Guest Column: Talking wild turkey

First-time turkey hunters have some serious research to do in a short period of time, if they haven’t already begun. Montana’s spring turkey season opened April 10 and runs to May 16.

Spring turkey hunters must purchase a turkey tag in addition to an upland game bird tag and conservation license.

“The spring turkey season is for male turkeys only. Gobblers are extremely wary, with keen color vision and good hearing,” said Rick Northrup, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks statewide game bird coordinator. “The spring hunt can be challenging.”

Northrup said a hunter’s total combined turkey harvest for the year cannot exceed two turkeys.

“Plan ahead if you want to hunt turkey in the fall,” Northrup said. “If you take your two turkeys in the spring, that is your limit and you are done for the year.”

In addition to a careful reading of the 2010 turkey hunting regulations, inexperienced turkey hunters need to get the terminology down. Here is a quick guide to wild turkey names:

• Adult male turkeys are gobblers or toms.

• Adult females are hens.

• Recently hatched chicks are poults.

• Juvenile males are jakes and juvenile females are jennies

• Agroup of turkeys is a flock.

“The best advice I can give a new spring turkey hunter is to find an experienced hunter who can provide some insights and is willing to have someone tag along,” Northrup said. “Reading up on the subject always helps, but there are some things best learned by being with an experienced hunter in the field.”

Novices might have better luck attracting that experienced mentor, if they know some basic turkey facts. Here are a few.

• In the 1930s, wild turkey were nearly extinct in the U.S.

• Wild turkeys are native to North America, but did not naturally occur in Montana.

• Adult wild turkeys in Montana may weigh from about 10 to 20 pounds.

• Hens lay a clutch of 10-12 eggs in the spring during a two-week period and incubate them for about 28 days.

• Newly hatched chicks must be ready to leave the nest to feed within 12 to 24 hours.

• Turkeys eat insects, berries, grain, seeds and even small reptiles.

“Hunters who enjoy the challenge of a spring turkey hunt, season after season, tend to be ones who have come to the realization that hunting gobblers in the spring is just as rewarding as bringing a bird home,” he said.

Northrup said spring hunts are often opportunities to renew old friendships and enjoy nature’s fresh starts –– as well as the potential setting for spring rains and late snowstorms. Even the wind can make hearing and finding wild turkeys much more difficult.

“The variability of the season and the thrill of hearing Tom turkeys gobble are all part of the challenge and excitement of the hunt,” he said.

For details on the 2010 spring turkey hunt in Montana, go to the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov and use the “Hunt Planner” the Hunting page. For a detailed guide and how to’s on turkey hunting scroll to the bottom of the “Turkey Hunting Guide” and select “Hunting the Merriam’s Turkey in Montana.”

(Diane Tipton is the statewide information officer for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks).