Just in Missouri’s 2014 wild turkey season has come to an end with a total 2014 wild turkey harvest of 43,273 birds. This is Missouri’s third year in row of increased harvest numbers, very good news. Congratulations Missouri hunters.
At the time of this writing Wisconsin has a statewide harvest of 35,882 with 10 days of hunting season remaining. If Wisconsin hunters register another 7,391 wild turkeys we will tie Missouri.
Why does this matter you ask? Well it really doesn’t- Just interesting because Missouri is considered a turkey hunting mecca, a turkey hunting powerhouse of t he nation. On the other hand Wisconsin ranks low on the turkey hunting community’s radar. How many turkey hunters dream of making a trip a Wisconsin in the spring. Heck a lot turkey hunters I know travel out state seeking to find the promised land of turkey hunting.
Perhaps, my fellow Wisconsin turkey hunters we are living in the turkey hunting promised land. The turkey population is high, depending on who is estimating the range is somewhere between 500,000 – 600,000+. No one counts turkeys in the state and harvest data has no mathematical bearing on the actual numbers. There are only about 85,000 turkey hunters in the entire state and the hunters are spread out over 6 weeks. A single hunter may buy as many permits over the counter as they choose and there are still thousands left that will likely go unsold. The terrain is varied from big northern pine woods, big central hardwoods that cover both flatland and steep bluffs, farmlands, rivers, swamps and prairies. Allowing a turkey hunter to select the type of hunt they feel like without driving large distances out of state. Without all that windshield time a hunter can spend more time in the turkey woods. What’s not to like?
Hunt on to end of the last season. Remember it’s a long wait to spring 2015.
charlie elk says
42,373 Missouri 41,789 Wisconsin
Missouri wins by 584.