Despite snowy start, 13 youth hunters kill turkeys in county
Mother Nature didn’t provide the best backdrop for last weekend’s Missouri youth turkey hunt in the Ozarks. Snow and sleet on Saturday and Sunday morning, along with cooler temperatures throughout the day, made bagging a bird more difficult than usual. Despite the challenges, 13 Ozark County youth hunters were successful, according to the Missouri Department of Conserva-tion’s online spring harvest summary table.
Of the 13 birds taken in Ozark County during the weekend, 10 were adult gobblers and three were juvenile gobblers. No bearded hens were listed in the Ozark County harvest results.
Last year, Ozark County youth hunters harvested 27 birds during youth-only season, and in 2016, 37 turkeys were killed.
Statewide, youth hunters killed 1,725 turkeys, including 1,338 adult gobblers, 368 juvenile gobblers and 19 bearded hens.
Top harvest counties included Franklin County with 51 turkeys killed, Maries and Millers Counties with 43 birds killed each and Osage County with 41 birds killed.
Those youth who were unsuccessful, along with adult hunters, will have another shot at getting their spring turkey during the regular spring turkey hunt, which opens April 16 and runs through May 6.
For more information on the upcoming season or to download a copy of the 2018 Spring Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, visit huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/species/turkey. Booklets are also available where hunting permits are sold.