I know, I know.
There is nothing like spring wild turkey hunting in Nebraska, and the fall hunting season for wild turkeys, well, it just doesn’t rise to that level.
Or, does it?
I don’t think you can call yourself a true turkey hunter until you have willingly and eagerly accepted the fun challenge and vivid excitement of hunting North America’s largest upland game bird during the fall season in Nebraska. Hunters who have never experienced fall hunting are missing a chance to learn more about wild turkey behavior.
Interestingly, the generation of hunters (like my kids) that came of age after the successful reintroduction of the wild turkey to the Nebraska countryside sees wild turkey hunting as a spring-only activity.
Really?
Although many turkey hunters have never tried it, they are quick to tell you the fall turkey hunt isn’t for them and it isn’t great.
They’ll say it is just an easy ambush hunt with a big flock of birds. They’ll say they don’t want to shoot hens or poults. They’ll say the birds aren’t that vocal in the fall. They’ll say the turkeys are not in the same places as they were in the spring. And, they’ll say that there are too many other game animals and birds to hunt during a Nebraska fall.
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
I’ve heard those phrases repeatedly from hunters as to why they don’t want to pursue wild turkeys in the fall. And, I think they’re really missing out!
It certainly is no secret that I, Greg Wagner, am very passionate about wild turkey hunting in Nebraska! Of course the spring season is awesome, but I thoroughly enjoy the fall season, and I think you should, too!
With Nebraska’s fall wild turkey season opener fast approaching on Thursday, September 15, once again, I have sat down at the computer and compiled, what I believe to be, the numerous reasons – 24 to be exact – why you and your hunting partner should join me in buying a fall wild turkey hunting permit in Nebraska this year. See if I can spur (no pun intended) you on to get one. Here the 24 reasons.
1. TWO FOR ONE PERMIT(S). Buy one Nebraska fall wild turkey hunting permit (Resident Price – $25, Nonresident Price – $97), use both bow and shotgun, get to hunt statewide and harvest two birds. You can have two permits during the fall season. Don’t forget your habitat stamp – $20.00!
2. A BARGAIN FOR YOUTH. Youth turkey permits are only $5 (plus the$2 issuing fee) and there is no age restriction on turkey hunting. Besides the inexpensive permit, turkey hunting is a perfect portal into hunting for youth. As soon as a youngster is able to safely and confidently shoot a shotgun, that young person can take to the woods with an adult mentor and have a realistic chance of shooting a turkey each time he or she goes out. With fall wild turkey hunting, blinds with chairs are used, scent is a non-factor and absolute silence isn’t necessary.
3. EASY PERMIT TO GET AND CARRY. Turkey hunting permits in Nebraska are easier than ever before to acquire and carry via modern technology. Turkey permits can now be purchased and shown on your mobile device or phone! You can go paperless!
4. LONG SEASON. Fall wild turkey hunters in Nebraska enjoy an extremely long season. It runs from Sept. 15 – Jan. 31 and is one of the longer fall wild turkey hunting seasons in the country!
5. LOTS OF BIRDS. The wild turkey populations in Nebraska remain strong and stable. Wild turkeys thrive in all 93 Nebraska counties! Fun fact: Nebraska ranks 48th in the nation in the amount of woodland acreage, but generally falls in top 15 states in the country for overall number of wild turkeys harvested.
6. ARRAY OF SUB-SPECIES. One of the unique things about the wild turkey in Nebraska is the array of sub-species that we have. Eastern, Merriam’s, Rio Grande and associated hybrids live in the Cornhusker State. In northwestern Nebraska, turkey hunters in the rugged, scenic Pine Ridge area will encounter the one of the nation’s best Merriam’s turkey populations with plenty of public access available to hunt them!
7. VARIETY OF HABITATS AND MANY PUBLIC LANDS. Wild turkeys in Nebraska can be found in a variety of habitat types and on many public properties. Turkeys in Nebraska seemingly adapt to virtually any dense native plant community as long as coverage and openings are widely available. Open, mature forests with an interspersion of various tree species appear to be preferred. Fall wild turkey hunters in Nebraska will find good opportunities to pursue birds on more than 500,000 acres of public and public-access lands.
