| Many Missouri turkey hunters are attracted to the big woods of south Missouri, while others prefer the more open terrain of the north with its rolling hills and cropland. The beauty of turkey hunting north Missouri is you can see turkeys you are working with, but the downfall is they can see the hunter as well.
The turkeys in the spring seem to roam the pastures and crop fields surrounding the creeks, rivers and small timber lots of north Missouri. These areas can easily be glassed from a distance, which allows the hunter to follow the birds for a long period of time and observe their patterns. At least 1/3 of north Missouri is in agriculture. Fields that have not been cultivated generally grow short green weeds that really attract the birds to feed and strut, especially fields not visible from the roads.Spring turkey season is the time of year the farmers work their fields and plant their crops. Food sources for the turkey can change overnight if a field is worked or planted, so this is an obstacle the turkey hunter must be aware of while hunting cropland in north Missouri. Just like the green sprouts in the stubble fields, the turkeys are attracted to the short green pastures that were grazed in the winter by cattle or burned. Once a flock of birds are located, they are easy to follow, but the hunter has to keep his distance because the birds can spot movement from a long distance across the fields. Unlike the timbered regions of south Missouri where the location of a gobble is often a mystery, a north Missouri bird's gobble is often in eyesight, which gives the hunter the advantage of watching a bird that responds to a call. If a hunter sees a bird, makes a call and the bird doesn’t respond, the hunter is able to change calls until the bird responds and continue until the bird works in the hunters direction. If the bird moves on, the hunter is able to keep his eye on the bird and either cut him off or relocate, where this approach is a mystery hunting in the timber. Sneaking beneath creek and river banks is a very effective way for the hunter to move or relocate in north Missouri. If a hunter likes to wait it out all day north Missouri has many narrow funnels that come together for the hunter to set up a blind and wait for the bird to come to them. CRP land is very abundant in north Missouri and typically lays on hill ground that was once in cropland. The hens lay their nests in CRP grass and the toms follow the hens to the grass where they sit on their eggs. The grass is much thicker than it appears from the road, which is very good all around habitat for the eastern turkey. Any timber adjoining or nearby CRP grass is likely to hold turkeys and MAHA has thousands of acres of CRP grass leased in several regions of north Missouri.The majority of turkey hunters are attracted to large acreage because they like to move and have a variety of options. MAHA has hundreds of small farms in the 80-acre range that are overlooked year after year that have large turkey populations. Dozens of these small tracts of land in north Missouri don’t ever see a spring turkey hunter. If you are looking for a quality hunt in one of the nation's top producing states, try hunting spring turkey in north Missouri with MAHA.
Missouri spring turkey hunting |
