OHIO SPRING TURKEY HUNTING SEASON OPENS MONDAY, APRIL 26: OH

COLUMBUS, OH - Spring wild turkey hunting season opens in
all 88 Ohio counties on April 26 and continues through May 23, according to
the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
"It should be a good year for turkey hunters and I estimate
between 20,000 and 25,000 gobblers will be harvested this season," said
forest wildlife biologist Dave Swanson. He added that Ohio's current wild
turkey population is around 200,000. The wild turkey is Ohio's largest game
bird. It stands 3 to 4 feet tall and may weigh up to 27 pounds.
Swanson anticipates as many as 90,000 people, not counting
private landowners hunting on their own property, will enjoy Ohio's
increasingly popular spring wild turkey season. Hunters harvested 20,368
wild turkeys during last year's spring season.
"The best news for this year's hunters is that they can
expect to see lots of mature gobblers," he said.
A special youth-only turkey hunt for those age 17 and
younger will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25. Young hunters must
have their hunting licenses and spring wild turkey permits to participate
and must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult, 18 years of age or older.
The young hunter's turkey season is open statewide on pubic and private
lands with the exception of Lake LaSuAn Wildlife Area in Williams County.
Legal hunting hours are a half-hour before sunrise to sunset each day during
the two-day youth season.
Legal hunting hours for the spring season are one-half hour
before sunrise until noon. Hunters are required to have a hunting license
and a spring turkey-hunting permit and can take one wild turkey per day. A
second spring turkey permit can be purchased, allowing hunters to take a
limit of two bearded wild turkeys.
Shotguns using shot, longbows and crossbows may be used to
hunt wild turkeys. It is unlawful to hunt turkeys over bait, to use a live
decoy or electronic calling device, and to shoot
a wild turkey while it is in a tree. A wild turkey must be
properly tagged and taken to an official check station by 2 p.m. on the day
it is harvested.
The ODNR Division of Wildlife advises hunters to wear hunter
orange clothing when entering, leaving, or moving through hunting areas so
they can remain visible to other hunters in the area. Copies of the 2004
Spring Gobbler Season are available through hunting license vendors. The
pamphlet contains safety tips and a list of turkey check stations.
Additional turkey hunting information is available on the Internet at
ohiodnr.com.
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Source: ODNR