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Hang in there, spring gobbler hunting should improve

By Rod Schoener 7 min read

So far it doesn’t sound as though gobbler hunters are doing real great. I’m hearing of some kills and even some hefty “boss” gobblers that have been harvested, but for the most part, hunting hasn’t peaked.

Western Greene County Wildlife Conservation Officer Rod Burns seconded my opinion when he said that it has been slow so far.

“There seems to be a lot of hunters out, but, for the most part, they are not doing well,” Burns Said. “They’re doing a lot of hunting but not much getting.”

Burns said that all the hunters he has talked with are hearing birds, but they are all with hens and not coming in.

Then Burns said, “I actually saw two turkeys mating the other day.

“I think the gobblers are all ‘henned-up.’ I saw one nest that had broken eggshells in it. It was hard to tell if they had hatched or if something had gotten to them.”

Burns stressed that it’s just typical early gobbler hunting. “It is not easy, ” he said. “You call and they just ignore you. But if it was easy, it wouldn’t be any fun.”

He noted that some gobblers’ beards might have snow damage to them, where ice balls formed and the beards just broke off.

Then he said, “Don’t get me wrong. There are some long-bearded birds out there. It’s just tough to get them in right now. You can call for a week straight and not get an answer. I really think they are with a lot of hens right now.

“Guys are hearing them gobble on the roost, but they go silent as soon as they hit the ground. That is typical behavior for gobblers with hens.”

Burns said that hunting pressure was heavy on the first day, and Thursday he saw quite a few hunters out, but the turkeys spent most of the morning feeding in the fields after a heavy rainfall.

He is also encountering another typical turkey season problem – getting hunters to wear orange when moving about.

“Of the first 11 hunters I checked off road and moving about, eight did not have any orange on, and I had no choice but to cite them.

“It is one thing when a hunter doesn’t wear orange on posted private property, where he should not encounter another hunter, but the violations were all on public property with lots of other hunters nearby.

“Some claim they didn’t know it’s the law, while others claim they just forgot, but I don’t’ think that is it.”

Burns said that he had only heard of one minor hunting accident in Allegheny County, where one BB struck a hunter in the lip.

“Last year there were nine turkey hunting accidents,” Burns said. “One was here in Greene County and there was one fatality in Jefferson County.

“Hunters have to be aware of the fact that today’s shotguns shoot a much denser shot pattern, which can do an awful lot of damage.”

Burns pointed out the hunters in West Virginia don’t have to wear orange, so when they see movement in the woods they don’t expect to see orange. They take time to look. Here they don’t. When they see movement, they expect to see orange if it’s another hunter.

He said he caught one guy twice in the same week hunting without orange.

“Killing a deer illegally is not going to get you shot and killed, but last year I came upon one guy who was walking in the woods and shaking a gobbler tube while heading right for three hunters and wearing just camo. Luckily, I caught up with him in time.

“I tell every hunter to be careful. It’s a real concern.”

Burns said, “Its amazing how many hunters we get from out of state, especially Maryland. The other day I arrested an out of state hunter who shot a hen at 1:30 in the afternoon out of the window of a vehicle.

“I think the hunting will get better,” Burns said. “Right now its tough.”

Burns said the gobblers are out there. He spoke with one hunter who went out scouting around for two hours in the rain and saw 10 mature gobblers on a very wet morning last week.

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SCOUTING AROUND: I mentioned how I hate to hunt new areas for the first time.

Last week I saw a farmer I know fairly well, and he told me to come up and hunt, but that he didn’t know exactly where the turkeys could be found at the time.

Since his farm is fairly large, I decided to scout one morning. I saw one frustrated hunter leaving the woods, who was parked near me in the woods where the timber and fields meet.

He said he had not seen or heard a thing all morning. I still decided to scout around, and soon I found a couple of scats, but little other sign.

As I rounded a knoll, from where I could see my truck, two gobblers, which were standing right beside the truck, kicked it in gear and ran into the underbrush.

Now I know where they are. Hopefully, they will come back this week for another look at my ’91 Chevy truck.

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WAYWARD TURKEY: In another strange turkey happening, I had a hen fly over my truck the other day and land on a railroad trestle.

That in itself is not strange; I’ve seen that behavior before. What puzzles me is where did she come from? I was in the center of Smithfield Boro at the time. If she had been flushed in the woods on the other side of Route 119, why would she fly over the town, or if she came from within the Boro, where the heck was she?

I’ll never know. Maybe she panicked and took the easiest way out.

If so she just may have stopped on the trestle for a short layover.

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KIDS FISHING DERBY: The Yough Fisherman’s Association will host its annual Kids Fishing Derby at the Bullskin Field on Mounts Creek Saturday.

Registration begins at 9 a.m., and youngsters can fish from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Prizes will be awarded in three age groups, 6-and-under, 7-to-10 and 11-to-14.

There is no charge, and refreshments will be served.

The morning of the derby, the Association will stock the creek with trout from its co-operative nursery.

The Association raised 14,000 trout for release this year.

They have already distributed many of them and will continue to stock the remainder of the fish, which are 12 inches long on average, until the end of the month.

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MAMMOTH DERBY: A free fishing derby for anglers of all ages will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Mammoth Park.

The Westmoreland Bureau of Parks and Recreation and the Westmoreland County Sportsmen’s League sponsor it.

Mammoth Park is located in Mount Pleasant Township and is accessible via routes 981 and 982.

For more information call 724-830-3950.

In a recent derby at Northmoreland Park, Ed Jacobs of Connellsville took second place in the adult trout class with a 10 1/2-inch rainbow, while Dan Corn and Greg Bulebush, also of Connellsville, placed first and third, respectively, in the adult all other class. Corn caught a 10 3/4-inch crappie and Bulebush a 10-inch crappie.

Herald-Standard outdoor editor Rod Schoener can be reached on line at rschoener@heraldstandard.com.

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