The three were within 70 yards and closing. In minutes one or all of them would be arching, gobbling and fanning within reach of my 12 gauge.

I got the gun on my knee in shooting position and waited for it. As the lead gobbler passed in review in front of my blind, he stretched out to gobble, and I fired. The shot flipped him dramatically. He flopped once or twice, and the other two commenced to kick and peck at him, The hens headed for the shelter of the woods.

After the excitement quieted and the other turkeys left, I picked up my prize and headed for the road. It had been an awesome morning. The gobbler I took weighed only 20 pounds, but his spurs were 1 3/4 inches and his beard was 11 1/2 inches. Other than being lean from the stress of breeding season, he appeared to be in fine health.

This unique, successful hunt left me with the memory of an impressively cooperative effort that will stick with me forever.

All across Mississippi, turkey hunters have the chance to take gobblers on public and private land. Those who hunt on the state’s wildlife management areas and national forests have to be flexible, and to use ingenuity to get a bird close enough to shoot. Unfortunately, the gobblers surviving the first few days of the season probably won’t be fooled by standard setup and calling routines.

HOW IS OUR TURKEY FLOCK?

The last two years have been difficult for ground-nesting birds across the state. Many of the nests had to be remade by hens after the first clutch of eggs was flooded during hard early-season rains. Additional rain and cold weather weakened or killed some of the surviving chicks when they were very young. This pattern seen in the last two seasons — early rains followed by cold weather — means that fewer jakes and uneducated 2-year-old birds are haunting the woods.

“Summer of 2003 was probably the lowest hatch in eight or nine years,” said James Austin, turkey program leader for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. “Jakes may be hard to find next season. In 2006 turkey hunters will feel the impacts much more than this year.”

That’s the bad news. The good news is that this year should have another near-record harvest of mature gobblers. Also, if the spring comes in relatively dry and warm, the hatch should make up for these last two years of fewer surviving poults.

“Overall, Mississippi has a healthy turkey population,” said Austin. “The late ’80s to the late ’90s were great years for turkey hunting here, but last year was probably a record for number of birds taken. It was surprising, since the number of birds has been declining throughout the new millennium.”

Even with the number of turkeys going down, the quality and size of birds is still going up. The state record for largest turkey was broken last year. The new record bird weighed 25.4 ounces. Only 3 years old, he was taken in Neshoba County.

THE OAK SEEDLING PROJECT

Turkey survival through the winter depends on the quality and quantity of the mast crop in the north part of Mississippi once the bugs are gone. Our state has been working with Georgia Forestry Commission, the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Mississippi Forestry Commission, Mississippi State University and a variety of others to grow “super trees” that mature quickly and start producing acorns within 10 years.

“Experimentation has shown that with the proper treatment just about any species of red or white oak acorn can be used for growing the trees,” Austin explained. “We collect Mississippi acorns from various locations, send them over to Georgia to be grown to seedling size then they are brought back and planted in WMAs around the state. This year for the first time we had enough to distribute some to landowners who want to provide better cover and mast crops for their wildlife.”

Because these trees aren’t products of genetic engineering, or hybrids created from out-of-state nursery stock, the turkey team leader is particularly pleased with them. Using different varieties of oak offers the additional advantage of assuring that the trees don’t all drop their acorns at the same time.