The 2003 spring gobbler harvest was 12,535 (Table 1). The total was 6% lower than last year's kill of 13,385. A higher harvest was projected prior to the 2003 spring season. The forecast was based on good weather conditions during the season and the abundance of 2-year-old gobblers. Well, the weather was not good, and the frequent rainfall reduced hunter participation.

The top five counties in terms of harvest were Mason (473), Jackson (468), Preston (454), Ritchie (437), and Lewis (375). Despite the weather, the harvest was higher than last spring in 18 counties. District 6, which is composed of a number of our Ohio River and western counties had the highest harvest (2,922) and was the only district in the state with a higher kill than 2002. The harvest in District 2 dropped only one bird from the 2002 total of 993. Districts 3 and 5 had 6% lower harvests, but declines of 15% occurred in District 1 and 12% in District 4. Illustrated in Table 2 is the harvest by wildlife management areas (WMAs). The top five areas were Potomac (57), Neola (47), Wardensville (42), Cranberry (37), and Rimel (37).

The opening day of the spring season accounted for 22% of the total spring harvest, and the harvest declined daily until May 3, the first Saturday, where it rose slightly. The daily kill fluctuated daily throughout the remainder of the season with most of the minor peaks in kill occurring on Saturdays and valleys on Sundays since most counties are closed to hunting on this day.

Written by James C. Pack

Click On Links Below For PDF Versions of Tables 1-3.

Table 1. Spring Harvest of Wild Turkeys In West Virginia, 1999-2003.
(PDF format, 5.83KB)

Table 2. Spring Turkey Harvest By Locality In West Virginia, 1999-2003.
(PDF format, 7.01KB)

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