By John Trout Jr.

It seemed like "opening day as usual" last season when my son John and I arrived at a local check station. Several turkeys had already been brought in. In our vehicle lay two birds. I had been fortunate to take a hefty gobbler early that morning in Spencer County. John, too, had cashed in a longbeard shortly after dawn. Two gobblers had roosted close by and happily responded to his calls. The Warrick County bachelor group pulled a few stubborn tricks shortly after hitting the ground, but eventually they came looking for the lovesick hen. One of them did not go to roost that night.

With that said, I don't mind telling you that I had little doubt Hoosiers would enjoy another record harvest last spring. After all, opening day came and went with cooperative weather in most areas, and there were successful hunters everywhere.

Let's also not forget that we had previously witnessed 21 consecutive record harvests. Since 1982, when hunters shot only 73 turkeys, harvests have fluctuated, but always remained on an upward trend. That streak ended in 2003 when more than 300 check stations reported 10,366 wild turkeys tagged during the 19-day season. In 2002, the end of the consecutive record-harvest era, hunters took 10,575 birds, compared to 9,975 in 2001.

Before taking a serious look at the reasons behind the harvest decrease that occurred in 2003, consider that the decline of about 200 birds was only 2 percent below the previous season's average. Also, consider what our wild turkey biologist Steve Backs said when I interviewed him in 2002 - when the record-harvest streak was alive and well.

"Our rate of increase is going to start tapering and leveling off. We are going to see years that will go down, and years that will go up. The record harvests we've had for all these years in a row can't go on forever," noted Backs.

For the first time since 1982, Hoosier hunters did not set a new record harvest; however, that doesn't mean that 2004 won't be a turkey season to remember. Photo by John Trout Jr.

I thought about that statement last year, but like many Hoosier hunters who read it, did not take it seriously. After so many record harvests, who could ever imagine a harvest decrease? Nevertheless, Backs' statement was on target. The harvest decrease has now been carved in stone.

An early report suggested that the cool, wet June of 2002 and a lower population growth had a little to do with the harvest decline. It was also believed that accumulative hunter pressure and inclement weather played a role. However, as the old saying goes: "There's more to the story."

"To come up with real good, hard reasons is speculative at best," reported Backs. "The one thing we did see that was quite notable was that our older, more traditionally established counties (where birds were relocated long ago) leveled off. In those counties we did not see an increase and, in fact, we saw a decrease in harvest."

The counties Backs is speaking of are those that usually produce the highest harvests. Typically, six to seven hot counties fluctuate in and out of the top five each year. Backs added that many counties with relatively young turkey flocks actually had increases in harvests. He said that the original restoration program called for stocking birds in primarily the best quality habitat. Later, birds were stocked in lesser quality habitat, which is where many harvest increases occurred last spring.

Of Indiana's 90 counties, all or parts of 82 were open to turkey hunters in 2003. The No. 1 county was Switzerland where hunters took 462. The No. 2 county, however, was no longer Jefferson as it has been in recent years. Jefferson County fell back to No. 4. The new No. 2 is now Warrick County (not ranked in the top five last year) where hunters took 396 turkeys. In No. 3 Harrison County, hunters enjoyed a harvest of 387 birds.

Surprisingly, although the statewide harvest dropped only 2 percent in 2003, some of the better counties were responsible for much of the decline. Consider Switzerland County where the harvest dropped by 19 percent. Then there is Jefferson County where hunters took 383 birds last spring, compared to 467 the previous year - a decline of 18 percent.

However, other previously high-ranked counties also fell off in 2003. Dearborn County ranked No. 3 in 2001 and 2002. In 2003, hunters took only 304 turkeys, compared to 422 the previous year. The list of declining counties goes on, but the major harvest counties mentioned previously are much to blame for the slight harvest decline in 2003.

In fact, thank goodness some counties held their own last spring. For instance, Crawford and Orange reported only slight declines. Harrison, ranked No. 5 in 2002, had identical harvests for the past two years. In Warrick County, the harvest increased by a whopping 27 percent in 2003. Backs said this was the real surprise county.

And how about Steuben County? Only 146 birds were taken in 2003, but that was a 36 percent increase over the previous year. Newton is another county that few think about when it comes to turkey hunting. Hunters shot only 61 birds last year, but it was 65 percent higher than the harvest in 2002. It was similar in Knox County where the harvest increased by 61 percent.

Other counties, particularly many in the northern half of the state, reported major increases of 300 to 600 percent. I won't go into details since they were counties that reported harvests in the single digits. My point is, though, many of those counties that usually have low harvests saw significant increases last season, preventing Hoosiers from suffering a substantial harvest decrease last year.

County harvests tell a lot, but they don't tell you where the best place is to kill a turkey. Some counties are hunted harder, which typically results in a higher harvest. However, as most spring turkey hunters have discovered, hunting pressure has much to do with success. Personally, I've found some of the better hunting in counties with low harvests, such as Gibson and Spencer. They don't rank as high as Perry or Warrick, but they produce birds consistently.

According to Backs, accumulating the harvest statistics and understanding them is like assembling a big puzzle. "When I look at the counties across the state and try to put pieces of the puzzle together, I see decreases in the southeast in most counties. I also see decreases in most south-central counties, whereas most west-central counties showed a slight harvest increase. Some counties that had increased harvests last year are still in the growth mode," explained Backs.

Backs recalled several northern counties, explaining that it's not necessarily quantity that counts. Hunters in Fulton harvested only 14 birds, but it was a 54 percent increase. Another he mentioned was DeKalb. Hunters took a mere 11 turkeys, but the jump of 65 percent over 2002 is worth mentioning.

