Turkeys of both genders fair game in fall hunt

Since 1987, when a hunting season for wild turkey in Ontario was introduced, it has only been legal to pursue them during a limited spring season.
But as the bird population began to flourish to the point the population is estimated to be more than 70,000, extensions were made to the spring season.
If that’s not enough to whet hunters’ appetites, additional opportunities are in the works.
Starting this year, the Ministry of Natural Resources has created a fall season for wild turkeys.

In a recent news release, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters announced the season will begin the Tuesday following Thanksgiving and continue until the second Sunday following Thanksgiving. As well, hunters can bag one bird of either gender, the federation reported.
Those who enjoy turkey hunting won’t have far to travel to pursue them as local Wildlife Management Units 77 and 78, which stretch from Oakville to Durham Region and from Lake Ontario north to Barrie and Bolsover will offer a fall season, the OFAH said.
Wil Wegman, a spokesperson from the ministry’s Aurora District office, said he has received positive feedback on the new hunt.
However, some of the spring hunting traditionalists question the move, he added.
With the proliferation of the wild turkey population, the decision to go with a fall hunt would also serve as a means to manage the species in a sustainable manner, Wegman said.
“Some areas have a lot of turkeys to the point where they can be a nuisance,” he said.
Although this year marks the debut of a fall turkey hunt in Ontario, those who have had the opportunity to hunt these birds in certain parts of the United States, where such a season is already in place, feel it will generate more excitement, not to mention a challenge.
Unlike turkey hunting in the spring, when you’re calling in toms, the key to the fall season is finding flocks, suggested my close friend, Fritz Weyand, a Gowanda, N.Y. resident who has participated in a fall turkey hunt in his neck of the woods since the late 1970s.
“There’s definitely more action in the fall,” he said. “And it’s good fun because you’re walking around trying to find flocks of birds. Once you find a flock you break them up so they scatter and fly and then you can call them.”
As far as table fare goes, Weyand insisted fall birds are far more tasty since they are not in a state of carrying out their annual rite of spring.
“In the spring, the big males aren’t eating. But in the fall, the birds tend to be around cornfields or trees with nuts,” he added.
If you plan to take party in the fall hunt, you are required by law to take the special federation training course to obtain the turkey designation on your hunting licence.
Since 1987, the federation has trained close to 78,300 turkey hunters through seminars held across Ontario.