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Turkey Hunting
2025 Turkey Seasons
Kids, Mobility Impaired: March 22-23
Private-Land: March 29 – May 15
Public-Land: April 5 – May 15
* Two gobbler per season limit; one-gobbler-per-day restriction.
Deer season has come and gone. Bradley Carpenter had a typical season harvesting a couple of does and one nice 3.5-year-old 8-pointer, all on public land in north Georgia. It was a mild Saturday morning in the middle of February, and Bradley was out walking on Lake Russell WMA. He was there before daylight, listening…
It had been a half hour since my last call. I had no idea if the bird was even still in the neighborhood or not. He hadn’t given me any reason to believe he was, and when he had last gobbled, he was still in the same vicinity as he had been when he first…
Turkeys sure do have a tough time. It’s a wonder that they can survive at all in the wild, with the ongoing habitat destruction, the seemingly endless predation, Mother Nature’s unpredictable hazards and conservation-oblivious humans. But then, there is more that we may not necessarily think much about in our native turkey flocks. For me,…
The drift of smoke from a chimney somewhere distant instantly grabbed my attention and caused my mind to rewind to years a long time ago. It reminded me of my boyhood as I walked this very logging road I was now on, but I was a kid then, likely still shy of my teens, and…
I missed the first turkey I ever shot at. It was 1995, and it would be another eight years before I killed my first one. Turkeys are merciless teachers. I’d come home and complain to my wife and tell her I was quitting and was going to sell my gun. She’d just laugh and ask…
“When I was 12 years old,” Brad Campbell was saying, “I traded a pig for a .22 rifle.” That remark caused me to smile all over my face. It called to mind a certain long-ago conversation with a sociology professor who was attempting to explain the term “hunter-gatherer” as a single entity. It became quickly…
A white turkey poult showed up in late July in Walker County on the camera of Dacin Lowe. Several pictures of the white bird were taken with other normal-colored poults and an adult hen turkey. We emailed one of the pictures to WRD’s State Wild Turkey Coordinator Emily Rushton to get her thoughts. “That is…
As one of the most popular fighters in the UFC—the major leagues of mixed martial arts competitions —Cody Durden is no stranger to rushes of adrenaline and heart-pumping action. The Newton County native says he never imagined he would experience the same reactions to killing his first turkey. His first gobbler wasn’t just any turkey,…
Terry Fowler comes from a long line of serious hunters, and he has no intention of letting the passion stop with him. The 51-year-old father of three is teaching his kids what his father taught him. Born and raised in Gilmer County, Terry knows the north Georgia terrain well, spending most of his hunting time…
How do you get a 4-year-old interested in turkey hunting? Well, Chris New found a way. “I asked my dad how he got me interested in hunting when I was so young,” Chris said. “I wanted to start introducing my 4-year-old son Micah to turkey hunting this spring.” Chris’s father, Billy New, has made a…
Turkey Recipes
Crockpot Crispy Wild Turkey 1 whole turkey I pound butter divided in half 1 tbsp thyme 1 tbsp rosemary 1 tbsp salt 1 tbsp black pepper Pat the turkey dry with one or two sheets of paper towel. Slather the entire turkey with half the butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with thyme and rosemary.…
Peanut Butter Wild Turkey I must admit that I was apprehensive when a friend asked me to try his newly discovered dish. Once he showed me the ingredients, I realized it was a take on a popular Oriental chicken dish. And it is wonderful! 1 turkey breast 2 tbsp salt 2 tbsp white sugar 2…
Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers 6 bell peppers 1/2- to 3/4-lb. dark-meat turkey 1 diced onion 3 cloves minced garlic 15-oz. can diced tomatoes 1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn 1 cup cooked white rice Shredded Pepper Jack cheese 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 Tbsp salt 1 Tbsp black pepper Choose bell peppers that will stand up…