Spring Turkey Hunting
Spring Turkey Hunter Success
One of many fine do it yourself MAHA spring turkey hunters that send in their pictures.
3 beard tom - 11.5", 9.5" and 7.5" with 1/2" spurs - one nice spring turkey
Spring turkey hunting with Mid-America Hunting Association and other impacts.
What most like about our spring turkey hunting is the availability of our private lease land in two states that offer liberal spring season hunting and over the counter tags. But, mostly it is our land and its turkey hunting that attracts our hunters.
It is all 100% private land we lease for our exclusive hunting use and we lease for the habitat of the predominate wildlife within the particular regions of the state where we do lease land. In this case we are talking about some of the best spring wild turkey hunting land to be found in one of the top turkey hunting states, Missouri, as well as two sister states of Iowa and Kansas.
When looking over our hunting lease land location maps it is readily apparent we have acreage concentrated in several regions while ignoring others. The difference is recognizing the terrain differences and the habitat variance along with accompanying and varying wild turkey population densities.
In Missouri, we pretty much stay out of the Ozark Mountains due to far too much wooded ground and too little farm ground. The significant's is that most will readily agree that when it comes to nature and turkey hunting it is first all about food and then reproduction second. In the agricultural zone where 50 to 55% of land use is farmed the turkeys have plenty of food. Their cover and roost needs are also well provided for with the numerous tree lined creek bottoms as well as the timbered ridges separating the river valleys.
One aspect many big woods turkey hunters find most challenging first and then gratifying later is the fact that eyes on scouting/hunts rather than call and listen techniques predominate. While the big woods hunter will frequently hear his toms far more often and for longer periods than see them the converse is far more frequent in Missouri with its large farm fields. The story we frequently hear from such big woods hunters on their first central mid-west hunt is that which most impresses them with their hunts. That aspect is the length of time they were able to watch their tom come into decoy and call. The hunt accounts tell of how agonizingly slow the tom would come in. How toms would hang up just out of range. And, how exciting it was to be able for the first time watch what a tom does when he is working a hunter's setup and call.
Spring Turkey Impacts
So often we hear from those that read our web site looking for spring turkey hunting information that they find more than anticipated and well beyond turkey season dates and tag limitations. This Missouri picture is just such a case.
Pictured is a pasture burning and turkey habitat development as an unintended landowner secondary effect. The primary effect is the reduction of wood growth leaving the ground clear for pasture grass. The reason this is good for nearby turkeys is that the fire burn is low temperature grass fire that kills and leaves behind bugs and grubs easy for the birds to find. The grass re-growth of tender short leaves is exactly the prime grazing they prefer. Any tom harvested near a burn field in green up is likely to have a crop full of greens.
Kansas Turkey Scenes
We will tell a lot of our approach to wild turkey hunts through pictures such as this Kansas turkey that shows game in the habitat they occupy.
While this is only a hen the purpose of the picture is to show the crop growth during the late portion of the long Kansas spring season. This is a corn field. Also notice how thick the cover vegetation is. The final theme is how many more pictures of open ground birds we have over that of within wooded areas. This open ground is where most of the harvests occur.
By mid March each spring gobbling and the preliminary breeding season behaviors begin reliably enough to make scouting pay off for a later in the spring hunt. These pictures are from March 14 while on a north central Kansas land run.
Strutting toms with a flock of hens leading them across the field. The hens are ignoring the toms that seem to be strutting as much for their own pecking order as for the hens. Morning gobbling while not strong is regular by mid March. The roosts at this time seem well set for the rest of the breeding season.
The same flock with a more panoramic view of the surrounding habitat. Last year's corn field already worked this spring with a field cultivator. The small wooded bluff is over an intermittent tributary to a larger creek system that eventually leads to a mid sized river that feeds into the Kansas River.
In terms of our spring turkey hunting the flocks will be working the previous year's row crop fields as readily as grazing on the quick to green up wheat and alfalfa fields.
In Kansas the better turkey regions are in the watersheds as opposed to the higher ground called the Sand, Flint, Smoky Hills etc. Hills that is, as best as Kansas can produce which are far less in height than elsewhere in the country.
The difference between the watersheds and the hills is soil composition and depth. A geographic distinction between less and better spring season turkey hunts.
When the glaciers came through the Great Plains they scalped the high ground clean of soil and left it to the watersheds and where the better turkey cover is found. It is within the watersheds that Kansas has row and forage crop farms as the soil is rich and thick. It is in the hills the soil is thin and cattle is the cash crop.
The significant's to spring turkey season is that where there is row and forage crop there is food and where there is better soil there is cover habitat to include stands of roost trees and tall grass prairie for nesting. The right combination of turkey habitat within a small area making for regions of the better turkey hunting. Especially that of nesting cover for the better spring turkey season hunts.
That one aspect alone of knowing where to turkey hunt takes away much of the mystery for the traveling turkey hunter. We have such a vested interest as we are a paid hunt operation that requires return hunters for basic business survival. To get that return hunter requires good turkey hunting. That is good wild turkey hunting both fall and spring season. This money approach does not lessen the turkey hunting experience it assures a good experience. That is the difference between a business approach and the good ol' boys hunt'n club.
It is the nesting habitat along with the food supply that makes for the residential nature of our flocks. Without both the sustainability of the flock is jeopardized. Roost trees are a secondary concern and the flocks will find the best available and make the best of what is available in terms of roost trees. That is as long as there is food and nesting cover.
For selecting where to go for spring turkey hunting is first to select between the species of the two we offer that delineates where to hunt. We have both the Eastern and Rio Grande to chose from or hunt both and do so on the same trip.
After selecting the species then comes the options of where in the states we lease land of where to hunt. The choices cover a good bit of ground and habitat types. The Rios in central and western Kansas and the Easterns in eastern Kansas and all of Missouri. And it is the habitat that most throws folks, especially spring turkey season hunters.
The challenge most spring wild turkey hunters face is they are accustomed to finding the birds in large stands of trees. This expectation frequently follows the hunter when traveling to the Great Plains to hunt and forgetting what it means to be on the Great Plains.
The Great Plains means a lot of efficient agriculture on flat land that has a roll to it and large tree stands are non-existent, at least those stands that compare to Minnesota, New York, Alabama, Florida, etc. At this point the hunter is going to have to trust us that we will get them on wild birds. That trust is not based on these words. It comes from the understanding that we seek our hunters to return and renew their membership every year for years to come, and that happens, it happens a lot. The reason is that hunters that have good hunts come back. That is no small point and includes many hunters that did not fill all available tags.
That is what we work towards. Trust us that when we recommend where to hunt that it is a good spot. That trust is recognition of our motivation for membership renewal over all else.