Turkey hunters 6 to 15 years old harvested 813 birds during Arkansas' youth turkey season held April 10 and 11.
Jeremy Wood, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission turkey program coordinator, said the preliminary numbers are slightly below last year's total of 889, but well above the 691 birds harvested in 2019.
"Even though youths are allowed one immature gobbler as part of their two-bird seasonal limit, 79% of the turkeys checked during the youth hunt were mature birds," Wood said. "Studies have shown jakes contribute very little, if any, to reproductive success in their first year, so the more of these birds that survive the spring hunting season, the better chance they have to breed hens and contribute to reproductive success next year."
Hunters who look at current checked turkey totals through the Game and Fish website may notice some discrepancies between these totals and numbers available online.
"We have to use two vendors to manage the online checks, telephone checking and checking through the Game and Fish mobile app," Wood said. "It can take a few days to update numbers from all the different sources."
Wood reminds mentors even though the youth hunt is over, they can still take a youth hunting anytime during the season. This year, Game and Fish enacted a regulation that hunters may only take one turkey during the first seven days of the regular turkey season, but that excludes turkeys taken during the youth hunt.
"And, with many hunters getting their first bird within the first day or two of the season opener, they may just want to take a youth along to help them get a turkey and share the experience," he said. "Getting your first turkey of the year doesn't even come close to the feeling of helping someone else get their first turkey."
Arkansas's regular turkey season opened April 19, and Wood is hoping the seven-day rest between the youth hunt and the opener allowed gobblers to relax from hunting pressure and resume their search for receptive hens. He said the delay also may help hunters' chances of hearing some gobblers, as many will still be looking for hens that have not yet gone to nest.
"The bulk majority of breeding activity typically occurs April 10-19. This year, with many females having been bred and actively engaged in laying or incubation behaviors, gobblers should be increasing their gobbling activity to attempt to breed with any remaining unbred hens."