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 Son a regional basis. Arkansas hunters primarilytraveled to Plains states (49 hunters/234 hunts),followed by the Midwest (35/203), the Southeast(30/164) and the West (1/4).Gobbling and harvest activityHunters in this survey reported hearing 3,118turkeys gobble 27,584 times for an average of12.2 gobblers heard and 108.2 gobbles heardper hunter. These data indicate that Arkansashunters heard an average of 1.57 gobblers and13.96 gobbles per hunting day. Hunters reportedkilling 175 turkeys in Arkansas, averaging 0.69turkeys per hunter.More turkeys were heard in the Ozarks during10 hours of hunting than any other region ofthe state, but more gobbles were heard in theDelta (Figure 1). Gobbling indices were onlyslightly lower in the Ouachitas than the Ozarks.Gobblers and gobbles heard were lowest in theGulf Coastal Plain. Harvest per 100 hours ofhunting varied from 1.66 in the Delta to 2.02in the Ozarks, with the Gulf Coastal Plain onlyslightly behind at 1.97. Even though gobblingactivity was lower in the Gulf Coastal Plain,harvest indices were in the upper range observed(Figure 1).Fifty-two percent of the hunts during theregular turkey season occurred in the first week.The Delta and the Ouachitas reported similarlevels of gobblers heard throughout the regularturkey season, while the Ozarks and Gulf CoastalPlain reported similar gobbler activity the firsttwo weeks of the season followed by a steepdecline the third week.Gobbling activity and harvest matched upwell for all three weeks of the regular season,except in the Ozarks and Ouachitas. Harvestin the Ozarks remained good the third week ofthe season even though the number of gobblersheard fell considerably, while harvest levels inthe Ouachitas fell dramatically the third weekdespite good gobbling activity.*More turkeyswere heard in theOzarks during10 hours ofhunting thanany other regionof the state.Figure 1. Regional gobbling and harvest indices for Arkansas hunts.4.543.532.521.510.50Ozarks Ouachitas Gulf Coastal Plain DeltaGobblers/10 HoursGobbles/HourKill/100 HoursMost respondents whoturkey hunted in otherstates traveled to theGreat Plains. Photocourtesy of the NWTF.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 1 9