SOUTH TEXAS TURKEY
by Jim Foster
During deer season there were flocks of turkey around each bend in the road. Now after hunting for quite a few years, I know it’s not that simple. When turkey season arrives it may take some hunting to get a gobbler. But, with populations good in South Texas, opening weekend was exciting.
Last season just as the sun was coming up, a series of hoots on my owl call produced gobbles from three points of the compass. The closest was off to the east.
Moving quickly toward the rising sun it didn’t take long to close the distance.
Setting up and arranging my calls, shotgun, decoy, and camo was accomplished quickly. My location was next to a tree to help break up my outline. The ground cushion on my hunting vest made the wait for the gobbler much more comfortable.
A light hen call and was rewarded by a gobble, then another. Each sound from the gobbler was closer. Then nothing. The next gobble sounded further away. Calling several more times only produced a single gobble for my efforts.
Just as I was about to call again the gobbler stepped out of the brush 10 yards from my decoy and 25 yards from my location. Not expecting the bird to come in so quickly the Encore 20-gauge shotgun was still across my lap.
The gobbler strutted around the decoy several times. When he turned his back I brought the shotgun up.
The gobbler kept strutting and moving trying to attract my decoy. Giving a quick cluck on my box call, the gobbler extended his neck to look just as I pulled the trigger. He flopped twice and lay still.
The ranch where I was hunting had suffered during the winter with a lack of rain but received a few showers early in February. The rain mostly settled the dust but not the drought. But, any rain is better than none at all.
Spring turkey season is underway and South Texas looks like the place to be. Southern counties have some of the best concentrations in the state, in spite of the dry weather.
Reports from across the state indicate the wild turkey in general had a fair nesting season, the result of poor weather and range conditions. Much of Texas was in a drought last spring and some locations had too much rain. In addition there were quite a few young hens nesting for the first time last season and are not known to do a good job nesting and raising their young.
In spite of the dry conditions there is still an increase in the number of birds and hunters should have a good season. This is a direct result of good hatches and poults survival for the last two years and will keep the hunting good in some areas of the state.
The top counties where hunters will have an excellent chance of bagging a gobbler are Kleburg, Kenedy, Brooks, and Jim Hogg. These four counties have river habitat, which is in most cases, the best turkey habitat.
For more turkey hunting information go to; The National Wildlturkey Federation at http://www.nwtf.org/ or the Texas Parks and Wildlife at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us.
If you have comments or news for Jim Foster please email him at: jim@jimfosteroutdoors.com
