Publication Update

My Fall and Winter Turkey Hunter's Handbook is due out shortly, while my current book project--Turkey Calls and Calling--is slated for Spring '09 publication (both from Stackpole Books).

I'm also currently working on a number of spring turkey hunting features, specifically two for Outdoor Life, and as many for Turkey & Turkey Hunting, plus work for many online industry markets (web content primarily). Just finished a New England destinations roundup for Cabela's Outfitter Journal last week (Jan-Feb. issue). Check out my weekly Sunday column and photo support with Foster's Sunday Citizen as well (my tenth year writing for that space). I wrote about spiders last week, and aromatherapy in the form of Hoppe's No. 9 today . . .

Look for my piece on turkey dogging in the Fall issue of T&TH, and e-mail me with any questions you might have about this traditional pursuit that is getting a lot of interest of late as seasons expand around the country. I've a feature on fall turkey flocks about to appear in Turkey Call magazine as well (Sept.-Oct. issue), and one on fall turkey hunting due out from N.H. Wildlife Journal soon . . .

Apart from this, I'm teaching two courses for Granite State College this summer, specifically the Writing Process and American Popular Culture.

--Steve Hickoff

Fall and Winter Turkey Hunter's Handbook

Stackpole Books is issuing my Fall and Winter Turkey Hunter's Handbook in August (6 x 9 softcover; 256 pages; 150 color photos). Here you'll find in-depth information on the rich history of our tradition, wild turkey vocalizations, turkey calls and calling, scouting, using dogs to find and flush autumn flocks, plus my take on archery tackle, firearms, ammo, safety sense, youth hunting, and the future of fall and winter turkey hunting. End matter suggests additional readings, and outdoor industry information. For more details, please contact me here by email, or directly at 207.439.9119.

--Steve Hickoff

(Book cover photo John Hafner)

New York State Turkeys

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) provided the recent excerpts on their ongoing turkey management. As a longtime nonresident fall and spring turkey hunter visiting the state, such news release information is always of interest. Some highlights:

"New York is one of the premier states in the country for wild turkey hunting and this was another exciting year for wild turkey management and research in New York. In 2006, DEC staff initiated a new winter flock survey and began the first major assessment of turkey survival since the 1970s. The spring season saw the highest harvest in 3 years, followed by a challenging nesting season where cool, wet weather negatively impacted nest success. This decline in productivity was reflected in the fall hunting season where harvest figures were the lowest since 1992. What follows are some highlights of wild turkey research and management from 2006 and a forecast for the Spring 2007 season.

"Wild Turkey Banding Study - In January 2006, DEC began a four-year wild turkey banding project designed to estimate harvest and survival rates of male wild turkeys (gobblers) in New York. This study is being done in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, researchers from Pennsylvania State University, and the National Wild Turkey Federation. In winter 2006, DEC banded 296 gobblers and 81 (27%) were reported taken by hunters during the 2006 spring season. Several birds were taken more than 20 miles from their winter capture location.

"In winter 2007, DEC staff and volunteers banded another 381 gobblers, far exceeding the annual statewide goal of 300 birds. Returns from the spring 2007 hunting season will be analyzed by researchers at Pennsylvania State University to further examine harvest rates, harvest reporting rates, and movements of birds across the state landscape. DEC thanks all of the volunteers and cooperating landowners for their invaluable assistance in the field. This project would not be possible without them.

"Spring Harvest 2006 - The estimated statewide turkey harvest in spring 2006 was approximately 27,750 birds, the highest since 2003. The ratio of jakes (juvenile males) to toms (adult males) in the spring harvest was approximately 1:1. This is the highest proportion of young turkeys relative to adult birds since 1995, and likely a reflection of excellent production in summer 2005 and a mild winter in 2005-06.

"Youth Hunt 2006 - DEC established a special youth hunt for turkeys in 2004. More than 5,000 junior hunters have taken to the woods each year with their adult companions to take advantage of this special opportunity. In spring 2006, despite rainy weather on both days of the youth hunt, over 6,000 junior hunters harvested about 1,300 birds. This was the highest harvest since the youth hunt was established. Results of a post-hunt survey conducted by DEC indicated that the hunt was once again very well received by the junior hunters and their adult mentors.

"Summer Productivity 2006 - the Department conducts a special survey annually during the month of August to estimate the average number of wild turkey poults (young of the year) per hen statewide and among major geographic regions of the state. This index allows the Department to gauge reproductive success in a given year and predict fall harvest potential. Weather, predation, and habitat conditions during the breeding and brood-rearing seasons can all significantly impact nest success, hen survival, and poult survival.

"In 2006, the number of flocks reported was lower than in 2005, and the average number of poults per hen was down 27% from 2005 (2.7 vs. 3.7 in 2005). This was well below the 10- year average (1996-2005) of 3.3 for this index. Spring and early summer 2006 were cool and relatively wet in most of the state, and results of the August Survey indicated production was down from last year, probably due to those adverse weather conditions.

"Fall Harvest 2006 - As anticipated based on the below-average productivity, turkey harvest during the 2006 fall season declined about 6% from 2005 to 2006 to 9,202 birds. This is the third straight year of declines in fall harvest despite above-average production in 2005 and a mild winter in 2005-06. Low reproductive success from 2002-04 and again in 2006 likely contributed to declines in fall harvest. Another factor might be a decreasing number of participants. The number of fall turkey hunters has decreased about 29% over the last five years, while the harvest rate remained relatively stable at about 3 birds/100 day's effort."

While hunting with my setter Midge, a buddy of mine and I took two of those 9,202 birds.

--Steve Hickoff

(Steve Hickoff photo)

July: On the Board

My setter Radar is waiting on the hunting seasons to come. For now:

Tips/photos for the Yamaha Outdoors website . . .

State-by-state roundup/photos for Cabela's Outfitter Journal . . .

Two turkey features for Outdoor Life . . .

Several for Turkey & Turkey Hunting as well . . .

An article for Realtree.com . . .

Work on my next book with Stackpole (Spring '09 release) . . .

Weekly columns/photo support for my Foster's Sunday Citizen space . . .

--Steve Hickoff

(Steve Hickoff photo/"Radar, Downtime")