Missouri Turkey Hunting
2010 Missouri Hunting Land available through Mid-America Hunting Association for turkey hunting, as of 2010.
Names are the county and the numbers the acreage MAHA has for hunting land.
Missouri turkey hunting within Mid-America Hunting Association is over 80,000+ acres of private land for the self guided turkey hunter.
Our lease land is controlled by a reservation system that places one hunter per property per day that is individually numbered for accurate communication. Our un-crowded private land we lease is for our exclusive use, with game productive habitat and quantity in terms of more properties than we have hunters each spring. That last part is the key benefit of a multi hunter discipline organization. More land to hunt for any one type of hunter while not all that are members have the same hunter profile.
We provide the private lease land access through a reservation system that insures hunter separation, recommendation on which property to turkey hunt and the hunter simply goes to that property and hunts on his own. Lodging is by local motel from the MAHA Yellow Pages available online. The remainder of the requirements for our Missouri turkey hunts is simply to drive out and hunt without any time loss of tracking down landowners or looking for access.
John, here are a couple of pictures of my hunt with Steve [location deleted]. Pre Season scouting really helped. There were plenty of birds. I am going to try [location deleted] and possibly [location deleted].
Thanks Steve
Spring season is mornings only, ending at 1 PM leaving plenty of time for afternoon scouting for either more turkey or deer and some fishing. A hunter's education certification is required for all those born on or after January 1, 1967.
Regulations require all toms to be checked-in at a state certified check-in station or the newer online system. These check-in stations are readily identifiable and numerous throughout the state frequently co-located at a gas stations, sporting goods store, bait shop, etc.
Non-resident license is state wide, $175.00, youth (resident only) permit cost is $17.00.
Missouri spring season limit is two birds. Only one tom may be harvested in the first week of the season and only one tom per day up to the limit of two for the season after the first week of the season. A key point for those traveling to hunt is the Kansas season begins earlier and runs later than Missouri. Choosing to hunt both states on one trip is best accomplished during the last two weeks of the Missouri season.
On that same point about hunts in both Kansas and Missouri on one trip and attempting to fill all four tags is not to purchase the second state's tags until the first have been filled. They can be purchased over the counter seven days a week from any local Wal-Mart store found almost every town of any size on the map.
For those wanting to maximize their Mid-America Hunting Association membership during spring turkey season also have the option of competing for the Iowa spring turkey tag through a competitive draw. This will allow five spring tags all within reasonable driving distance and a handful of turkey hunters each spring will fill all five tags in one trip, most will not.
While all three states have overlapping turkey seasons and plenty of turkeys, attempting to hunt all three states on one trip is for those that have plenty of energy. A better value of a MAHA membership is that all hunters can take a more leisurely approach to their hunts and enjoy the quality of the day without the competitive nature found in most that have hunted public or knock on door land.
More turkey hunters enjoy the quality of our more leisurely approach as the birds are there and so is the land. What is absent after the first hunt is any last vestiges of the public lands mentality of having to beat the other guy to whatever might be available. After the first hunt or three most members work towards enjoying the turkey hunt rather than making it a race. That enjoyment is expressed through the pages of this web site by the many hunter accounts of their trip, live turkey photos and those that tell of working a tom of choice, typically a large one, than harvesting the first tom that comes in.
Over all for Missouri turkey hunting it is hard to find a bad turkey hunting spot anywhere in this state as in excess of 50,000 wild turkeys have been harvested each spring for a good many years. With Missouri's large turkey population the hunter should select a new region of the state each spring season just for the adventure of learning new habitat and add to the quality of the hunt. This moving around may just produce the next hot deer spot.
Missouri fall turkey hunting season is generally the middle of October and runs for two weeks. Turkey hunts are all day long and the season limit is two of either sex. The youth permit is limited to one of either sex. For those that like fall turkey hunting the Missouri option along with that of Kansas will give much opportunity along with over the counter tags to continue a fall hunt after deer harvest or a a variety to any other fall hunts.
No dogs, bait or recorded calls permitted.
For those wanting a do it yourself Missouri wild turkey hunting experience on private lease hunting land without competition from others or the hassle of knocking on doors, then this may be the right organization. The bottom line is pay for what you need, turkey productive land, rather than for someone to show you how to turkey hunt.
