Public Land Turkeys

Article and photos by NATE SKINNER

Hunting for wild turkeys in the spring is enjoyable but challenging.

Some hunters refer to turkeys as the “smartest yet dumbest” creatures to hunt. This comes from the fact that at certain times, wild turkeys will respond to a call and come running in, seemingly on a rope, providing hunters with quick and easy shot opportunities. Other times, turkeys will come to a call but then hang up just out of range almost as if they sense something isn’t quite right. These moments can be frustrating and humbling. It’s all part of turkey hunting.

When everything comes together for a close encounter with a boss gobbler, the effort put into the pursuit becomes worth it. From their strutting displays to their thundering gobbles, longbeards provide plenty of excitement as they live out their springtime love stories in the turkey woods. Experience this up close and personal is an absolute treat.

There’s definitely something to be said about stepping onto unfamiliar turf, successfully locating wild turkeys and then maneuvering in close proximity to them. It’s a challenge that many spring turkey fanatics live for, and there are public lands across the Lone Star State that provide that opportunity. In fact, the number of public land turkey hunting opportunities that are available might just be a lot more plentiful than most would think.

PUBLIC LAND OPTIONS

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Wild Turkey Program Leader Jason Hardin, there are several TPWD Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) that offer drawn public land turkey hunts. They include Caddo Lake WMA, Gene Howe WMA, James Daughtrey WMA, Kerr WMA, Matador WMA, Muse WMA, Pat Mayse WMA, Powderhorn WMA, Roger Fawcett WMA, and San Angelo State Park.

All of these WMA turkey hunts have varying dates and regulations that can be found at the TPWD website on the drawn hunts page. Although the application deadline for these hunts has expired for this season, most of them accept standbys.

“Our drawn public land turkey hunts are often underutilized by hunters,” Hardin said. “Anyone that is interested in making one of these hunts should contact the WMAs and ask if they have filled all of their drawn spots. Even if they have, showing up for the chance of being chosen as a standby hunter in the case of a no show could be a gamble worth taking.”

This is the first year for the Powderhorn WMA to host a spring turkey hunt.

“WMA staff marked wild turkeys on the Powderhorn in February of 2020,” Hardin said. “We hope this data will show how the birds are using the WMA to support future management decisions.”

Hardin said that TPWD also offers E-Postcard drawn hunts for spring turkey at the Moore Plantation WMA.

“The way hunters are selected for these hunts are very similar to the drawn hunts on other WMAs,” Hardin said.

Hunters must possess an Annual Public Hunting Permit in order to attend an E-Postcard turkey hunt. More information about these hunts can be found on the same page of the TPWD website as the WMA drawn hunts.

Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) along Lake Texoma also offers a three-day spring turkey hunt.

“Hunters must apply for this hunt with the refuge through the TPWD website,” Hardin said. “Unfortunately, they do not accept standbys and the application deadline for year’s hunt has passed. It’s something that spring turkey hunters should keep on their radar for next season.”

The Caddo-LBJ National Grasslands offer season long spring turkey hunting opportunities. Hunters must possess both a Texas hunting license and an Annual Public Hunting Permit when hunting here. For more information about these public lands controlled by the US Department of Agriculture, visit https:// www.fs.usda.gov/help/texas.

Public land hunters can also find turkey hunting opportunities in north Texas within the Teacup Mountain Wildlife and Recreation Area. It is open to the public on most days throughout the spring turkey season. For updates on closures or more information about turkey hunts here, check out https://www. teacupmountain.com.

Hardin said that Lake Meredith National Recreation Area is another public land option for spring turkey hunters. Hunters can contact the park at (806) 857-3151 for additional information.

“There are several Army Corps of Engineers (COE) properties that offer public turkey hunting as well,” Hardin said. “Not many folks know about the hunting opportunities on these lands, and there are definitely some hidden gems for those willing to put in the work.”

For a full list of the Army COE properties with public hunting opportunities, visit https://www. swf-wc.usace.army.mil/lake/SWF_ Hunting_Guide_Final_2020_2021.pdf It is important to note that not all of the properties within this link offer spring turkey hunting.

