It is just as difficult, if not more so, to offer up any kind of a prediction to what the coming hunting season is going to be like when it comes to wild turkeys as it is for white-tailed deer.
There are so many factors all wrapped up in the development of a good turkey season, and most of them are out of the control of hunters anyway. Let’s see what commentary the state turkey program expert says.
MDWFP turkey updates
MDWFP turkey program coordinator Dave Godwin provides a number of insights for hunters to consider.
“The 2013 brood survey suggests the hatch that year was not very good,” Godwin said. “That information suggests that hunters will see fewer 2-year old birds during the 2015 season. However, some of our other data suggests the estimate might be low.
“We saw a very late hatch in 2013 and it is possible that our estimate is somewhat biased low for that year.”
Let’s hope that bias is true, because 2-year-old gobblers are considered a key factor in season success. But even if the numbers are down, their older kin might fill a void.
“The good news is that we had a very nice 2012 hatch and we think we will carry over more 3-year old gobblers than normal into the 2015 season,” Godwin said. “Our data suggests that the 2014 hatch was better than 2013, which means hunters should also encounter good numbers of jakes, which is great news for the 2016 season.
“Overall we expect that 2015 will be a good season, but we do think gobbling activity and harvest rates will be lower than observed in 2014.”
Godwin recommends that turkey hunters visit the mdwfp.com and view the 2014 Turkey Program Report.
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