Missouri Turkey Hunting - the longer story
Where To Turkey Hunt
When a business approach is taken, money is spent where the most return is gained. To lease private land in the Ozark region for hunting is cheap and may appear to be a better option due to their turkey counts. From a hunt quality aspect that approach fails. The issue is not to fill a tag as tags may be filled anywhere in Missouri. The issue is hunt quality and for the self guided turkey hunter that means better hunting in terms of heavier body weight, beard length, spur or being able to be selective at which tom to harvest from the entire flock.
What is typical Missouri turkey hunting habitat? Both of these farms are bird producers and they are radically different.
The more open terrain (second above) has accounted for more birds and it is believed to be the result of more eyes on birds at longer range and not necessarily do to a larger flock. having an abundant amount of grain fields nearby is certainly a prerequisite.
The turkey hunter should look at Missouri through colored lenses separating Missouri's Ozark region from that of its agricultural region. Each Missouri region offers two different types of turkey hunting based on the topography local to each.
The more common Eastern Turkey habitat of the large woods allowing run and gun or ridge runner techniques can be easily found in the southern Missouri Ozark Mountains where the woodlands are as thick as any and the country rolling to cliff steep. This region has good turkey counts and many hunters will be pleased (exception being public land hunters and the hunt mentality that follows) with the large tracks of public land available most notably the Mark Twain National Forest, easy and free access.
Less well known through the USA and very well known by Missouri residents are the large turkey flocks of bigger birds to be found in the food rich agricultural regions. The added bonus of this northern Missouri area is the ability to scout via binoculars, the ability to work a roost in addition to a single gobbler. And, the best part is the thrill of being able to watch far more easier and for a longer period of time the tom being worked.
That thrill alone of having eyes on a tom slowly working his way to the hunter's setup having been as long as 40 to 60 minutes makes for both thrill and anxiety. It is one thing to hear a gobble through the trees of an unseen tom and estimate its location. It is quite another to be able to watch that tom and see what he is doing when the gobble is heard. A great learning experience to see how the tom ignores the hunter for a hen or hangs up just out of range. All these behaviors occur in both the mountain and agricultural regions, however in the mountain region it is often unseen.
What distinguishes these two Missouri turkey regions beyond their topography is the quality of hunt experience the wild turkey hunter wants to achieve. Mature toms may be effectively harvested in both north and south Missouri. The difference is the quality or thrill of the hunt and as stated earlier avoidance of public land hunter mentality.
While all who want to turkey hunt for free on public land will find thousands of acres to do so in Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest that is like public land is everywhere inherent in the competitive beat the other guy hunting mentality and unregulated.
Most of us have had the experiences of public lands where in spite of every precaution taken every hunt is impacted upon by other hunters. To go to any Missouri public lands during the three week spring turkey season is to accept that other hunters will be seen every day and right up to the 1PM cut off. To expect otherwise is to be foolish. The converse is true for the mostly private land northern Missouri agricultural region.
Within the northern farming region heavily composed of large grain corn and soybean row crop the vast majority of land is privately owned and public land greatly limited with the largest public lands dedicated to waterfowl habitat. Duck hunting is big business in Missouri and a far greater state income generator that spring turkey season. The northern Missouri frustration is to the hunter that seeks more open ground turkey hunting and the larger bodied turkeys found feeding on crop fields to find a place to hunt. Just as places to hunt are limited so are the number of hunters. Less hunters also means less educated birds. Many of the advantages sought by all and more difficult to achieve.
This is where the hunter seeks private land permission by knocking on doors to find acreage, hopes that acreage has a flock and that when he hunts all the others the landowner gave permission to hunt also don't show up. We agree with the majority this is a fools errand. The next option is to pay for a private lease, put out feeders (legal and fair chase issues) and wait and see if the turkeys come. The third option is a guide service that does all the work for the hunter and simply sets him in place for a fee. That of course fails to meet the do it yourself turkey hunt test requirement most turkey hunters seek above all else. The fourth option is our approach to turkey hunts specifically for the hunter that seeks the quality of the hunt above all else.
Last weekend of the Missouri spring season during that great time from first glimmer of morning light before the sun itself rises above the horizon. Having turkey pictures like this is as much of a trophy as the tom itself.
Pictures taken by Jon nee, the Mid-America Hunting Association owner and turkey hunter.
The Missouri land we lease has the right habitat in the right region of Missouri that has a history of good turkey hunts and production. In addition we have a customer service interest at getting every self guided hunter the hunt he wants so as that hunter will return. And, we have local lodging. Once we get a hunter to the farm or farms where he parks his truck he takes the rest from there and hunts alone.