MISSOURI, USA — Thousands of Missouri turkeys were harvested during this year's Fall firearms seasons, according to numbers from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
But, numbers are still lower than previous seasons.
Hunters harvested 2,219 turkeys during the season that ran from Oct. 1-31 this year, the department's website said. It's an increase from last year's 1,844 turkey total during the same season last year but is much lower than the 3,698 turkeys harvested in 2016. It's also lower than 2017's total of 2,901.
This year's top turkey harvest counties were Dent, Crawford and Washington with 86, 82 and 72 birds harvested, respectively.
"It is great to see an uptick in fall harvest,” said MDC Turkey Biologist Nick Oakley. “We saw an increased harvest during the spring season and an increase in poult production this year, so it makes sense that fall harvest would follow suit.”
Conservationists are again asking hunters who harvested turkeys to send in the feathers from their kills for research purposes. The feathers will reportedly improve models used to monitor turkey population trends and measure the abundance of the birds across the state.
Hunters can send in their feathers at no cost to them.
"After you Telecheck your turkey, please retain the 9th and 10th primary wing feathers and 3-5 breast feathers," the MDC website said. "Once you have signed up for the program and telechecked a turkey, MDC’s will mail you a feather submission packet containing additional instruction and a postage-paid envelope for the feathers to be placed inside and mailed back to MDC. You will receive one packet for each turkey you harvest during the fall seasons, so please be sure to keep each turkey’s feathers separate and labeled with the correct Telecheck ID."
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