Charlie Elk

pseudonym of a man

Wisconsin Turkey Hunt Forecast 2018 Spring

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With a wild turkey population of 660,000+ birds, Wisconsin turkey hunting is easy to predict – very good to excellent every spring.  The harvest each spring is controlled by the limited number of authorizations and hunter effort.  Based on in the field observations and previous harvest data Wisconsin turkey hunters kill 43,000 gobblers if hunter effort remains about the same as in past seasons.  If on the other hand spring hunters put in more time and effort during the 2018 spring season, Wisconsin could record more than 50,000 gobblers going into the cook stove.

I have personally been out extensively scouting zones 1,3,4, 6 and 7.   Also, some volunteer folks regularly provide updates regarding what they have seen while hunting, trapping, and fishing the more remote areas.

In zone one there is an abundance turkey reported during the fall hunting season continuing through spring 2018.  During summer and fall, there were areas along streams and rivers that experienced flooding, some of which was extensive.   Most of this highwater happened after the nesting season, so the turkeys just flew out of danger and seemed to be returning late in fall and wintered over well.

Nice long beard called in a while scouting for spring 2018 turkey hunt.

All across zone one, more turkeys are present than in years past, and it appears there are slightly fewer jakes than usual, so this points to a spring harvest with more adult gobblers than jakes.

The zone 3 turkey population appears to be stable, about the same as last spring, although due to the large blocks of big timber isolated land it is harder to get a good handle on the turkey population here.  Backcountry trappers and snowshoers report encountering more turkeys than usual with a decent mix of jakes and gobblers.  On average this zone has a lot more room to roam than our other zones.  Plus it is under hunted.

Zone 4, a mix of hardwood forest and agriculture, maintains a high population of turkeys.  This zone should have 25-30% more harvest authorization than it does.  Many farmers would like to have more turkeys killed on their land; sadly, there are not enough hunters available due to the limited issuance of permits.  This fact will keep the turkey harvest equal to past years.

Zones 6 and 7 are the big surprise for this spring.  These zones are the most northern turkey habitat in Wisconsin, and due to marginal habitat, no one thought turkeys could live here let alone prosper and prosper they have!  So much so, the WDNR has issued some farms turkey shooting permits because the turkeys are too numerous and causing damage.  On my trips through these zones, I saw large rafts of turkeys out and about. Apparently; the hunter harvest authorizations need increasing if farmers are granted permits to shoot wild turkeys outside of the season framework.

Zone 5, I don’t get there, nor do I have any informants who are out during the offseason.  Those whom I am familiar with always get their turkeys during spring, and they go fishing in the fall instead of turkey hunting — no accounting for tastes here.

Zone 2, is a mix of urban and farmlands with some woodland country.  I tease my contacts here about how easy it is to shoot a turkey.  Last fall while turkey dogging in the northern part of the zone Vic and I killed two birds in two days of hunting.  But I must admit we hunted hard during those days.  All indicators are for a great spring hunt in this unit.

How Hen and Poults Roost Photo Essay

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Thanks to Tennesse Magazine for these photos

Wild turkey on the roost with her poults trying to give them the best shelter that she can provide.

Giving shelter with her wings

Notice the large lateral branches the hen has chosen. When scouting note trees with these types of branching, wild turkeys favor them for roosting.

Looks like the poults are getting unruly–Yelp!

 

Attention, something is coming our way.

Notice how small these poults are and they’re sitting up in a large tree already.

 

Looks to be more peaceful while the kids were in the eggs.

Looks like the nesting hen is turning her eggs.

Please post your captions in the comments.  Enjoy. 

