November 2, 2009 - During an interview, Pennsylvania Game Commission turkey biologist Mary Jo Casalena mentioned that the best turkey hunting in Pennsylvania is in Wildlife Management Unit 1B, which is comprised of Erie County, western Warren County, northwest Venango County and northern Crawford County.

A check of wild turkey harvests over five years from 2003 to 2007, the most recent data available, backs that up.

Before getting into the figures, it should be pointed out that since there is considerable difference in size between the wildlife management units, direct comparisons cannot be made accurately.

WMU 1B and WMU 2F, which is basically the Allegheny National Forest and lands southward to Interstate 80, are roughly the same size. Average spring harvest for WMU 1B is 2,453 gobblers, and the average fall harvest is 1,629 turkeys of either sex. Average spring harvest for WMU 2F is 1,668 gobblers, and the average fall harvest is 1,358 turkeys of either sex.

Fall turkey harvests, of course, are predominately hens and juvenile birds for the simple reason that hens and juvenile turkeys are much more abundant than bearded gobblers. A few fall turkey hunters specifically target bearded gobblers, and most hunters would prefer to take bearded gobblers.

However, most fall turkey hunters take the first turkey they see that presents a shooting situation.

Comparing WMU 1B and WMU 2F, we see that WMU 1B harvests, both spring and fall, exceed harvests on WMU 2F.

The question is, does that reflect a greater turkey population in WMU 1B?

Probably not.

More likely it reflects a habitat that makes turkeys more vulnerable to hunters in WMU 1B. Habitat on this wildlife management unit can be characterized as "checkerboard," a mix of wood lots, crop fields, farms and rural homes, brushy patches, swamps, and overgrown fields. Viewed from above it has a checkerboard appearance.

This habitat gives hunters the advantage of being able to see turkeys in open fields. When the turkeys are not in fields they have a lot of cover. But when on roost they prefer wood lots with larger trees, although they will roost in smaller trees.

In the vast expanse of forest on WMU 2F, most of the habitat looks alike. While openings are scattered around, and turkeys will use these openings to strut and in the spring to feed the poults on grasshoppers and other insects, they can virtually disappear in the forest. They can roost just about anywhere.

Approaching turkeys in the forest is extremely difficult. Some inexperienced hunters will try to stalk turkeys by sound, but most often they will be stalking other hunters. This is a very dangerous situation. During spring gobbler season, stalking is specifically not allowed. Many hunters seem to not realize or perhaps ignore regulations which specify that stalking is not allowed during spring gobbler season.

Fall turkey hunters at first appear to be more effective than spring gobbler hunters -- also not a surprise because of the much greater availability of legal game during the fall turkey season than in the spring gobbler season. During 2008, fall hunters in Pennsylvania harvested 5.0 turkeys per 100 hunter-days versus 4.5 turkeys per 100 hunter-days during the spring gobbler season.

However, since there are proportionately so many more potential targets available to fall turkey hunters than to spring gobbler hunters, these numbers make it very clear than spring gobbler hunters tend to be the most experienced, most skilled turkey hunters. The difference in turkeys taken per 100 hunter-days is greatly smaller than the number of gobblers versus the number of hens and immature turkeys.

The most effective fall hunting method for turkeys in forest habitat is busting and scattering a flock, then calling. Turkeys that have been scattered will almost immediately try to regroup.

Note that there is less difference between the average fall harvest and spring harvest in WMU 2F than in WMU 1B, 19 percent fewer during the fall hunt in WMU 2F versus 34 percent fewer in the fall hunt at WMU 1B. This might be the most apparent numerical explanation for the relative ease of spring gobbler hunting on checkerboard habitat.

As for the total harvests, the best explanation for this is that turkey hunters, especially spring gobbler hunters, tend to hunt close to home. Human density is much greater on WMU 1B than on WMU 2F. This probably accounts for the difference in harvests than just turkey density.

One conclusion we can make out of this data is that, for fall turkey hunting, hunters should not be as concerned about the type of habitat as in the spring gobbler season. This is convenient since there is so much more public land in WMU 2F than in WMU 1B.

The large tract of public land nearest to Erie is State Game Lands No. 143, the same state game lands where a tour was conducted earlier this fall. This 8,000-plus-acre area is excellent turkey country. State Game Lands No. 86, more than 14,000 acres of steep terrain that lies along the west side of the Allegheny River between Irvine and Tidioute, also is very good turkey country.