Start of Spring Turkey Hunting

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Created on Thursday, 02 May 2013 16:28
Written by Brian Stone

Turkey HuntingNORTHEAST KINGDOM - Spring turkey season is popular with many hunters because of the challenge of scouting and luring the birds in. And with the season starting on Tuesday hunters are have begun to target the toms.

Spring turkey season runs from May 1 to the 31, and hunters are only allowed to shoot 30 minutes before sunrise until noon, but there are no restrictions on scouting. "I normally get up around 2 o'clock. I like to get to the spot and kind of reserve it because you get a lot of people driving by," said Zach Vigneau, a perched against a tree early Tuesday morning as he attempted to find a flock for the next day.  "When you can visibly see the bird and you're sitting there calling, and it just gobbles, and it goes right through your body and your adrenaline just goes through the roof."  

The excitement of turkey season is clear as hunters begin to stock up their supplies. "Everybod's looking for licenses, they're looking for ammo, they're looking for decoys, gun, calls, there's a lot of things they look for when they're turkey hunting," said Rick Gorham, owner of Ricks Gun Shop in East Burke. 

Gorham, who has been in business for over 20 years, describes turkey season as one of the most exciting popular and dangerous hunting seasons there is. "Its on of the most dangerous sports there is. You sit out in the bushes, in camo, and make a noise like a turkey and everybody wants to shoot one, it can be dangerous, you got to use your head." 

Safety is emphasized with all hunting but some specifics to turkey hunting are don't wave your hand because it can resemble a trukey head, always sit with your back against a tree, wear a safety vest when hiking between locations, and don't place decoys directly in front of yourself. The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department say another key to safety is to report any violations you see. "Wardens have to cover a lot of area... We always try to emphasize that the public is our eyes and ears, " said Warden Dennis Amsden, "And when they see something like somebody shooting from the road, shooting a turkey in the afternoon in the spring season when the hours are closed that they call us and let us know."

For complete spring turkey regulations, safety tips, or how to report a violation visit the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department website.