"When you take the northern third of the state and look at the total kill, you can usually find, in most years, two or three counties in the southern portion that will equal what you get in the whole northern part," said Backs.

Habitat is the primary reason that northern flocks are not as strong as they are in many areas of the south. Nonetheless, Backs emphasized that the northern flocks are still in the growth stage. The flocks might not grow for as long as those do in the south and will probably level off before reaching high harvest numbers.

As for public ground, the Hoosier National Forest continues to produce many birds. Portions of the forest are found in nine counties. Some areas are better than others, but it is possible to get away from crowds in parts of the public ground if a hunter does his homework.

The restoration of wild turkeys in the state has led to more hunting areas and opportunities. While it's true it has also led to an increasing number of turkey hunters, we should consider that as good news. The more interest in turkey hunting, the better it is for hunting overall. The additional turkey-hunting areas have helped accommodate the increasing number of turkey hunters.

In 2002, hunters for the first time could pursue gobblers in the afternoon. Prior to then, the hunting had always ended at noon. Although some hunters feared that the "extra hours" might lead to too many birds being harvested and more pressured and educated turkeys, it probably has had little or no effect. Statistics showed that 80 percent of the overall harvest occurred by noon. Only 12 percent of the overall harvest occurred between 4 p.m. and sunset.

The good news about afternoon hunting is that it has played a role in the number of youngsters participating. There are now more young turkey hunters, which is good news for the future of hunting.

It's true most hunters enjoy success early in the season, but don't think for a moment that the late season won't provide many opportunities. For instance, opening day is usually the hottest of the 19-day season. Last year, hunters bagged approximately 2,200 birds. In the four days that followed, harvests fluctuated from about 700 to 1,000. It was reported that 55 percent of the kill occurred during the first five days of the season.

However, this statistic did not stop 14-year-old Christopher Stallion from bagging a big bird just before the season ended last year. He and his dad, Dean, were working birds early that morning, but real hens had intercepted them. It nearly happened again later that morning, but a few aggressive calls from Dean brought the 22-pound bird in close. The late-season 4-year-old turkey had a 10.75-inch beard and 1 1/16-inch spurs.

It's common for old birds to die during the late season, even on public lands. There are fewer hunters in the field, and although some gobblers have become educated, many hens are nesting. This leaves vulnerable gobblers roaming the woods.

As for age structures, jakes made up 24 percent of the 2003 harvest, while 2-year-olds made up 49 percent. In 2002, the overall harvest consisted of 27 percent jakes, and 47 percent 2-year-olds. Three-year-old birds dropped 1 percent in 2003. According to Backs, the slight drop in age structures from one year to the next does not really provide anything relative to the statewide harvest.

In fact, the only notable factor is possibly in the jake harvest decrease last year. It was 3 percent lower than the previous 10-year average of 27 percent. Thus, one could speculate that brood production was down slightly in 2002.

Last summer might be worse. Backs completed brood production reports for 2003. And they did not appear promising. He claims the poult-to-hen average for July and August in 2002 was 3.2. In 2003, the average was 2.4 poults per adult hen. We all hate hearing that, but there's more bad news to report. Backs said the number of hens with broods also declined. In 2002, the average was 79 percent. In 2003, the number of hens accompanied by broods dropped to 68 percent. The lowest recorded statistic for hens not having any poults stands at 75 percent. That occurred in 1993.

The poor brood production was due to the cold, wet spring last year. Although some hens nested again after the first attempts failed, here came another blast of rain and cool air. As Backs said, "It was a great year for growing corn and selling lawn mowers, but not so good for brood production."

In summarizing this story and looking toward this turkey season, we should remember that the "leveling off" of our turkey flocks might be exactly what it should be. Backs said there are folks in the agricultural community that would be screaming if the turkey flocks still continued growing like they once did for so many years. Thus, one can assume that the leveling off is quite natural.

"I think this phenomenon has been observed in other states that are further along in their restoration. Missouri saw it a number of years ago, and Iowa saw it in some of their counties," said Backs.

Before predicting the 2004 harvest, Backs suggested that he was not disappointed with the 2003 harvest. He said that now that it has happened, it should serve as a reminder that record harvests cannot go on forever. He added that there are still hunters out there who compare Indiana to Kentucky and Missouri, and want to see increased bag limits so they can shoot more than one gobbler. However, Backs warns that we do not have the availability of habitat that some of our neighboring states do.

It's also true that hunter numbers are growing, and that at some point, the demand could become greater than the supply.

Restoration is not totally dead in the state. Backs said officials are in the process of looking back at counties where birds were never stocked, just to see if places exist that could stimulate the growth of turkey flocks. It will require a "stretch of the imagination," as Backs put it, but if there's any opportunity, the state is prepared to take advantage of it.

Hunter numbers continue to increase each season, but hunter success is worth discussing. Last year, it is believed hunter success was around 21 percent. It's been as high as 30 percent (2001), but oftentimes is 25 percent or higher. This season, the jake harvest could decline (due to the poor hatch last year) and affect overall hunter success. It's also true that the harvest decrease might cause a slight decline in the number of hunters afield this spring.

So what lies ahead for this year and beyond? "It won't surprise me if we level off to a harvest of 12,000 to 15,000 birds," said Backs. "This spring, I won't be surprised if the harvest drops back down again. That goes with the idea that this past summer was not the best year for production."

Backs wraps it up by saying that despite the increasing number of turkey hunters in Indiana, there has never been a fatality in the spring turkey-hunting woods. He admits that statistically, though, it could soon happen. However, Backs remains hopeful that Hoosiers will continue to be safety conscious.