Neon Tom – Gobbler Rumble End

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“Neon” Tom
by FirstBubba
The “Gobbler Rumble” ended when the six toms broke into smaller groups and headed to the field with the hens.
One of them, however, headed off on his own to the pecan grove to the east.
The grove has huge, old trees that have shaded out most undergrowth. As they leaf out, they also leave the ground under them in dark shadows.
This tom seemed to be on a mission. He never gobbled, yelped, spat or drummed. He simply walked into the dark shadows of the trees and began to strut proudly. I turned the video back on and began to track him. A few rays of the rising sun were stabbing through the timber east of the trees and provided perfect backlighting for his gaudy show!
I decided I wanted prints instead of video and switched the camera to “Smart Capture”, but alas, the show had ended! I did eventually get one nice photo of him (shot #3) as he strode off with a couple of hens that had arrived for the “Gala”!
As hard as I tried to make an 8×10, the “still from video” function just won’t allow a clear enlargement! Therefore, 4×6 is the best I can do! When we darken the room, his tail stands out in his framed photo like a curved beacon.
So, in all his “radiant glory”, these are the shots I call; “Neon Tom”!

Now is that a ” shiny hiney” or what?

Wisconsin 2017 Spring Turkey Hunt Forecast

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Spring 2017 is going to be good turkey hunting.  After all, this is Wisconsin, home of 500,000+wild  turkeys the only thing that keeps Wisconsin turkey hunters from harvesting more turkeys than any other state is the licensing scheme.  The licensing process here is exclusionary by design it prevents a large number of its hunters from taking part in the spring hunt during the first 3 weeks of the season when the toms are most actively gobbling.  In any case, for those with tags in their pocket hunting will good and the harvest will be in the Wisconsin average range.

During my pre-spring wanderings, I have found turkeys in some really unlikely areas such as this-

Are turkeys really around here in this desert like area?

Yes, apparently

There are a lot of wild turkeys in Wisconsin, it’s all good, bring on the spring hunt.

The first 2017 spring hunt season is starting about a week later than usual so late start could hamper the harvest of hunters who must hear gobbling in order to be successful.  If the later start causes hunter effort to drop off then the harvest will be lower perhaps in the low 40 thousand range.

This forecast is not, in any way related to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources rather it is based on charlie elk’s experience, observations and fellow turkey spies across the great turkey state of Wisconsin. The first charlie turkey forecast was done in 2014 and was the opposite of WDNR dire forecast, they had forecast bad spring turkey hunting with low harvest due to the worst winter severity index ever.   WDNR even cut permits by 25% at the last minute.  In spite of the spring permit reductions, charlie took an opposing view and predicted a higher than average harvest. This was based on the incredible number of turkeys across the landscape during the fall of 2012 and even considering the tough 2013 winter there were very few dead turkeys reported.  Turkeys are not deer so you can not apply deer management theory to turkeys.  The winter severity index was developed for deer managers, not turkey managers.  Turkeys have wings and when local conditions get bad they fly out of the locale for better areas. 

 

July Gobbling in Wisconsin; when and why wild turkeys gobble

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Turkeys gobble all year long.

 

July 21, 2016, the sunrise was greeted by profuse gobbling.  How cool is that on what is predicted to be the hottest day of the summer?

Why do gobblers gobble in July?

This morning is not the first time I have heard gobbling toms during the summer months.  There always has been a bit of mystery as to why there is any gobbling outside of the traditional spring mating season.  As a matter of fact, I’ve heard male turkeys sounding off during every month of the year, plus, many of my fellow hunters report the same type of off-season gobbling all year long.

Here is my reasoning as to the timing of gobbles

Late January – March:

  • Male turkeys are coming out of winter with different levels of physical strength along with differing levels of mating hormones.  The pecking order as established last fall is in the process of being reorganized while the bachelor flocks are beginning to separate.  All of this change is very exciting causing much gobbling.

April – May:

  • Of course, all hunters know this is mating time, the gobbling is an attempt to attract hens and scare off lower ranking toms and jakes. A mystery many hunters ponder is why on some of the spring days the sound of gobbling rings throughout woodlands and on other equally nice weather days mornings can be greeted by silence?  Personally, for the most part, I believe the amount of gobbling is directly related to the willingness of hens to mate and the number of gobblers competing for the hen’s attention.

