Turkey Season Summary - Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

2 0 0 6 - 0 7 T U R K E Y S U R V E Y S U M M A R I E S2007Spring hunting surveyRespondents hunted anaverage of 7.75 days inArkansas during the 2007spring season. Photocourtesy of the NWTF.The spring gobbler hunting survey wasinitiated in 2007 to gather information onhunter activity, gobbling activity, turkey observationsand hunting success throughout the springturkey season and will provide valuable informationto wildlife managers for years to come.The AGFC used a survey form similar to thatused in Mississippi – a small booklet with spacefor data on each hunt, including Arkansas andout-of-state hunts. About 2,500 survey formswere distributed in 2007 to be returned at theend of turkey season.Hunter parametersTwo hundred fifty-nine usable survey formswere returned to the AGFC. Forty-four surveyswere retuned from hunters in the Ozarks; 74from the Ouachitas (including the Little Rockmetropolitan area); 60 from the Gulf CoastalPlain and 75 from the Delta. Five out-of-statehunters participated.These hunters reported on 2,927 turkey hunts– 2,322 in Arkansas and 605 out-of-state. Theaverage hunter had 8.95 hunts in Arkansas and2.3 out-of-state hunts for a total of 11.3 huntsper respondent. Respondents reported huntingan average of 7.75 days in Arkansas and 2 daysin other states, for a total of 9.78 hunting days.Even though most participants were from theDelta and Gulf Coastal Plain, most hunts tookplace in the Ozarks (749). Five hundred sixtyeightwere conducted in the Ouachitas, 675 inthe GCP and 330 in the Delta. Delta hunters,in particular, hunted in other regions, mostly theOzarks.Seventy-one participants (27 percent) reportedhunting out-of-state: 48 of those hunters huntedin one other state; 15 in two; three in three andfive in four other states. Respondents journeyedto 15 other states in spring 2007 with Missouri(30 hunters/155 hunts), Kansas (17/65) andTexas (15/71) leading all other states. Becausesample size is so low in all of these states,comparisons to Arkansas hunts must be made1 8 2 0 0 6 - 0 7 T U R K E Y S E A S O N S U M M A R Y