A long chirp comes from Parker Stubbs’ turkey pot call.
In the distance, a gobble returns the message.
Stubbs sits low and waits for two hours, trying a few more times in vain to draw his prey within range of his 20-gauge shotgun Friday morning at the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge. He walks away empty-handed.
“You have to remember, he has been hunted daily since March,” Stubbs said. “I’ve been hunting him for weeks, but he just stopped gobbling after a while.”
Stubbs is one of more than 59,000 wild turkey hunters in Mississippi this season, which started in mid-March and runs until May 1.
Adam Butler, turkey program coordinator with Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, told The Dispatch turkey hunting has become more popular even with out-of-staters.
So far this season, 5,298 non-residents have purchased turkey permits to hunt public or private land in Mississippi, a number that has risen steadily each year from 4,567 in 2019.
“We’ve always gotten a lot of non-residents that come to Mississippi to hunt the early part of our season,” Butler said. “But over the last few years, there’s been just really an explosion in the popularity of turkey hunting.”
Interest in turkey hunting brings in big bucks to the state – from permit sales, gear, firearms and ammunition to hotel stays and groceries, among others. The most recent Mississippi State University study, published in 2010, estimated the economic impact of turkey hunting at $89.7 million. That translates to more than $124 million in 2023, just adjusting for inflation.
The number of turkeys harvested has also increased, with MDWFP reporting 27,315 harvested in 2022. That’s up about 6,000 from 2021 and about 3,000 from 2020.
Daryl Jones, an MSU natural resource, wildlife enterprises and habitat management Extension professor, said the Golden Triangle has some of the best habitat for wild turkeys, which need large swaths of hardwood, oak and pine trees to provide the bulk of their vegetation, while also providing the right conditions for the small reptiles, frogs and insects it likes to eat in the spring.
“This is a better area in the state because of the acreage of diverse forest types,” he said. “Turkeys feed on hard mass and soft matter like acorns and hickory nuts. In particular, it’s the acorns.”
Hunter Nathan Wilson said the most common method is to stalk the bird early in the morning after it has gobbled to attract mates. The goal is to locate that roosting area and slowly find the bird before crouching in brush to wait for it to come close, using a turkey call to attract the gobbler.
“I prefer more of a listening and stalking method,” Wilson said. “It’s early morning, just like deer hunting, but you get to listen to the woods wake up and try to be one with nature. That’s really kind of the best way to put it. You’re also hunting with a firearm (shotgun) that doesn’t have the long reach as a rifle, so it’s more of a fair chase.”
Equipping the hunters
While turkey hunting in the state has been picking up, it’s an expensive hobby.
Average costs to outfit from scratch can range between $600 and $3,000 depending on the stores you buy from, the quality of your equipment, firearms and how many accessories are added on, such as decoys and tripods.
To get started, hunters should purchase dark brown and green camouflage pants, shirts, gloves, boots, vests and a face mask, which cost between $100 and $150. Hunters also need a turkey call, which ranges from $10 to $80, depending on the call, such as diaphragm calls, box calls and pot calls, to name a few.
Shotguns are also a must-have, with 12-gauge shotguns being the most popular among turkey hunters, which start at about $450, Outlaw Sporting Goods Manager Dillon Ussery said. Gun quality can push just that purchase into the thousands, though.
Wilson also said using a good decoy, which could cost between $10 and $100, can make all the difference in a turkey hunt.
“If you can get ahead of the bird and put decoys out to help kind of settle the nerves and bring them in and give them a visual to the sound that they’re hearing, it increases your chances exponentially,” he said.
Ussery said since the season started, about 400 customers have come in just for turkey hunting gear, with an average spending rate between $50 and $300.
Boomer Brown, sales director for Apex Ammunition, a local shotgun shell manufacturer in Lowndes County, said the company has been working since October to fill shotgun shell orders for single-sale customers and retailers alike.
“It’s kind of the Super Bowl of the year for us,” Brown said. “That’s where we cut our teeth in the shotgun shells for the turkey world. So everyone expects us to be in every store all over America. Unfortunately, we can’t fill all the stores that want us.”
Addicted to the chase
Despite the costs and time required to turkey hunt, the sport seems well worth the effort, Columbus hunter Tyler Wheat said.
Wheat started turkey hunting as a child with his baseball coach. While bagging the long beards and spurs is nice, he’s addicted to the chase.
“First time we went, we had four long beards walking in front of me and I couldn’t get shot at them,” Wheat said. “But since that first time, it’s been it’s been game on. What’s so addictive about it is that you interact with an animal.”
Brown started hunting turkey as a child with his father.
The first time he went to listen for a gobble, he never heard one. A few hunts later he finally heard the powerful crowing gobble from three birds flying overhead. From then on, he, too, was hooked.
“We went hunting that day and didn’t kill anything,” he said. “… And as I got older, I started hunting more, and he’d (dad) let me go out on my own. I finally killed my first turkey when I was 13 with one of my buddies, actually. From there, it just spiraled. You just can’t help it. You love it.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 42 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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