8. COMBINE THAT TURKEY HUNT. You can combine a fall wild turkey hunt with other hunts (Deer, pheasant, quail, grouse, etc.) or even a scouting trip for other game.
9. LOOK FOR FALL FUNGI. Fall wild turkey hunting also offers a unique chance to look around your woods for edible, fall wild fungi to compliment that wild turkey being roasted in the oven!
10. USE YOUR CALLS. A spring turkey can hunter can use his or her calls and decoys to locate flocks of birds or scatter a flock of birds and call them back together. The primary calls turkey hunters make in the fall are the kee-kee, lost yelp, assembly yelp, gobbler yelp and gobble. It has often been said that in the fall you make female sounds to female turkeys and male sounds to male turkeys.
11. TOMS ARE A CHALLENGE. Big, adult toms typically hang out together, are wary and present a formidable challenge to get near in the fall when their not in breeding mode. So, spending more time with wild turkeys in the fall will actually make you a better spring gobbler hunter!
12. PATTERN THE FLOCKS. Flocks of wild turkeys can be easily patterned during the fall and winter months, especially a hen/poult group traveling to and from a food source. What the flock did yesterday is likely what they’ll do today and tomorrow. It’s easy to unravel the turkeys’ comings and goings so you can set up the best plan in order to intercept and hunt them.
13. VOCAL BIRDS. Wild turkeys speak the same language in fall as they do in spring, but differently. Fall turkeys tend to be more vocal than birds in the spring. When a flock of hens and poults gets worked up in the fall they can make quite a racket! While you won’t hear the woods lighting up with gobbles like in the springtime, fall turkeys do and will gobble at times to show dominance!
14. RECEPTIVE LANDOWNERS. Many Nebraska landowners are receptive to turkey hunters and turkey hunting in the fall because bird numbers are most abundant after the spring hatch.
15. HELP WITH DAMAGE. You could help a landowner experiencing damage problems caused by too many turkeys on his or her property by harvesting hens.
16. PEAK WEIGHT. The birds are at their peak weight in the fall and winter.
17. SIMPLE TO COOK, HEALTHY TO EAT, TASTE GREAT! Wild turkeys are simple to cook, have high nutritional value and are positively delicious! Cooking with moist-heat is the key to wonderfully-tasting wild turkey on the supper table.
18. SHOOT YOUR OWN THANKSGIVING TURKEY. You could shoot your very own free-ranging holiday birds for Thanksgiving and Christmas! Young tender birds can also be harvested, if desired.
19. ALREADY HAVE THE SHOTGUN, AMMO AND CLOTHING. Hey, you already have the right hunting gear to hunt turkeys in the fall! A shotgun with a tight pattern and a good load will do. Whatever camouflage clothing you have will work, you could even mix and match the patterns if you wish!
20. THAT BLIND WILL WORK FINE. With a portable, camouflaged ground blind, fall wild turkey hunting presents a wonderful opportunity for youth, those who are physically challenged and newcomers to get close to the birds.
21. TAKE TO THE DEER STAND. Have access to a tree stand or box blind for deer hunting? Then, take to it! Wild turkeys use deer trails and are generally in the same areas as deer. While unorthodox, you are more likely to see turkeys from a distance and learn a bit from them for the following day’s hunt. That is, if you don’t take one right away.
22. FALL COLORS. Fall wild turkey hunting gives you the chance to be directly out amid the colorful fall foliage!
23. SOLITUDE. Opposite popular season openers (e.g. firearm deer and pheasant), fall wild turkey hunting offers a quieter, more pleasant time to be in the field.
24. TRADITION. Turkey hunting during the autumn months allows you to continue Nebraska’s rich turkey hunting heritage that actually first began with a fall season in 1962. I remind you that fall was the original turkey hunting season in the U.S. According to the Smithsonian Institute, historical records show that in describing the autumn of 1621, William Bradford said the pilgrims of the Plymouth colony (in Massachusetts) ate waterfowl and venison but that there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many.
After all, don’t we eat turkey at Thanksgiving, not Easter?
The post Two Dozen Reasons to Hunt Turkeys in the Fall appeared first on NEBRASKALand Magazine.
