Hunting Report Archery Duck Deer

By Thomas Davidson/Saline County conservation agent/Missouri Department of ConservationThe number of turkeys checked during the 2006 spring turkey season dropped by 2,780 birds from last year for a season total of 51,018 state-wide.

Low reproductive rates for the last three years and some of the worst turkey season weather combined for the decrease. Weather’s biggest effect is on the hunter. Hunter comfort determines the amount of effort hunters put into the hunt. Turkeys, on the other hand, just keep on going with their business.

The top three turkey harvest counties were Texas at 946 birds, Franklin with 902 and Macon had 873.

The total number of turkey hunting-related incidents was up by one. The only thing good about that is that the increase was in non-fatal incidents. Last year there were six non-fatal and one fatal incident. This year there were seven non-fatal and one fatal.

Fortunately, none of the incidents occurred in the Central region.

Locally, the county and numbers of turkeys checked in ‘06/’05 are: Carroll 703/700; Chariton 441/508; Cooper 459/395; Howard 435/330; Lafayette 347/410; Pettis 673/609; and Saline 413/472.

I have always preached to hunters to hunt from a tree wider than their shoulders and, if using a turkey decoy, to use a hen decoy only and have a big tree between the decoy and the hunter. If a hunter with poor judgment should get in line with the good hunter and decoy, the trees will block shot off of our good hunter. This is especially true on hunting properties where more than one hunter is present, such as Conservation Areas.

An adjoining county’s Conservation Agent had his hen turkey decoy shot this year while hunting on a Conservation Area. The hunter with poor judgment in this case had a problem. He shot the decoy before shooting hours. Do you think he got a warning for shooting early? Who did the decoy belong to?