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Jason Hardin has worked with turkeys for a long time. He’s headed up Texas Parks & Wildlife’s Turkey Program for the past 19 years. I am excited to have our old friend back on the airwaves this week to discuss a wide array of turkey related topics. Highlights from the conversation include:

  • Wildlife Biologists that actually hunt and why that is important
  • Jason’s early public land gobbler success this spring
  • Public land turkey opportunity in Texas
  • Chachalaca hunting (What the heck is a chachalaca?)
  • Are modern decoys and practices like “reaping” having a negative effect on wild turkey populations?
  • Interbreeding between the 4 North American subspecies
  • TSS shot shells stone them dead
  • To pull the plug or not on some restocking efforts
  • Working with turkey biologists in other states
  • What is the main cause for declining turkey populations
  • Fall hen harvest going away, some folks will be mad, but it won’t be the die-hard turkey hunters
  • Beard Rot
  • Lots of jakes on the landscape
  • Bearded hens are the best mothers
  • What do hens do under stress and drought conditions?
  • Poult recruitment percentages on a good year vs bad year
  • Two counties lose their seasons completely
  • Why he won’t lower the bag limit from 4 birds to 3 or 2 (fascinating answer)
  • Putting hunter opportunity at the forefront as a biologist
  • How many birds does the average turkey hunter kill each spring?
  • And much more!

(Another public land drawn hunt gobbler)