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Case: Fall turkey hunting is a tradition worth trying if you haven’t

AP file photo by Keith Srakocic / Although hunting turkeys is more common in the spring, some states have a fall season, and going after the wild birds that time of year is quite different, writes outdoors columnist Larry Case.
AP file photo by Keith Srakocic / Although hunting turkeys is more common in the spring, some states have a fall season, and going after the wild birds that time of year is quite different, writes outdoors columnist Larry Case. AP file photo by Keith Srakocic / Although hunting turkeys is more common in the spring, some states have a fall season, and going after the wild birds that time of year is quite different, writes outdoors columnist Larry Case.

By Larry Case 5 min read

Here in West Virginia, we just finished up another fall turkey hunting season.

Now to some – or maybe a lot – of you, that is not a big deal. Most of us who hunt are wrapped up in other pursuits right now, mainly related to deer. Bow season is in full swing here in my neck of the woods, and the big show, rifle buck season, is right around the corner. Some states have already started that season.

There is no denying the whitetail deer gets most of the attention in the hunting world today, and that is OK. But I am a fall turkey hunter, and I thought we might talk a little about that today.

For those not familiar with it, fall turkey season has a much older tradition than the spring season. Back in the day, meaning before the 1960s in most states, the spring season did not exist. In much of the Southeast, turkeys were hunted in the fall, and there were many more fall hunters than today. Some hunted fall turkeys exclusively, but some hunted them in connection with small game such as squirrels.

Now just to be clear, none of this is knocking spring turkey hunting in any way. I spring hunt most days of the season and love it. Fall hunting is just different.