Warrick County hunter Matthew Byers wrapped up his season last year on opening day. That's when he harvested this hefty tom. Photo by John Trout Jr.

Hoosier turkey hunters have become masters of breaking records. Just consider last spring. According to check station results, hunters harvested 13,193 wild turkeys in 79 of the state's 88 counties open to hunting. Amazingly, this statistic became the highest harvest on record, and topped the 2005 harvest by 18 percent when hunters killed 11,159 birds. Of course, if you have followed Indiana's turkey-hunting success stories in recent years, you know it's no big secret that records are made to be broken. More about record harvests in just a moment, and whether or not we can do it again in 2007.

It's also no surprise that most turkeys are shot on opening day, and that the bulk of the harvest occurs during the first five days of the season.

Let's turn back the clock to last year's debut. I saw dawn break while standing along a wooded draw in Spencer County. One gobbler made his presence known less than 200 yards away. Within moments, I was set up and working the bird. I won't go into the scrupulous details that followed, except to say that he was accompanied by two hens, which almost cost me his long beard. It took 45 minutes before the birds finally walked by at 15 yards. As I packed the gobbler out, I knew my season had ended almost as quickly as it had begun.

I discovered later that morning that another Spencer County hunter enjoyed success. Thirty-year-old Angie Waters took her first gobbler ever. It seems the 21-pound bird almost pulled a fast one as he sneaked to within 30 yards of the lady hunter without her knowing he was there. Though the turkey gobbled and startled Waters, she still managed to get a shot off through a small 6-inch clearing. Her bird sported a 10-inch beard and 1 1/8-inch spurs.

Meanwhile, some 40 miles away in Warrick County, Matthew Byers discovered the rewards of opening day. He heard two turkeys gobble that morning. One finally came walking into gun range. A single cluck stopped the bird and allowed Byers to make the killing shot.

Make no mistake, many hunters enjoyed success last year on opening day. In fact, nearly 3,500 turkeys were taken. Moreover, 61 percent of the total harvest occurred during the first five days. However, that's typically the case. In 2005, hunters accounted for 57 percent of the total harvest during the first five days.

Nevertheless, that's not to say that the late season isn't productive for die-hard hunters. After all, fewer hunters are out there. It's also true that many hens are nesting by that time, and some of the breeding gobblers become more vulnerable. Such was the case last year when my wife, Vikki, took her gobbler. Like many late-season turkeys, he was at first reluctant to come to the call. In fact, it took nearly an hour of coaxing before the bird finally decided to investigate the calls of the excited hen. Surprisingly, he, too, was a 3-year-old bird.

Hunter success was exceptional last year, but weather was cooperative in many portions of the state. We also could credit last season's success on Indiana's myriad hunting opportunities -- as well as one other major factor we'll discuss in a moment.