For those avid turkey hunters who are thinking the spring season opens next Wednesday, April 6, State Game Warden Mike France reminds them that isn’t so.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Commission has changed that to April 16, 10 days later.
France, who is assigned to Pottawatomie County, and Jacob Hariet, game warden in Lincoln County, pointed out as early as last summer the changes.
The dates of the Spring season are April 16 through May 16 and hunting is open statewide.
A major change, too, is hunters are restricted to harvesting one tom turkey.
Also, the youth spring turkey season is Saturday, April 9 and Sunday April 10.
A turkey taken during youth spring season counts toward the regular season limit of one tom turkey.
Shooting hours are onehalf hour before official sunrise to official sunset.
No rifles or handguns are allowed during the spring turkey hunting season.
The changes reportedly are in response to declining turkey populations across the Sooner state.
In my opinion, it’s a shame to see the bag limit restricted to one tom turkey during the spring season. I can remember not too long ago a hunter could harvest three gobblers.
Like others I’ve heard from and mention it, too, I’m wondering what is happening to our turkey population in Oklahoma. It seems to me, at least in the areas where I have hunted in both the fall and spring seasons in the past, the decline in turkey numbers has been awfully sudden.
It hasn’t been nearly as gradual as the drop in the quail population has been.
It seems to me the turkey population declined so rapidly.
At today’s fuel prices and other cost increases it makes me wonder if it’s really worth it to go spring turkey hunting when you can bag just one bird. Even when the Wildlife Department dropped the bag limit from three toms to two it was still plausible.
I realize there is and has been a one turkey limit during the fall season but at least there are other species one could hunt also.
If you time it right, the quail season, as miserable as it’s been for several years now, provides another opportunity as does migratory waterfowl.
Maybe wildlife officials and experts will come up with and find a solution to what is happening to both our turkeys and bobwhites.
I’m know I’m not by himself in hoping for that.