June – August

  • During June gobbling for mating is winding down and the remaining male turkeys are becoming more interested in forming their
    Courtesy of D Gordon Robertson

    Courtesy of D Gordon Robertson

    summertime bachelor groups.  Some strutting and gobbling continue in an attempt to locate hens that did not breed or have lost their nest.  I’ve seen toms strutting in fields with attentive hens as late as the first week in August.

  • Male turkeys are less competitive and because they are seeking each other’s company rather than only focusing on hens.  Gobbling and coarse yelps are used to find each other.  A lot less fighting takes place at this time of year.

 

September

  • The jakes of the year are asserting themselves and anytime during the day short higher pitch gobbles will be heard.  They will be leaving
    Jakes milling around

    Jakes milling around

    their broods to form what I think of as gangs, much like teenagers who don’t want anything to do with the brood hen.  Many times these jakes seek out broods of hens with jennies to target for harassment.

  • September is an exciting time to hunt these jakes.  When you find them, they respond quickly and aggressively to calling.  Wisconsin fall turkey season opens mid-September.

October – November

  • Winter flock formation begins to take place in earnest.  As these weeks click by the flocks become larger as more birds join male flocks with separate flocks for the ladies.  Establishing pecking order in both flocks is contentious, so wild turkey calls abound at all times of the day.
  • Male turkeys, in particular, will fight, gobble and yell at each other.; This is the best time to get a fall gobbler, considered an extra special trophy by many hunters.

December – January

  • Winter has arrived, the turkeys settle in with the acquisition of food high on their daily agenda.  Occasional tiffs and arguments erupt beard swinging gobblerover the more desired food sources.  A few gobble will be heard from time to time, but mostly angry purrs or clucks warn off an encroaching turkey.
  • If a band of turkeys finds one particularly, abundant food source they will call to others and males may gobble.

All of the above is reason enough to get hooked on year-round turkey hunting.

 

2014 Wisconsin Fall Wild Turkey Permits Stable

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Wisconsin 2014 wild turkey permit status:

After the last minute spring turkey permit reduction fiasco that very few knowledgeable hunters thought was a good idea.  Fall turkey hunters were concerned those same few complainers would manage to convince the WDNR to reduce fall turkey permit availability in 2014.  Thankfully, wildlife management based on science prevailed and the fall turkey permit numbers will be  equal to the number offered during the 2013 fall season.  Statewide 96,700 permits will be available with permits allocated to specific turkey management zones based on the amount of habitat available.

Fall permit levels are set by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources after review by the Turkey Advisory Committee, a group that includes representatives from the department and numerous partner organizations with an interest in Wisconsin’s wild turkey resource.

Zone-specific fall 2014 permit levels are as follows:

  •  Zone 1: 27,500
  •  Zone 2: 18,000
  •  Zone 3: 30,000
  •  Zone 4: 15,000
  •  Zone 5: 3,800
  •  Zone 6: 1,400
  •  Zone 7: 1,000

Scott Walter reports:

“We certainly heard from hunters who were concerned that this past winter might significantly impact our northern turkey flock,” said DNR upland wildlife ecologist Scott Walter. “We do know from research in the Midwest that prolonged periods with deep snow and cold can lead to increased mortality, and with up to four feet of snow on the ground and weeks of bitter cold in some areas this year, those concerns were justified. However, when the snow finally began to melt and winter flocks broke up, folks began to see turkeys in large numbers across the north.”

Fall either-sex harvests can impact turkey populations if hen harvest is excessive, but the number of hens harvested in Wisconsin is very low. Biologists are not concerned that fall harvests will influence turkey populations. Given these low hen harvests and indications from the spring season that turkeys came through winter in decent shape, the advisory committee decided to maintain fall permit availability at 2013 levels.

