It was about an hour before daylight on opening morning. My truck was in high gear rolling down an old gravel road that leads deep into the rugged mountain country of southeastern Kentucky. The longbeards in the area had been gobbling heavily for weeks and you could actually feel the excitement and intensity hanging in the air. I was trying really hard to concentrate on the winding road while talking turkey-hunting strategies with my father and cousin, who were riding shotgun in the passenger seat. With my mind fully focused on the opening day hunt and not the road, it’s a thousand wonders that we made it into the woods in one piece that morning!

Spring turkey hunting in the Bluegrass State has unquestionably become more than just a weekend hobby or pastime for outdoor enthusiasts. In fact, turkey hunting is now a tradition in my family that has generated many fond memories over the past few years. There is just something special about being in the woods during the rebirth of spring and chasing after longbeards with family and loved ones. Without a doubt, the state of Kentucky has grown into a turkey hunter’s paradise in recent years. It seems as though huntable populations of turkeys are popping up just about everywhere across the Commonwealth.

Shortly after stepping outside the truck, I pulled out my trusty owl call and let out a screechy hooting sequence that echoed across the wide mountain hollow. Several different longbeards immediately responded with throaty gobbles, which were intensely magnified by the quiet stillness of the early-morning darkness. We quickly split up and went after separate gobblers in different directions. I made my way down a worn logging road that was adjacent to an abandoned homestead.

There was barley enough daylight to see when I spotted the top of a gobbler’s tail fan just barely clearing the top of the tall weeds. The longbeard was in full strut and was accompanied by a pesky hen that refused to leave its side. I hit the hen with some aggressive cutts and yelps that apparently placed her in a raw mood. The hen responded with some agitated cutts of her own and started toward my position. The longbeard double gobbled at our heated conversation and eagerly followed the hen almost into my lap. I gently squeezed my trigger and the loud roar of my shotgun placed the longbeard on its back.

This is just one of the successful hunts that I experienced last spring in the Bluegrass State with my family. In fact, my father, cousin and grandfather all harvested nice longbeards during April. Many hunters across the Commonwealth also shared similar success stories as well. In fact, an impressive total of 26,963 birds were taken during the 2004 spring season alone. These harvest totals translate into an overall 32 percent success rate for turkey hunters across the Bluegrass State. These numbers are pretty darn good when you consider the unfavorable weather conditions that hunters faced during most of the spring. With the memories and stories of last season behind us now, what can Kentucky turkey hunters expect this year?

According to Jim Lane, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) wildlife program coordinator in charge of the Commonwealth’s turkey program, hunters can look forward to another solid turkey season. He estimates that Kentucky’s overall turkey population is holding steady around a remarkable 200,000 birds statewide. “The re-introduction stocking of the wild turkey in the state has been extremely successful. This is a direct result of an abundance of quality habitat, coupled with diligent law enforcement during the early years of the restocking program to help curb poaching,” Lane explained.

Many hunters wonder exactly what factors are needed to create the ideal turkey habitat in our state. Well, according to Jim Lane, you really need a permanent water source and a good mixture of open lands for suitable turkey habitat. A combination of warm- and cool-season grass with woodlands that offer soft and hard mast, along with roosting sites is also extremely important. In addition, turkeys need good brood-rearing habitat that is adjacent to escape cover and preferred nesting habitat.

Furthermore, Lane strongly feels that the overall popularity of the sport of turkey hunting is growing. Did you know that there are currently around 82,500 resident turkey hunters across our great state? “More and more outdoorsmen are turkey hunting each season because it gives hunters something exciting and challenging to hunt in the spring of the year. Maybe it’s because the aesthetics of the spring woods is very appealing or the fact that many hunters enjoy matching wits with a game animal that is arguably more challenging than deer,” Lane said.