Thousands of Missourians took part in the opening day of the spring turkey season Monday. Governor Jay Nixon was one of those who participated in the annual tradition. The Governor spent Monday morning in the Pulaski County woods and harvested a mature gobbler, weighing in at 24 pounds.
“Spring turkey season is a tradition for thousands of families in every corner of Missouri, and it’s an important part of our heritage here in the Show-Me State,” Governor Nixon said.
“There’s no better way to spend a beautiful spring morning than enjoying the solitude of the Missouri outdoors,” Nixon added.
The Missouri Department of Conservation wants to remind all hunters to take extra precautions before pulling the trigger. Since 1988, ten hunters have died in Missouri during spring turkey season.
"I think that you are more likely to be injured during spring turkey season than during other types of hunting,” MO Dept. of Conservation official Jim Low said.
Low said turkey hunting can be very dangerous, but since 1988, when hunter education became mandatory turkey hunting has got a lot safer.
"20 to 30 years ago it was pretty common for us to have upwards of 20 turkey hunting accidents in a year; sometimes some of them would be fatal. Once mandatory hunter education became a fact in Missouri, we started seeing those numbers decline,” Low said. “Last year I believe we had four spring turkey accidents and again no fatalities."
Low said the state conservation department is thrilled to see turkey hunting accidents this low, but would be happier if there weren't any.
Spring turkey season ends May 8th. Shooting hours are a half hour before sunrise until 1:00 in the afternoon.
Have you gotten a chance to turkey hunt this season?
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