Bow Hunting Wild Turkey

Nothing could taste better on Thanksgiving than a turkey you've hunted yourself sitting on the table ready to be carved. Turkey hunting is a popular fall sport enjoyed by people in North America since Native Americans inhabited this land.

In the beginning settlers went turkey hunting as a means of survival.

In the early days there wasn't much hunting involved as turkeys gathered in large flocks and were easy to approach. Settlers were quick to start the trend of turkey hunting and along the way were also quick to build up settlements, clearing away acres of woodlands. This resulted in a dramatic loss in wild turkey community with numbers dipping as low as 30,000. In the 1920's, steps were taken to build the loss of habitat back up.  The turkey population quickly bounced back to numbers that allowed turkey hunting to continue as a national activity.  Nowadays turkey hunting is once more possible without restriction.

Turkey hunting is a sport typically pursued either in the spring or the fall.  Turkey mating season begins as early as February when turkeys form large flocks–a good reason to go turkey hunting in the spring.  Turkeys form large groups during the spring then break off into smaller flocks during the rest of the year based on sex or class. The three different types of groups a hunter might find turkey hunting is a group of hens with their young, hens without young and gobblers. Turkey hunters often attempt to seek the third group while turkey hunting, even though they are the most elusive. There are quite a few turkeys that prefer to go without a group once the mating season is over.

A hunter has a good chance of running into a small flock of turkey or even a solitary turkey depending on where they go turkey hunting. Turkeys have varied habitats, depending on which part of the country they live. One commonality all turkeys share despite location is that most tend to favor living in woodlands and being in open country during the spring mating season. Turkey hunting during mating season is generally easier because of their choice of habitat, but fall turkeys tend to be plumper.

Another good reason to go turkey hunting in the fall is the change in turkey behavior. Once fall arrives, turkeys tend to get locked into patterns, often roosting in the same spots at night, and going to the same places to feed. They also establish their fall flocks and the pecking order within those flocks causing many turkey fights during the fall. One excellent fall turkey hunting tool is a turkey call, which when used correctly can imitate the sounds of a turkey challenge. No turkey in the fall would be willing to refuse a fight, so the chances of bagging a bird during a turkey hunting expedition are quite high.

 Regardless of when a hunter goes turkey hunting, the rewards are manifold. Turkey hunting is a classical activity with roots in the pioneer times. As a sport as well as a pastime, turkey hunting remains a very integral piece of our history and culture.

 

 

Turkey Hunting- HuntingNet Inc. 1996-2006. http://www.huntingnet.com. October 13, 2006.

The Wild Turkey Zone- Robert Ramsdale. 1998-2006 http://www.wildturkeyzone.com/articles/fall2.htm. October 13, 2006.