Spring turkey tips from an Alabama expert - AL.com

David Hawley of Livingston, Alabama, is one of the state’s better-known wild turkey experts and an avid turkey conservationist.

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) reporter David Rainer caught up with him at a recent Conservation Advisory Board and gleaned lots of tips that should be of use to hunters as the season opens across most of the state this weekend. Hawley mostly hunts private lands, giving him better opportunities than public-land hunters, but many of his tips still apply.

He’s also an outstanding caller, a skill he advises all hopeful hunters to perfect prior to going afield.

Hawley looks at the season as a marathon not a sprint, and he tries to allow the turkeys to go through their natural progression through the season, adjusting his hunting techniques to the prevailing conditions.

“The woods are wide open early in the season before the leaves come out. It’s really easy to bump turkeys. I try to lay back a little bit. But if you’re hunting a lease or public land, especially on just weekends, you may have to do it a lot differently.”

Early in the season, Hawley’s calling tactics are also different. His focus is on the dominant hen.

“I try to get a boss hen fired up,” he said. “I’m going to try to mimic her the best I can with some excited calling, some flock talk and maybe some kee-kees (lost calls). I’m trying to play off the hen’s dominant nature to control that flock.

“If I hear jakes in there, I’m going to try to start yelping like a jake. It’s good to have jakes in the flock because of the gobblers’ competitive nature.”

As the season progresses more hens are bred and start to nest. The groups will split up. When that happens, the likelihood of encountering a lone gobbler is much better, Hawley says.

“That’s when I get really aggressive and try to cover a lot of ground,” Hawley said. “Basically, I’m trying to find the hottest turkey that I can.

“If it’s good weather, calm and clear, I’m going to be aggressive. That last week in March is what I call kamikaze week (in the southern counties), especially if you have a lot of 2-year-olds running together. They are not in the main group and have already bred a good many hens. That’s when you can get aggressive and strike turkeys in mid-day sometimes.”

Hawley is also a strong voice for turkey conservation, and has expressed concern for what appears to be declining populations across much of the state. A new set of rules aimed at improving numbers was recently approved by ADCNR.

Beginning in 2022, the season will open on March 25, nearly a week later than now, with a four-bird season bag limit, one less than currently Decoys would be prohibited the first 10 days of the season. The season length will remain 45 days in most of the state.

The 2021 turkey season runs March 20 through May 2 in Zone 1, which covers most of the state, with a five-bird season bag limit. Visit www.outdooralabama.com/seasons-and-bag-limits/turkey-season for details on other zones as well as bag limits and harvest rules for the 2021 season.

BLACK BELT GOBBLER CONTEST

Successful hunters in Alabama’s Black Belt, named for the rich, black soil there and widely regarded as one of the best turkey hunting areas in the country, are encouraged to enter into the ninth annual Big Gobbler Photo Contest.

“Spring in the Black Belt is synonymous with hunting hard-gobbling eastern turkeys,” said Pam Swanner, Executive Director of the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association, which hosts the contest. “We invite you to visit our 23-county region to experience the thrill of pursuing North America’s largest game bird in the Black Belt’s bottomlands and pine stands.”

The winner will receive a copy of the recently released book by famed Alabama turkey hunter Ron Jolly entitled “Memories of Spring” along with a limited-edition commemorative “Memories of Spring” box call that Jolly produced with another turkey hunting legend, Preston Pittman (combination of book and call valued at $150).

The contest, conducted online at www.AlabamaBlackBeltAdventures.org/biggobblercontest, will begin on opening day and close on Sunday, May 2. Please note that Barbour, Lowndes, and Oakmulgee Wildlife Management Areas will all have a delayed start to the season that will begin on Saturday, March 27.

Hunters are also reminded to comply with all game laws, including purchasing a valid hunting license and game-checking their harvested bird.

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