Fall turkey hunters saw a significant decline in the harvest of birds during the recently completed 2008 fall hunting season. DNR biologists say figures indicated hunters killed 1,128 birds during the fall season. That’s a 25-percent drop from 2007 when more than 1,500 birds were taken.
The largest declines came in the western counties and the southeastern part of the state. Declines also occurred in the central and eastern panhandle counties. There was an increase in harvest figures for the north central and northern panhandle region.
The highest harvest rates were in
“Prior to the season, it was predicted the fall wild turkey harvest might drop as much as 15 percent,” noted Paul Johansen, Assistant Chief in Charge of Game Management. “Wet, windy weather during the first week of the season, particularly in our southeastern counties, probably reduced hunter turnout and hampered those who did venture forth, causing a larger than expected decrease in our fall turkey harvest.”
The fall counties open to hunting and the bag limits are based on the spring gobbler kill and are set year-to-year.