Hardin said that TPWD has been working with the National Wild Turkey Federation on habitat projects across many of these public lands listed above, to improve habitat for wild turkeys.

“This has been a successful collaborative effort,” Hardin said.

LOCATING WILD TURKEYS ON PUBLIC LANDS

One of the easiest ways to pinpoint where turkeys are congregating on any given property is to hear them gobble. Unfortunately, gobblers don’t just let out their piercing calls regularly, all day long. There has been extensive research conducted that reveals specific time windows and conditions in which hunters should expect to find the birds more vocal.

Dr. Bret Collier is a professor of wildlife ecology at Louisiana State University who has been conducting wild turkey research in Texas in conjunction with TPWD and the National Wild Turkey Federation for the past 15 years. Some of Collier’s research has been focused on when turkeys tend to produce the most gobbling activity.

Collier’s research has employed the use of automated recording units (ARUs) that hang in trees and record all ambient sounds from about two hours before sunrise to about one hour after dark.

“An ARU is basically like a fancy tape recorder that records sound,” Collier said. “Then we extract the gobbles that we hear out by day and time of day, and use those to monitor gobbling chronology.”

Collier said that the ARUs have revealed that most gobbling activity occurs between a half hour before sunrise and one hour after sunrise.

“Across the board, about 90 percent of gobbling occurs by 10am,” Collier said. Obviously, there is some activity later in the day, but overall, turkeys tend to be more vocal during the morning hours.”

According to Collier, weather conditions also affect gobbling activity.

“Increases in wind speed and the presence of rain equate to decreases in gobbling activity,” Collier said. “Ecologically this makes sense for a bird that uses auditory and visual cues to portray fitness, since these conditions limit these abilities. Furthermore, predation risk is likely higher in these conditions due to decreases in auditory and visual abilities, so perhaps that’s another reason why turkeys tend to be less vocal during periods of strong winds and rain.”

Collier said that a negative change in barometric pressure is also typically related to decreases in gobbling activity.

“Declines in barometric pressure represent an incoming front bringing rain and wind,” Collier said.

Collier’s research has also shown that temperatures above 75 degrees tend to result in a rapid decrease in gobbling activity.

“Besides inclement weather and warm temperatures, most other weather metrics have proved to have little impact on changes in daily gobbling activity,” said Collier.

Hunters can use this information to plan accordingly when preparing to hunt public lands that they may not be familiar with to locate wild turkeys. Scouting and hunting during the optimal time windows and conditions will give them the best chance at achieving public land success.

WILD TURKEYS ACROSS TEXAS THIS SPRING

According to Hardin, the Cross Timbers and northern Edwards Plateau regions saw very good production from wild turkeys over the past two years.

“Hunters should see a lot of jakes and 2-year-old gobblers,” Hardin said. “They may also have to contend with a lot of young hens that often, do not put much of an effort into nesting, and therefore distract gobblers from decoys and calls.”

Hardin said that the eastern portion of south Texas also had two decent years of production from wild turkeys, and that the region should offer some great hunting opportunities.

“The Rolling Plains has seen mixed success,” Hardin said. “The eastern portion of the Rolling Plains is in good shape. However, the traditional strongholds from Wheeler County and south to Cottle and Foard Counties did not get the population boost that others areas have experienced. TPWD staff are looking into this concern and may develop calls for research proposals next year if we do not see any changes in this trend.”

Hardin said that east Texas is in about the same shape as it has been for the past few years when it comes to wild turkeys.

“Hunters can expect to find birds in east Texas this spring in the same areas that they had encounters with them last year,” Hardin said.

There’s nothing like a change of scenery or getting out and exploring more of what our great state has to offer, and now is the perfect time to experience it. Springtime is here and thundering gobbles from long beards fill the air.

Public land turkey hunting opportunities abound for those willing to put in the effort and cover a little ground. You’ll never know what hidden gems await you in the turkey woods unless you try.