“In northern zones 6 and 7, hunters harvested just one hen for every 50 to 100 square miles of forest cover last fall,” said Walter. “In some counties, total registered hen harvest was in the single digits – these very low hen harvests are well below the level capable of influencing population abundance.”

According to Scott Walter,

since all permits are utilized in the northern zones, every permit not allocated would lead to one hunter that would not be able to pursue turkeys in that zone in 2014. A permit reduction would provide no benefits for the turkey population, so a reduction in hunting opportunity is not necessary.

In layman terms think of turkeys this way; Turkeys live about 2 and half years whether you hunt them or not.

Most turkey hunters do not realize toms gobble and respond to calls in the fall too.

Most turkey hunters do not realize toms gobble and respond to calls in the fall too.

So even if you did not apply by August 1st for a fall turkey permit you can still purchase over the counter tags when they go on sale August 23.  Successful applicants will be notified by mail the week of August 18.  Hunters who did not apply for the drawing will not a receive a tag with their turkey license, they will need to purchase a tag over the counter.

2013 Wisconsin Spring Turkey Final Harvest Numbers

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Not all hunters stayed home during Wisconsin 2013 spring turkey season. Many of those who endured the historically cold and snowy weather were rewarded with gobblers.

Not all hunters stayed home during Wisconsin 2013 spring turkey season. Many of those who endured the historically cold and snowy weather were rewarded with gobblers.

Historic Cold & Snowy spring results in drop in turkey hunting success

Wisconsin Hunters experienced bad weather during early time periods

WDNR Press Release

MADISON – Turkey hunters ran into poor hunting conditions during the first half of the spring turkey hunting season, resulting in a preliminary registration total of 37,804 turkeys, which according to Department of Natural Resources officials is an 11 percent decrease from the spring 2012 turkey season.

Unseasonably cold weather persisted into May throughout the state, with deep snow in the north and rain, snow, and wind throughout the early season in the south.

“It really was an amazing contrast, weather-wise, from 2012’s hunt,” said Scott Walter, upland wildlife ecologist for the Department of Natural Resources. “Last year, we were snow-free statewide by opening day, with winter flocks broken up and hens initiating nests. This year, spring didn’t arrive until mid-season, and hunters had to deal with some challenging conditions, especially in the northern zones where many hunters had to don snowshoes to get in the woods after a turkey.”

Colder than normal spring is causing to turkeys to feed in groups.

Colder than normal spring is causing to turkeys to feed in groups.

According to Scott Walter, the poor weather likely reduced hunter effort and made harvesting a bird more challenging because gobblers were still tied to winter flocks of hens.

“Hunters simply won’t spend as much time in the woods in inclement weather. The persistent winter weather therefore presented a double obstacle for hunters, and is the major reason we saw a drop in harvest and success,” said Walter.

Zone 1 again produced the highest overall turkey harvest at 11,054 birds, followed by zones 3 and 2, where hunters registered 9,468 and 8,955 turkeys, respectively. The highest hunter success was in zone 2 with a preliminary success rate of 21 percent, followed by zones 1 and 3 at 18 percent, and zone 5 at 17 percent. Success rates were between 12 percent and 15 percent for zones 4, 6, and 7. Overall, the statewide success rate was 18 percent, compared with 21 percent last year.

Though harvest was down, the number of permits issued for this year’s hunt increased by 5 percent, from 201,984 to 211,307.

“The increase in permits is likely due to hunters purchasing more leftover permits for the later time periods to take

advantage of better hunting weather,” said Walter. “Harvest during the first two time periods was down 34 percent statewide compared to 2012, yet we actually harvested more total birds during the last four time periods this year.   It’s clear that hunters who were able to do so took advantage of over-the-counter permits to enjoy a later-season hunt with good weather conditions and turkeys that were finally engaged in normal breeding behavior.”

