By Doug La Rocque
It’s not a simple as grabbing your shotgun and going out to bag a turkey. As seasoned hunters know, while at times exhilarating and challenging, it can also be very frustrating. [private] According to retired Chief Wildlife Biologist for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Gordon Batcheller, to be successful you should know the many aspects of the wild turkey and its behavior.
To this end, Mr. Batcheller offered a two-hour class on Saturday April 1 at the Berlin Library that included the basics of effective calling, shotgun skills, key considerations of the “set up” along with fundamentals of hunting ethics and safety. He also offered some important facts about the biology of the turkey, and some history. Did you know the wild turkey was once, 60 years ago, close to extinct? Batcheller said that in the early 1950s, the wild turkey population was very low and centered in the southern part of the United States. In fact, in 1956, there was no known turkey population in New York State. That has all changed, in part because of trapping and relocating, and in part because of the bird’s resilience. There are now more than 200,000 turkeys in NY, including in the New York City area.
Turkey season in New York opens on May 1, but there is a special Youth Hunt weekend slated for April 22-23. A member of the first three families that signed up for the course were given a free box call, while all participants received take-home practice targets. [/private]