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Saturday, Nov 21, 2009 10:03:58 PM |
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      TALKIN' TURKEY 
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Wildlife Management "When you hear that bird, that gobbler responds to you and begins towards you. There's nothing quite like it." The excitement is in the air, spring gobbler season is here.
"We're looking for a really good Spring season. We estimate somewhere around 125,00 birds in the woods this time of year. We are expecting a harvest between twelve and fourteen thousand birds. The season traditionally begins the fourth Monday in April to minimize mortality to hens. Plus for hunters, gobbling activity is higher.
"Our season bag limit for the Spring season is two bearded turkeys. The gobblers, the male turkeys, are generally the birds that have the beards. Occasionally a hen will have a beard and that is a legal turkey. As long as the turkey has a visible beard, it is legal." Turkey populations flourish in all counties because of ground-breaking efforts conducted by the dnr in the 1980s. Paul Johansen "We baited the birds in. Fired rockets and nets over these birds. Live trapped them and moved them to suitable sites. We moved well over 2,000 birds and reintroduced turkeys to 37 counties."
You can begin your turkey hunt as early as a half hour before sunrise, but you have to remember, you must be out of the woods by 1:00 p.m. After you harvest a bird, you must check it, which will help your hunting down the road. Paul Johansen "Checking provides very important biological data for us. We look particularly at the gobbler kill per square mile in terms of setting our seasons, including the fall turkey season." For Paul Johansen it's about the experience. Paul Johansen "Whether or not you kill a turkey is almost immaterial. Just enjoying the West Virginia hills in the springtime, for me, is what it is all about."
Spring goobler season this year begins Monday, April 26th and runs through May 22nd with a two bird limit. The spring season is limited to bearded turkeys only. Links to learn more Get Ready for the Spring Gobbler Season from the W.Va. DNR 2003-2004 Season Dates and Limits from the W.Va. DNR Information about the 2003 turkey harvest from the W.Va. DNR West Virginia wildlife checking stations from the W.Va. DNR Wildlife management areas from the W.Va. DNR Get your hunting or fishing license online: W.Va. Hunt All about wild turkeys from the National Wild Turkey Federation More about hunting wild turkey at the Wild Turkey Hunting Network |
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GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA'S WILDLIFE  
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