those and call and listen. Often the ridges split. These areas have always produced turkeys for me.”
If Peter Cave Hollow doesn’t produce turkeys for you, check out the Bell Mountain Wilderness Area across Highway A. Here lies Johnson Mountain, one of Eye’s old favorites for fall turkey hunting. Both areas can be checked out on the USFS web site.
Deer Ridge Conservation Area – Located in northeast Missouri’s Lewis County, Deer Ridge CA consists of 7,000 acres of forests, old fields, croplands and wetlands. Twenty miles of trails, including horse trails, a campground, fishing lake and a shooting range makes this area a popular destination with northeast Missouri outdoorsmen.
Intensive management programs have greatly improved populations of deer, turkey and other small game animals on the area. In addition to 5,000 acres of woodlands, some of which consists of 150-year-old post oaks, there are managed field cropping areas, grass management areas and wetland management areas. The rich mixture of habitat types provides consistent food sources for a healthy population of wild turkeys.
Retired conservation department employee Ralph Duren, of Jefferson City, has turkey hunted on Deer Ridge CA many times. “Deer Ridge is a good place to hunt wild turkeys,” he said. “The mixture of woodlands, crops and fields creates ideal habitat for growing poults. If acorn crops are sparse, turkeys can rely on the crops and fields for food sources.”
Duren scouts for roosting areas on Deer Ridge in the hardwood forests and usually attempts to scatter the birds early the next morning. “One of the greatest pleasures of fall turkey hunting is to hear the noise created by a flock of turkeys that has been scattered. Old mama hens raise a ruckus trying to round up all of their young or the year. And the lonesome youngsters are just as noisy in their attempt to find mama. A hunter that gets right in the middle of all this action is going to have a very good time plus a Thanksgiving dinner.”
For more information about turkey hunting on the Deer Ridge Conservation Area call: 573-248-2530.
“Fall turkey hunting is some of the most enjoyable hunting available in Missouri,” concluded Marty Eye. “The turkeys are at their annual population peak, the colors are coming on, the air is cooling…I love it!”

2 comments:

  1. Just hunted Deer Ridge and the turkey numbers there were pathetic at best. Things have changed. Truman was good but very thick nasty terrain.

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  2. Coyotes have recently become very popular among hunters because they are so hard to target. These animals have an acute sense of smell and sound, they will know when you are approaching them. This makes hunting coyotes very difficult and fun. huntingmed

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