Record Turkey Season Expected For Georgia Hunters In 1991

It’s still the golden age for Georgia turkey hunters. For the seventh straight year, Georgia turkey hunters are expected to set a new harvest record, topping last year’s record of 40,000 gobblers.

The expansion of the turkey flock and turkey hunting in Georgia is nothing short of phenomenal. In 1973, just 18 years ago, the state’s turkey flock was estimated at about 16,000 birds. Today, thanks to the restoration effort by the Game Management Section, the statewide flock is estimated at between 350,000 and 375,000 birds!

This year, turkey hunters will have greater than ever hunting opportunity. There will be 138 counties open to turkey hunting this spring. A total of 55 WMAs will also be open to turkey hunters. During the 1972-73 season only 41 counties and seven WMAs had a turkey season.

The 1991 turkey trapping season got under way with the closing of deer season and at press time 35 turkeys had been trapped for relocation in pockets of suitable habitat in counties located primarily in the Upper and Lower Coastal Plains.

According to Wildlife Biologist Ron Simpson in Albany, the 1990 turkey nesting season was again a good one. Last fall’s mast crop was adequate or better in most parts of the state, and birds should enter the breeding season in good condition.