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First-week turkey harvest second-largest on record
MDC
5/2/03
Hunters killed more birds in the first week than they did last year.
JEFFERSON CITY - Hunters bagged 28,991 turkeys during the first week of Missouri's 21-day spring turkey season. That is fewer than the first-week harvest record set in 2000, but more than last year.
Texas County led state harvest totals with 690 birds killed, followed by Laclede County with 620 and Howell County with 604. Central Missouri had the largest regional harvest, with 4,360 birds brought to check stations. Other regional harvest figures were: Ozark, 4,341; Northwest, 4,006; Northeast, 3,830; Southwest, 3,775; Kansas City, 3,488; Southeast, 2,974 and St. Louis, 2,217.
Favorable hunting conditions helped hunters bag 30,440 turkeys during the first week of spring turkey season in 2000. They went on to kill 56,841 birds for the full season.
Tougher weather conditions held the 2001 first-week harvest to 28,876 turkeys. However, a strong finish, plus 2,530 gobblers taken during Missouri's first youth-only spring turkey season boosted the 2001 spring turkey harvest to 57,832, a record that still stands.
Last year's first-week harvest was only 27,943, but hunters went on to bag 53,932 turkeys during the three-week season. Combined with the 3,102 turkeys killed during the youth-only spring turkey season, the 2002 spring turkey harvest was 57,034, the second-largest in Missouri history.
The Missouri Department of Conservation received reports of two firearms-related turkey hunting accidents during the first week of hunting. Neither was fatal.
So far, the 2003 spring turkey season has been safer than average. The Conservation Department had logged six firearms-related turkey hunting accidents by this time last year. In 2001, the figure was seven. The only safer first week of spring turkey hunting was in 2000, when no firearms-related accidents were reported. That year, only four accidents were recorded during the entire season. None was fatal.
- Jim Low -
MDC
5/2/03
Hunters killed more birds in the first week than they did last year.
JEFFERSON CITY - Hunters bagged 28,991 turkeys during the first week of Missouri's 21-day spring turkey season. That is fewer than the first-week harvest record set in 2000, but more than last year.
Texas County led state harvest totals with 690 birds killed, followed by Laclede County with 620 and Howell County with 604. Central Missouri had the largest regional harvest, with 4,360 birds brought to check stations. Other regional harvest figures were: Ozark, 4,341; Northwest, 4,006; Northeast, 3,830; Southwest, 3,775; Kansas City, 3,488; Southeast, 2,974 and St. Louis, 2,217.
Favorable hunting conditions helped hunters bag 30,440 turkeys during the first week of spring turkey season in 2000. They went on to kill 56,841 birds for the full season.
Tougher weather conditions held the 2001 first-week harvest to 28,876 turkeys. However, a strong finish, plus 2,530 gobblers taken during Missouri's first youth-only spring turkey season boosted the 2001 spring turkey harvest to 57,832, a record that still stands.
Last year's first-week harvest was only 27,943, but hunters went on to bag 53,932 turkeys during the three-week season. Combined with the 3,102 turkeys killed during the youth-only spring turkey season, the 2002 spring turkey harvest was 57,034, the second-largest in Missouri history.
The Missouri Department of Conservation received reports of two firearms-related turkey hunting accidents during the first week of hunting. Neither was fatal.
So far, the 2003 spring turkey season has been safer than average. The Conservation Department had logged six firearms-related turkey hunting accidents by this time last year. In 2001, the figure was seven. The only safer first week of spring turkey hunting was in 2000, when no firearms-related accidents were reported. That year, only four accidents were recorded during the entire season. None was fatal.
- Jim Low -
