Pennsylvania Game News - May 2018 - 9

WHERE
TO GO?
It's always good to have an ace up your
sleeve as spring gobbler season approaches.
Work, family commitments and even weather
can keep you from getting afield before
season arrives.
If you find yourself coming up short with
the season fast approaching, or if you can't
shake the sour taste in your mouth from last
spring's hunts and want to hunt somewhere
else, Game Commission turkey biologist
Mary Jo Casalena has some guidance that
might help you sort out where to go.
Her insight, illustrated by the maps at
left, can direct you to Wildlife Management
Units with the best turkey populations, best
hunter success rates and, if you prefer, the
fewest hunters.
Harvest density, shown in the top map, is
the number of spring turkeys harvested per
square mile over the past three years.
The statewide average is 0.74 turkeys
per square mile, and all WMUs with higher
harvest densities are shown in green.
Hunter density, shown in the middle map,
similarly provides the number of hunters per
square mile.
The more-heavily hunted WMUs are
shown in red and those with lower densities
are shown in blue. The statewide average is
4.3 hunters per square mile.
In the bottom map, Casalena established
turkey population rates by comparing 2017
population statistics to the previous 10-year
average population.
Increases are in shades of red or purple,
decreases are in blue.
These statistics might help you plot
some of your upcoming spring turkey hunts.
Remember, though, these figures serve only
to point you in the right direction. Fieldwork
is still necessary to get closer to birds and seal
the deal. Good luck out there!
MAY 2018

2-year-olds this year, unless there are
still a couple older gobblers around,"
Casalena said. "An older bird could
compel the 2-year-olds to disperse to
adjacent areas to gobble, but then meet
up later with the old tom most mornings.
Knowing where each gobbler usually
roosts helps determine how to set up a
morning hunt."

CALLING
A lot of turkey hunters stay home the
first week, waiting for the woods to quiet
some. But the strategy can backfire.
"The second week often offers some
of the hardest days to hunt in the spring
season, because gobblers typically are
hunted hard the first week," Casalena
said. "Good hunters adjust by going to
areas they know have gobblers, don't
call much, and wait for hours."
Some turkeys come easier than
others. What separates the best from
the rest?
"Age is the No. 1 reason why some
gobblers come in reluctantly," Casalena
said. "It's followed up by the mistakes
you make, and then the experience each
gobbler has with hunters, which is a
big one!
"Weather - high humidity, fog, rain
- also limits the distance calls reach; it's
hard to call in a bird that can't hear you."
Casalena noted it's a challenge to
watch for incoming gobblers and to
sit still. Some luck surely is involved,
because birds sometimes come from
unexpected directions, directions you
can't cover without at least moving your
head. That's why it pays dividends to
hunt with a friend.
"I've educated so many gobblers,
mainly by moving when they're coming
in," she noted. "When I do, I give the
gobbler a few days to a week - hunt
9
Pennsylvania Game News - May 2018

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