Just shipped a fall turkey article I wrote for New Hampshire Wildlife Journal (Sept./Oct. '07 issue), which had me thinking a lot about autumn hunting seasons lately . . . not that that's all that hard.
While some of the other questions of the day include: (1) Will I be able to man up on watching all of NBA Finals Game 1 of The LeBron Show tonight (it'll end around midnight EST), and (2) Should I fish for freshwater trout or saltwater striped bass tomorrow? Likely neither if I'm wiped out from watching hoops . . . still getting my biological clock back in order after turkey season.
Still, calendar plans are underway for fall turkey seasons, starting with Sept. 15, the start of N.H.'s archery-only turkey offering. That'll mean pulling my Hoyt bow off the wall above this computer, and working on that muscle memory all summer, zipping arrows into hay bale-backed targets--after all, style is required when a guy like me shoots under, over, around, and between the legs of wild turkeys in range during the 101-day Granite State season . . .
Oct. 1 will see the New York state fall turkey season commencing on a Monday, and while that month often sees me road tripping there several times, some scheduling issues are in play here on the home front.
I routinely hunt both N.H. and Maine, since the border is 1/4 mi. away from where I type this. This coming autumn, N.H. will once again offer its 5-day weekday shotgun turkey season (the second ever; Oct. 15-19), which coincides with the proposed first ever modern-day Maine fall shotgun turkey season (that previous Sat., Oct. 13, will open the hunt option sources indicate; Sundays are closed here in Maine, and that Monday it'll reopen thru Friday, the 19th). So what's a guy to do? Hunt southern Maine . . . or drive to the westcentral and westernmost Granite State locations where that season is open? Both?
Maybe. I've also got the Vermont firearms turkey opener on Sat., Oct. 20, so yeah, it would be possible to hunt my way over there on Friday the 19th (the last day of NH's gun season for turkeys), then hunt VT. Stay tuned.
At any rate, it's fair to say October will be memorable as usual, and as always, pass way too fast.
--Steve Hickoff
(NWTF photo)
