Hunting turkeys in the spring is very challenging but a lot of fun. You get to enjoy the outdoors when trees and plants are coming to life after a long winter. The spring turkey season is usually four weeks during late April and early May. In Ohio, turkey hunting was only allowed in the mornings leaving the afternoons open for mushroom hunting. Starting wtih the Spring of 2010 season, hunters are allowed to hunt all day for part of the season.  The bag limit has recently been two gobblers or at least two bearded turkeys for the entire spring season. On rare occasions, a hen will have a beard and therefore can be legally shot. Below are some tips for hunting turkey in the spring in Ohio.

 

The season is in the middle of the breeding period while male turkeys are still gobbling to find mates. The best time to listen for gobbling is early in the morning when the turkeys fly down from their roost. It helps to know where the turkeys roost and get there early. Don't get too close to the roost, i.e. under a hundred yards.  Turkeys have excellent hearing and will avoid you as they fly down if they hear sounds in your direction.  You must wait until they fly down since shooting a turkey in a tree is not allowed. Often turkeys only gobble for a short time, say an hour or two, but not always. They are very unpredictable. Some days they hardily gobble at all while other days they are gobbling all over the place. In areas where there are a lot of hunters, use of a gobbler call can be dangerous. Some people use shock calls, e.g. an owl call to locate a gobbler. Hen calls work best to attract gobblers but turkeys can become call shy. If you know the area and the normal route that a turkey takes after flying down, a good approach is to position yourself along that path and just wait making a few faint yelps about twenty minutes apart. A turkey can hear a faint call a long ways away, determine exactly where it is coming from and remember the location for a long time. If a turkey answers your call but hangs up, you may want to try a few clucks or scratch the leaves.   Be patient, you can do better by sitting still and waiting than moving around looking for a better spot.  When you see a turkey strutting, wait until he extends his head to take the shot.  It increases your chances of getting shot into the head and neck area.  You are not likely to kill a turkey by shooting it in the body.  Their feathers make a great shield.  To be successful you need to wear camouflage clothing since turkeys have very good eye sight and are weary of anything that looks suspicious or moves. In Ohio, turkeys killed must be tagged with a temporary tag as soon as they are killed.  The purchased permits no longer contain temporary or permanent tags.  You have to create your own temporary tag.  The completed temporary tag must be attached to the carcass and the related data recorded on the permit before removing the turkey from the place it was killed.  You have several options for checking-in your turkey, i.e. by phone, by a computer or at a designated checking station. Landowners do not have the phone option.  If you check-in your turkey at a checking station, you no longer have to take the carcass with you to the checking station.  See the Ohio hunting regulations for details.