Brad Harvey: What to expect when turkey season starts April 1

As we are two weeks away from the April 1 start of the spring turkey season in the Upstate, many of us have begun to put thought into our preparations.

Slate calls, box calls and diaphragms are being pulled out for practice and more than a few wives are already tired of hearing those yelps, cuts and purrs around the house.

Those more serious about the sport have already hit the woods and fields to begin their annual scouting ritual in hopes of secretly finding that perfect spot that will guarantee a shot opportunity on a big old Tom come opening morn.

Needless to say, all of us who love the spring season are getting excited but the word has come down from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources that this season may not be all that we’d want it to be.

Fair is how a recent Department of Natural Resources press release predicts it to be.

Still, that shouldn’t get you down.

“The outlook for the 2015 spring season is only fair for most areas,” according to Charles Ruth, Deer and Wild Turkey Program coordinator for DNR.

“This is based on recent turkey harvest and reproduction trends. Annually since the early 1980s, DNR conducts a Summer Turkey Survey to estimate reproduction and recruitment of turkeys in S.C. The survey involves agency wildlife biologists, technicians and conservation officers, as well as many volunteers from other natural resource agencies and the public,” he wrote.

Ruth continued: “Reproduction in turkeys has generally been poor to fair for the last decade. Last summer, average brood size of 3.9 poults remained relatively consistent and the total recruitment ratio of 1.6 was actually up over 20 percent from 2013. However, 2013 was the lowest recruitment ratio since the survey began in 1982, therefore, last summer’s modest increase is still below what is considered good. Recruitment ratio is a measure of young entering the population based on the number of hens in the population. This figure was driven by a high percentage of hens (59%) that had no poults at all by late summer. At the regional level it appears that, with the exception of the lower coastal plain, reproduction was poor in most of the state last summer.”

Based on my observations, I’ve been pleased with how many birds I’ve been seeing up until this information came out and it sort of caught me off guard a bit.

I’ve seen more birds wandering around lately than I’ve seen in quite a while and that start of our spring turkey season seems to jibe with what I’m hearing from other hunters and farmers.

If the findings of DNR are true, the word fair doesn’t exactly make turkey hunters want to jump up and down with excitement.

But the reality is, Mother Nature is the dealer in this card game and we can’t control the hand that we’re dealt.

Most would agree that even a bad day in the turkey woods is better than no day at all and I’m chompin’ at the bit to get out there.

What’s a single month worth?

Surprising to many, including those hunters who do not turkey hunt, turkey season is a major boost to our state’s annual economy.

Somewhere around 50,000 fully camouflaged sportsmen and sportswomen spend 11 months out of the year just waiting for this one month to hit.

In all, it’s worth more over an estimated $30 million that will be pumped into the state via purchases including hunting equipment, clothing, gas, meals and other travel expenses.

Youth Day

Each year, our state recognizes one day before the start of the regular turkey season as Youth Day. It’s a day when any hunter 17 age and younger may get an early start on the season as long as they are accompanied by a licensed adult of at least 21 years of age.

This time around, the day will be observed on March 28. I encourage every adult hunter to take a child and show him or her the joys to be found in the spring woods.

It should be well understood, however, that on this one day, only those hunters who qualify for youth status may take or attempt to take a turkey and the use of turkey tags is still required.

Don’t have those tags yet?

These days, the majority of turkey hunters check a little box on their license renewal each June and their free turkey tags are automatically mailed to them several weeks before April. Still, some forget to do so and have to scramble to acquire them as opening day approaches.

If you fall into that category, or are new to turkey hunting and want to give it a try this year, turkey tags can no longer be picked up at stores and outdoors dealers and must be obtained directly from the state.

Get more information at www.dnr.sc.gov.

This story was originally published March 18, 2015 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Brad Harvey: What to expect when turkey season starts April 1."