Even though the weather on March 1 can still be a little dicey or even icy, the sound of the opening day siren at Missouri’s four trout fishing parks is a clarion call of spring. This year April 1 also rang in a new season, to the sounds of turkey gobbles and shotgun blasts.
The youth-only season April 1-2 for hunters less than 16 years old recorded a statewide harvest of 2,550. That unofficial number marks a decline of more than 11 percent from the 2,881 bagged during the 2022 youth season, according to a state Department of Conservation press release.
While the drop in harvest total for young hunters may seem statistically significant year-over-year, the dip does not appear as dramatic when compared to recent trends in the three-week spring turkey hunting season, which begins this year on April 17.
Weather can be a much more significant factor in a two-day season.
“The cool, windy weather on Saturday made for challenging turkey hunting conditions,” said conservation department turkey biologist Nicholas Oakley. “Fortunately, hunters stuck with it and Sunday’s weather was more conducive to harvesting a turkey.”
The three-week spring season will continue until May 7, so a day or two of blustery conditions balances out with glorious days.
In Jefferson County the youth season total for 2023 was 25 turkeys, the lowest count since 2018 when local hunters were held to only 12 birds. From 2019 through 2022 the harvest totals for Jefferson County were 29, 30, 45, and 31 respectively, for a five-year average of 29 since 2018.
Over that same five-year period, the statewide harvest total during the youth season averaged 2,538, so this year’s total is actually above that level. The average overall harvest total for the most recent five years of spring hunting seasons is 35,402 and that’s probably what hunters can expect this upcoming season.
Those numbers are significantly smaller than the peak years around the turn of the century and a substantial slide from the early teen years of the past decade when the average harvest was closer to 42,500.
The 2023 Spring Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet addresses the decline in turkey population and recommends habitat management as the key to increasing turkey numbers. It concludes with a rosy outlook for this year.
“The Show-Me State still offers great turkey hunting even when numbers are down. Each year, the spring turkey harvest continues to be among the highest in the nation, and despite relatively poor production the past few years, the 2023 season should be no exception.”
The report in the booklet explains that hunting regulations are based on scientific investigation and input from participants to develop plans for future seasons.
“The department has conducted a number of wild turkey research projects, and data from these studies provide important information used to make management decisions. The department also surveys thousands of hunters each year to learn about their opinions, success and satisfaction.”
Seven conservation department properties in Jefferson County allow turkey hunting under statewide regulations. Hunters may try to fill their tags at LaBarque Creek as well as the Myron and Sonya Glassberg, Pacific Palisades, and Hilda J. Young conservation areas, Valley View and Victoria Glades natural areas and Merrill Horse Access on the Big River.
Hunters may take two male turkeys, but only one during the first week, to help spread out the hunting activity. For details on all regulations for the season, the booklet is available where permits are sold, and online at mdc.mo.gov.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and is the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.