NEPA hunters may struggle to find turkeys in the wild

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MCCLATCHY File The National Wild Turkey Federation says hunters may not find as many turkeys as they once did.

For me, fall turkey hunting feels a lot like looking for Sasquatch.

In big forests littered with acorns, beechnuts and wild grapes, turkeys can be anywhere because there's food everywhere. Finding birds can take a lot of scouting, walking and patience.

Unfortunately, this fall might be especially difficult. The turkey hatch in northeastern Pennsylvania last spring was "poor to mediocre" thanks to steady cool rains late in the season, said Bob Eriksen, conservation field supervisor and regional wildlife biologist for the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Eriksen said it's the third straight year with a weak hatch and turkey numbers are down from five years ago. That, combined with a strong mast production, will have birds spread out in the woods.

"I think fall turkey hunters in the northeast region, they're not going to find turkeys as abundant as they did five years ago," Eriksen said. "There are still quite a few birds around, but you may be dealing with some older birds in the fall, which can be difficult."

Ron Furman, of Mehoopany, said he's noticed smaller flocks on his 210-acre plot of land in the last several years.

"Two weeks ago, there was a flock of eight. I'm just not seeing the big flocks that I use to. We used to see 15-20," Furman said.

Furman went out for last Saturday's opener in the afternoon and found a lone hen. He took a shot from about 85 yards with his .243 Savage rifle but couldn't connect. He said he'll be in the woods again this weekend.

Although Eriksen lives in New Jersey, he spends a lot of time scouting and hunting in Pennsylvania. He said he uses several hunting methods in the fall depending on how birds are behaving.

Turkeys travel in groups during the fall, and a very productive way to hunt them is to "bust" the flock. When hunters find birds, they'll do whatever they can to scatter the birds in different directions. Once they're alone, they'll be dying to get back together. Let out some yelps and kee kees, a high pitch call poults and hens will make to find each other. When the birds respond, mimic their calls until they're in gun range.

If you can locate birds on the roost, you could be finished hunting in an hour, Eriksen said. Go out early - or better, find the roost before the hunt - and listen for soft yelping. He'll get as close as he can to them and bust the flock as soon as they land. Then, he'll set up against a tree and call them in.

Eriksen said it's not unusual to hear toms gobble in the fall. If you hear one hammering on the roost, Eriksen suggests calling it in just like you would in the spring with yelps and cuts. You can also try to call in gobblers during the day, but you may have to bust the flock. If it comes to that, plan on being there for a while; Eriksen said he has waited seven hours for a group of gobblers to reassemble.

"The older gobblers get, the less need they have for a lot of company," Eriksen said. "They also have places where they routinely meet their buddies if they get broken up."

If you don't find roosting birds, plan on slowly covering a lot of ground to find a flock. Look for turkey sign - scratches, feathers, droppings - and listen carefully for birds picking through leaves, yelping, purring and even fighting.

"I walk 100 yards, stop and listen three to four minutes for scratching and turkey talk. Then I'll call," Eriksen said. "I like to kee kee. I know old hens can kee kee. I'll do a few yelps, a dozen yelps, not real loud, then I'll sit quiet, then I'll kee. Then quiet, then kee kee. Then I'll move on.

"Once they respond to you, listen to what they're doing and mimic them," Eriksen said. "If they're kee keeing, kee kee back. Whatever they do, you do."




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