Telephone, online registration working well

This season was the second spring turkey hunt in which hunters could register turkeys through phone-line or online registration systems, first introduced with the fall 2011 turkey hunt and in place for all future spring and fall turkey seasons. No in-person registration will be available.

“Hunters seem to have transitioned to the new systems well,” said Krista McGinley, DNR assistant upland wildlife ecologist. “The majority of hunters have expressed satisfaction with the new systems, frequently citing their convenience. Quite a few hunters stated that they were able to register their turkey via cellphone right in the field.”

2013 fall season

Although the recent severe winter may have proven challenging for turkeys, biologists note there is reason for optimism regarding this fall’s hunt.

”We had a great hatch last year,” Walter said.  “There was a large cohort of jakes headed into this spring’s hunt.  With poor weather limiting hunter success this spring, hunters should see additional opportunity both this fall and next spring as these jakes mature into adult gobblers.”

However, the prolonged winter may have resulted in localized mortality, especially in the north.

“That’s something that’s very difficult to detect,” Walter added.  “We know prolonged severe winter weather can reduce survival in northern turkey populations, especially where agricultural foods are not available.  At this point, we haven’t heard solid evidence for any unusual mortality associated with the hard winter, but there are definitely folks who’ve been speculating about such an impact.”

A successful nesting and brood-rearing season propels turkey numbers upward. Generally speaking, dry conditions during June keep newly-hatched chicks from getting chilled and suffering from exposure, leading to good production in all upland game bird species, according to Walter.

“Things have been wet so far this year during the nesting season. However, most turkey nests hatch around the first of June in Wisconsin. Dry weather over the next month will help those chicks survive the critical first few weeks,” said Walter.

The fall 2013 wild turkey season will run from Sept. 14 through Nov. 21, with an extended season only in Turkey Management Zones 1 through 5, from Dec. 2 through Dec. 31. The deadline for applying for a fall permit through the lottery process is Aug. 1. Applications cost $3 and can be purchased through the Online Licensing Center, at license sales locations, or by calling toll-free 1-877-WI LICENSE (1-877-945-4263).

The 2013 Fall Turkey and 2014 Spring Turkey regulations are included in the 2013 Wisconsin Small Game Hunting Regulations pamphlet, available on the hunting regulations page of the DNR website and in hard copy at DNR service centers and license vendors. For more information, visit wi.dnr.gov, search keyword “turkey.”

Wisconsin 2013 Spring Turkey Harvest – first 3 periods

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Update May 28, 2013  Total 2013 Wisconsin spring turkey kill

Wisconsin’s 2013 spring turkey hunt  has been one for the history books with all of the record setting cold and snow.  Even during the first week of May we experienced an unprecedented, never before recorded May snowstorm that dumped 20+ inches in some areas.  Over all it has been one tough hunt this year.

How the spring turkey hunters faired? 

Here the preliminary turkey harvest numbers for the first 3 seasons.4th season last minute turkey

Time Period A, 4/10 through 4/16

Zone               Harvest

1                      2,232

2                      1,602

3                      1,946

4                      770

5                      380

6                      136

7                      66

Total             7,132

 

Time Period B, 4/17 through 4/23

Zone               Harvest

1                      1,995

2                      1,479

3                      1,765

4                      720

5                      359

6                      91

7                      61

Total          6,470

 

Time Period C, 4/24 through 4/30

Zone               Harvest

1                      2,342

2                      1,495

3                      1,904

4                      967

5                      352

6                      117

7                      77

Total             5,544

Looks like Wisconsin’s wild turkey harvest is on track to be 30% lower than last year’s.  We don’t have the registration for season D which will reflect May’s historic blizzard.  Unless more hunters go afield during seasons E & F the kill could be down 45% or more from 2012.  At least the hunter kill will be down.  But what about those turkeys that nature killed?  Most likely, as is usually the case more turkeys die of natural causes than by hunters.  Hunter only harvest about 10% of the total turkey population each year.