Hunters gun for record kill again
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By Dennis Jensen Staff Writer - Published: April 27, 2008
Every spring, you think that the run has got to come to an end.
Then, bang! just like that — Vermont turkey hunters set yet another record kill.
Turkey hunters tagged a record 5,024 bearded birds during the 31-day regular season and the two-day youth season in 2007. It was the seventh time the record has been broken in the last 10 years.
"It would be great if we could continue that trend," said Doug Blodgett, the turkey project leader for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department.
Blodgett said the prospects are very good for another productive spring season.
"I'm pretty optimistic for the season," he said.
The season runs May 1-31. Two bearded birds — almost always toms — may be taken. Hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to noon.
Blodgett said the department has been keeping a close watch on winter mortality and how that might affect the spring season.
"I haven't had an outpouring of mortality reports, but I am sure we had some mortality," he said. "I've had a couple of reports."
But wild turkeys are tough critters, Blodgett said, and should come through this winter in good condition.
"We had a really good hatch last spring and the birds were in decent shape going into the winter," he said.
Blodgett estimates the wild turkey population to be around 50,000, an astounding number of birds for a small New England state.
Turkeys have fared so well in Vermont that the state opened spring turkey hunting state-wide four years ago. Vermont turkey hunters bagged birds from the Canadian border to the Massachusetts line.
"That's fantastic," Blodgett said.
Good turkey harvests were reported throughout the state, but some areas produced significant numbers of birds.
Newbury, located in Orange County, led the state with 80 birds reported. Ryegate, in Caledonia County, was second with 76 birds. And Weathersfield, in Windsor County, had the third-highest kill with 66 birds.
Rounding out the top 10 were: Pawlet and Charlotte, 61; Williamstown, 60; Ferrisburg, Orwell and Shoreham, 55; and Newhaven, with 54 birds.
Windsor County led the way, with 654 birds, followed by Rutland County (643), Orange County (574) and Addison County (551).
Youth hunters set record
Adult birds — turkeys two years or older — made up a surprisingly high 63 percent of the harvest, while immature birds — also called jakes — comprised 37 percent of the kill.
Young hunters tagged a record 544 birds during their two-day hunt in late April.
While turkey hunters had an incredibly high success rate — more than 28 percent — Vermont is not an easy place to bag a bird, Blodgett said.
"I still think we put a fair amount of hunting pressure on these birds. We have about 16,000 hunters in the spring," he said.
Hunters also sometimes pressure one another, particularly in places where the birds are easily observed.
"When you're out there, sometimes it feels like it's 60,000 (hunters)," Blodgett said, laughing.
Blodgett said that it is the nature of how tom turkeys are hunted that often brings hunters in close contact with one another.
"Sometimes they (hunters) pile up around gobblers," he said. "It's the one critter you hunt that gives itself away from long away. Guys hear it (gobbling) and they head for it."
Blodgett said that turkey hunters might want to do a bit of climbing to get away from hunting pressure.
"The message might be that, if you hunt the higher elevations, obviously the density (of turkeys) is going to be less, but so will the hunting pressure," he said.
Furthermore, Blodgett said, there is a good chance that those birds in higher elevations will be less pressured by hunters and perhaps not as wary.
"Part of the reason they are so elusive is because they are under a fair amount of pressure and it doesn't take them long to smarten up," he said.
Turkey hunting has been a relatively safe sport, Blodgett said, and he would like to see it stay that way.
"I think that's probably helped by the hunter education classes that we've had — and that's a good thing," he said.
Meanwhile, Blodgett offered this bit of advice for those who think they can "stalk" a tom turkey; not only is it nearly impossible, it is also dangerous.
"Don't go stalking birds," he said.
About 80 percent of hunting accidents occur during mistaken-for-game incidents, Blodgett said.
Blodgett said that Vermont attracts good numbers of resident and nonresident hunters because of its excellent turkey hunting opportunities.
Every year, Blodgett gets the calls from turkey hunters who want to see the fall turkey limit expanded to two birds, as it was back in the 1990s.
Blodgett called for a reduction from two fall birds to one to offset the number of mature hens that were being taken during the fall season. After the move, the spring season kills improved dramatically and resulted in repeated record kills.
Blodgett said he also hears from hunters wanting to see the spring season opened the entire day. But Vermont, as well as other New England and northern states, likes to get hunters out of the woods by noon to allow hens to nest in the afternoon without being disturbed.
"Vermont is a destination turkey hunting sport because we offer a high-quality spring season," he said. "We don't want to compromise that."
Contact Dennis Jensen at dennis.jensen@rutlandherald.com
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