Missouri Outdoor

Spring is quickly approaching, I hope anyway! A true sign of spring in the kick-off of turkey season which runs April 4th & 5th for youth and April 20th – May 10th for all hunters.

The turkey population in Missouri is still strong but poor nesting and weather over the past several years has reduced wild turkey numbers in some parts of the state. A few consecutive years of drier, warmer spring weather will be critical for our turkey numbers to bounce back. In the meantime, turkey hunting will be more challenging in certain areas. Spring poult production is the primary factor in determining wild turkey numbers each year. Wild turkeys need several years of a good hatch and poult survival to increase numbers. Cold, wet conditions during the nesting and early brood-rearing period of April through June have limited wild turkey reproduction in three of the past four years. The 2006 hatch was relatively strong, but cool, wet weather in 2005, a late freeze in 2007, and prolonged flooding in 2008 resulted in several of the worst years for turkey production on record. Given a couple years of favorable spring weather conditions, our wild turkey numbers will bounce back. Turkey numbers vary from county to county and region to region. In some areas, especially north of the Missouri River, hunting will be more challenging as poor hatches over the past several years have led to localized population declines.
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