As leader of the Missouri Department of Conservation's turkey management program, Isabelle pays close attention to indicators of how the state's wild-turkey population is doing. The size of the spring turkey harvest is one such indicator.
Hunters checked 22,348 turkeys during the first week of the spring season. That is a 4-percent increase from 2013 and is 7 percent above the previous five-year average. It also is the largest first-week harvest since 2007. Isabelle is pleased with the early uptick in turkey harvest, but he also is a bit cautious about drawing conclusions just yet.
"It's encouraging to see that Missouri's spring turkey hunters got off to a good start," says Isabelle. "Weather conditions during much of the first week were great for hunting, with quite a few really nice mornings. But with only one week of the season and just one weekend, when hunters focus a lot of the effort, it's difficult to tell how much of the increase might be due to gains in turkey numbers versus weather conditions during that relatively short time period. The season total will paint a more accurate picture."
Top turkey-harvest counties in the first week of the season were Franklin with 504 birds checked, Texas with 451 and Callaway with 394. The season continues through May 11.Six of eight first-week regional harvest totals were up compared to last year. Those were Central 3,503 (up 6 percent), Kansas City 2,559 (up 4 percent), Northeast 2,725 (up 5 percent), Northwest 2,537 (up 12 percent), Ozark 2,990 (up 6 percent), and Southwest 3,774 (up 13 percent). Opening-week harvests were down in the Southeast 2,434 (down 8 percent) and St. Louis 1,831 (down 9 percent) regions.
The Conservation Department recorded three firearms-related turkey hunting incidents during the first week of the season. Two involved hunters who mistook other hunters for turkeys. The victim in the third incident was between the shooter and a turkey and was caught in the line of fire. The shooters' ages ranged from 42 to 64. In two of the incidents, the shooter and victim were hunting together but had separated.
Isabelle said these three incidents illustrate some of the most frequent causes of firearms related turkey-hunting injuries.
"We could drastically reduce the number of incidents if hunters would always positively identify their target, if they made sure of what was between and beyond them and their target, and if they would stay together when hunting in pairs or at least always know where their hunting partner was going to be," he said.
Shown in the photo is Bobby Shipman with his 23.6 pound gobbler with 9 1/2 inch beard and 1 inch spurs.
East Prairie, Missouri - The Dexter T.S. Hill Middle School baseball team traveled to East Prairie to compete in a tournament over the weekend.
The Bearcats defeated East Prairie 3 - 0 in their first game and lost to New Madrid County Central 9 - 3 in their second game.
They battled back from the loss to go on and win three straight defeated Malden 3 - 2, and back to back wins against New Madrid County Central, 14 - 4 and 11 - 4. They won the tournament 4 - 1.
The middle school Bearcats ended their season 11-3 winning the Dexter Invitational and the East Prairie Tournament.
Way to go T.S. Hill Middle School Bearcats!
Dexter, Missouri – Ashley Brown has not only signed to play softball with the Crowley’s Ridge College in Paragould, Arkansas, but has also signed to play volleyball.
“I went down there for a visit and liked all the people,” Brown said of her decision to attend Crowley’s Ridge College. “Everyone got along and it was a great small-town atmosphere.”
Brown has played centerfield in softball, but this year she transitioned to catcher showing that she is versatile and will also be a valuable for the Pioneers. She received the Team Dedication Award for her sophomore and junior years at Dexter High School, an award voted on by her teammates.
“Ashley is one of the most hard-working kids I have ever coached,” stated Dexter’s softball coach Chris Bolin. “I think she will excel at both sports. She is a great athlete and I am proud of her.”
Brown scored 148 points in 68 sets averaging 2.18 points per serve, 21 aces, and 107 digs. She was also selected Defensive Player of the Year for volleyball in high school and will compete at the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division 1 level next year.
Crowley’s Ridge College is located in Paragould, Arkansas and is a private, four-year, coeducational Christian liberal arts college. It’s truly, “the college that feels like home”. For more information about Crowley’s Ridge College, please click HERE.
“The girls fell in love with her the minute she tried out,” commented Crowley’s Ridge College volleyball and softball coach Cindy Henry. “She has great skills. She wanted to play both sports and from the moment she hit the floor I knew I wanted her. She is so talented and with us being such a small school and her being so talented she will do very well.”
Shown in the photo above are: Front row left to right - Brittany Brown, Regina Brown, Ashley, and Johnny Brown. Standing – Dexter softball coach Chris Bolin, Crowley’s Ridge College volleyball and softball coach Cindy Henry, Ashley’s grandparents, Joyce and Bill Kitchens, and Dexter volleyball coach Carmen Morgan.
Bernie, Missouri - Softball sectionals are slated to begin today. The Bernie Lady Mules will play Malden at 4:00 p.m. in Bernie. Admission is $6.00.
There will be 16 teams battling it out and at the end the winners will advance to the quarterfinals scheduled for Thursday, May 8th.
Good luck to the Lady Mules! History in the making!! Come out and support the Mules as they pay in the first ever softball state play-offs in Missouri.
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Missouri - Young hunters checked 4,332 turkeys during Missouri’s youth turkey hunting season April 12 and 13, topping the 4,000 mark for the second time in the youth season’s 14-year history.
Top counties in the youth season were Franklin with 107 birds checked, Cedar with 96, and Webster with 92. The Missouri Department of Conservation recorded one nonfatal hunting incident during the weekend hunt.
Conservation Department Resource Scientist Jason Isabelle says the strong youth season harvest can be attributed partly to the carry-over of adult gobblers resulting from good turkey reproduction in 2011 and 2012. Favorable weather throughout much of the state during the mornings of the hunt also helped.
Missouri’s only other 4,000-plus youth season harvest was in 2012, when young hunters checked 4,319 turkeys. Hunters age 6 through 15 are allowed to take one male turkey or turkey with a visible beard during the youth hunt. Those who do take a turkey during the youth hunt may not take a second bird until the second week of the regular spring turkey season.
The 2014 regular spring turkey season runs April 21 through May 11. For more information, get a copy of the 2014 Spring Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet where permits are sold or visit mdc.mo.gov/node/4051.
The Conservation Department’s First Turkey Program is a great way to memorialize a hunter’s first successful hunt. The program provides a free commemorative certificate suitable for framing. You can even add a photo of the proud hunter with his or her bird. Creating a tangible reminder of a once-in-a-lifetime experience begins with visiting mdc.mo.gov/node/10469. The same site has forms for a hunter’s first deer for youths or adults.
If you bag a Turkey this year and would like the ShowMe Times to spotlight your kill, just send a photo, your name, County location of the hunt any pertinent information you would like us to share to news@showmetimes.com.
