A few weeks ago, my good friends Steve Buoy, Steve Chlouber and I journeyed out to western Oklahoma for spring turkey hunt.
It was good to see that the turkey population appears to be coming back in the areas we hunt and in those nearby as well.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation changed the rules in recent years where a hunter is only allowed to harvest one gobbler during the spring season. When I started hunting with Buoy in western Oklahoma, the limit on gobblers for the spring season was three.
Also, during the fall season back then we could harvest either a gobbler or hen in those counties we hunt. Only one bird was allowed during the fall season as it still is, but you could take a turkey of either sex in them. Now it’s only a gobbler.
Dates of the spring season have changed as well over the last couple of years. It now opens on April 16 and runs until this Thursday, May 16, statewide. It used to open April 6 and go through May 6.
I do think that change is better. We saw a few gobblers during hunt. We also spotted quite a few hens and we think they’d probably started nesting.
When the three of us hunt, we drive the roads and walk and drive some of the pastures, to spot the gobblers and get an idea where they might be.
On our hunt a couple of weeks ago we spotted some gobblers early one afternoon in an area where normally see them.
So, we tried to go set up in front of them hoping they’d continue heading that direction. They did, but never got close enough really to get a good shot.
We continued our hunt, but the weather wasn’t really conducive to good turkey hunting. That first afternoon the mercury was approaching 90 degrees and the winds were fairly brisk.
We spotted a few gobblers running in a pasture, so we tried again. This time we got a couple of shots off, and Chlouber hit one. It couldn’t fly but it could sure run and it got away.
The next morning we could hear gobblers from far away right after we got up.
So once ready, we drove down a ways, and still had quite a distance to walk where the three of us wanted to set up. Steve and Steve sat up in some trees on one side of the draw and I got up against a high dirt bank to hide while they called.
It took awhile but one lone gobbler was apparently curious their Steve’s call. We were in an area where had seen a hen the previous afternoon, so we were hoping a gobbler or two might come in as well.
He came down hillside a quite a ways from us and just stopped, then turned around and just left. He didn’t come within shooting distance.
We hunted a while longer, then decided to head to the cafe in town and have some breakfast.
The day and the hunting luck didn’t get any better, so we decided to head back home by mid-afternoon, empty handed of any gobblers this time.
That’s Ok, though. As we visited coming home, the trip is all about getting away a couple of days, enjoying the camaraderie and having a good time.