When Does Turkey Season Start?

Setting Spring Hunting Seasons by Timing Peak Gobbling, Peak Breeding and Peak Incubation

The Wild Turkey Research Project was created by the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department (SCWMRD) in 1970, and it is still one of the special program areas under the Wildlife Section of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) today. The Turkey Project’s initial goals were to create censusing methods for tracking the piedmont’s rapidly growing turkey population and determining patterns of distribution in relation to habitat management strategies. In order to determine the optimal time for the spring season to begin and end, studies were also conducted to identify peak gobbling and nest incubation periods. Spring seasons were open only in areas of the state with adequate numbers of turkeys. Because there were few or no turkeys, there was no open season in a large portion of the state, especially in the coastal plain. The Department created a thorough biological plan in 1975 for the recovery of turkeys in the coastal plain. Between 1976 and 2003, this restoration plan was carried out, leading to the capture and relocation of about 3,542 turkeys on 204 restoration sites around the state. With the exception of recent restoration sites, all counties were fully open for spring gobbler hunting in 1998. A portion of all counties were open for hunting in 1993.

South Carolina’s wild turkey seasons are determined by SC Code of Laws Sections 50-11-520 and 50-11-560. In South Carolina, the spring gobbler season started on March 15 and ended on April 15 until 1976. The dates of the spring turkey season were modified as a result of gobbling and nesting studies carried out in the piedmont and coastal plain in the 1970s. The Department recommended a statewide season from April 1 to May 1 based on the findings of these studies. This season offers the following advantages over the previous one, which was from March 15 to April 15: better weather, less disturbance of breeding activities, fewer accidental or illegal hen kills, and the opportunity to hunt during the longest and most reliable peak in statewide gobbling, which will increase gobbler responsiveness to hunters’ calls.

Since 1976, the SCDNR has advised that the seasons in Game Zones 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 be from April 1 to May 1 (SC Code 50-11-520). On the other hand, the General Assembly did not give SCDNR the authority to establish seasons in Game Zones 6 (lower coastal plain), so in 1976, the Department decided to incorporate the Department’s recommendation for the newly established biological season into the previously established socio-political season (SC Code 50-11-560). This resulted in a March 15-May 1 season in the twelve counties that makes up Game Zone 6.

Peak breeding, peak gobbling, and peak incubation are the three main factors that should be considered when determining the timing of spring gobbler seasons in South Carolina, as they are important for both biology and successful hunting. Seasons can be set taking these factors into account to give hunters the best chance to hunt at the best time (i.e. e. peak gobbling period) without inhibiting reproductive success.

The following describes how the current April 1-May 1 season was developed in South Carolina.

Male wild turkeys gobbling in order to attract hens for mating purposes, usually happens in the spring. While there is usually some gobbling in South Carolina in the middle of March, hunters shouldn’t be concerned about this being “the peak” of gobbling. This gobbling is associated with the breakup of winter turkey flocks (Figure 1). The true peak in gobbling, which happens around a month later, is more consistent and lasts longer than the gobbling associated with winter break-up. Mid-March gobbling is mostly done by subdominant males who are trying to break away from winter flocks that contain hens. Dominant gobblers will inevitably leave winter flocks where the majority of the hens are arranged in a harem. The winter flock breakup is well under way by the third week of March, at which point gobbling reaches its initial minor peak. There is very little gobbling for almost two weeks after flock breakup, when the majority of breeding takes place (Figure 1) Hunting during this period can be frustrating because as hunters say, “they are all henned up”.

By the first week in April the nesting phase of the wild turkey breeding period is underway. During this time hens will lay one egg per day until the clutch is complete. Since most laying in South Carolina takes place in a span of two weeks, the majority of hens initiate incubation in the initial part of April. When the majority of hens begin incubation gobbling begins in earnest. Remember, male turkeys gobble to attract hens. During peak breeding hens are available, therefore, little gobbling takes place. The longest and most stable peak in gobbling happens when hens start to spend more time away from the gobblers (longer stays at the nest and eventually continuous incubation) (Figure 1) This time frame offers the best opportunity to hunt gobbling birds.

Figure 1. Gobbles heard per hour from an unhunted area in the piedmont of South Carolina (adapted from Bevill 1975). The longest and most consistent gobbling occurs from April 16-28. Data from the lower coastal plain is similar with peak gobbling about one week earlier (April 6-22).

Thorough studies on Eastern wild turkeys have demonstrated that latitude alone can be used to predict the timing of breeding (Whitaker et al. , 2004) and breeding is relatively consistent from year to year. Photoperiod or length of day is likely highly involved in this latitudinal predictability and consistency in breeding. In South Carolina peak breeding commences following the winter breakup that takes place in mid to late March. Hunters often complain that spring gobbler season begins too late. However, for several biological reasons, seasons should not begin before the peak of breeding.

First, the effects of removing dominant gobblers prior to breeding are obvious. Turkey populations may decline if there are insufficient dominant gobblers left to breed hens, as this could affect reproduction (fertilized eggs). Also, removing dominant males leaves mostly subdominant gobblers to breed, which may have negative consequences over time.

Second, gobbling activity is poor during peak breeding. It is a fact that male turkeys gobble primarily to attract hens. There is minimal gobbling activity during peak breeding because hens are easily accessible because they stayed with gobblers right after the winter flock split (Figure 1) As previously indicated, the large number of hens and low gobbling during this time of year can make hunting frustrating.

Lastly, a number of studies have demonstrated that hens can be highly vulnerable to unintentional or unlawful killing before they reach the peak of their incubation.

In addition to the fact that spring gobbler seasons should start after the peak of breeding, they should also align with the peak of incubation. Peak incubation is defined as the period during which the majority of hens are on nests. In South Carolina, the final two weeks of March and the first week of April are when wild turkeys breed at their peak. The peak dates for starting incubation are April 1–15, given that fertilization and egg laying take about two weeks (Figure 2). Seasons should align with the height of incubation in order to reduce unintentional or illicit hen harvesting.

Recall that during the busiest breeding season, hens spend a lot of time with gobblers and frequently respond to the calls of hunters in addition to the gobbler. Numerous studies have demonstrated that an important cause of springtime mortality is the unintentional or illegal harvesting of hens. Any spring turkey guide or seasoned hunter who regularly guides other hunters will tell you that it’s important to take precautions to prevent accidentally killing hens, especially when the hens are around gobbling toms. However, after incubation starts, the hens are left alone and only spend a small amount of time on the nest every day. In summary, hens are less vulnerable to unintentional or illegal killing during the egg-laying phase and even less vulnerable during the incubation period. Finally, peak gobbling is stimulated by the fact that hens are no longer present since they are incubating.

Figure 2. Timing of the start of incubation for hens in the piedmont (adapted from Bevill 1975). Peak incubation occurs the first two weeks in April. Data for lower coastal plain is similar with peak incubation about one week earlier.

OPENING DAY on PUBLIC LAND! (Wild Start to Turkey Season!)

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