Arkansas’ fall firearms turkey season runs from Oct. 1-17 in zones 3, 5B, 6 and 17 only. Bowhunters enjoy a longer fall turkey season in the remaining zones. Photo by Ralph Hensley.

A friend of mine once uttered a pronouncement to the effect that the final step in becoming what he calls a T.O.I. -- “total outdoor idiot” -- is taking up turkey hunting. But one rung on the T.O.I. ladder is even higher (lower?) than that: For the folks who just can’t get enough of hunting turkeys in the spring, there’s fall turkey season.

Most turkey hunters are familiar with the ins, outs, ups and downs of what it takes to find a tom turkey in the spring. But chasing these birds through the fall and winter months is a practice that comes with its own unique rules, regulations and mindset.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS
This fall, firearms turkey hunting will be open in Arkansas zones 3, 5B, 6 and 17. Those zones are found in the eastern Ozark Plateaus (3); at the southern end of Crowley’s Ridge and mainly in the St Francis unit of the Ozark-St Francis National Forest (5B); the Ozarks and the north side of the Arkansas River Valley (6) and the lands on the Mississippi River (17).

The season will run from Oct. 11-17. Meanwhile, all other zones are closed to firearms turkey hunting.

That does not mean, however, that there is no other opportunity to take a shot at one of these birds in autumn. Instead, the remainder of the zones allow archery and crossbow hunting for fall turkeys.

Zones 1, 1A, 2, 4, 4A, 4B, 5, 5A, 7, 7A, 8, 9, 9A and 10 are included in this archery/crossbow-only area. The season, though, also includes the other zones where the brief firearms season is allowed. Dates are Oct. 1, 2008, through Feb. 28, 2009.

For each of the seasons, there is a limit of one bird per hunter. Departing from the rules of the spring season, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission allows hunters to take hens. In fact, hens account for much of the fall turkey harvest in our state. (Cont.)

So, how does the state agency charged with the stewardship of wildlife arrive at these regulations?

The reasoning behind the season dates and bag limits relates to data obtained by the AGFC on turkey populations and harvests in each zone and each of Arkansas’ 75 counties.

“The Harvest Management Section of the Strategic Wild Turkey Management Plan, which was approved by the commission in 2001, guides turkey harvest management in Arkansas,” explained Mike Widner, the AGFC’s turkey program leader. “The SWTMP treats fall firearms and fall archery/crossbow differently.” He went on to note that this is so because of the enhanced ability of a hunter using a firearm to harvest a bird, and added, “Fall firearms hunting could have a significant impact on turkey numbers if harvests are excessive.”

Therefore, the AGFC eyes available information from employee observations, hunter harvests and other sources to rein in the fall turkey harvest to an acceptable level. Widner observed that level as being anything under 5 percent of the estimated fall turkey population in a given area.

“The primary criteria is that fall firearms hunting should be allowed in counties that have a spring turkey harvest (from the previous year) in excess of 0.5 birds per square mile of commercial forest,” he continued.

With that criteria driving the decision-making process, the AGFC opened one turkey zone for fall firearms hunting and closed three others as part of its activities at the board’s meeting in March.