Photo by Rod Cochran.

Over the past 42 years, wild turkey hunting in Ohio has come a long way. In 1966, only nine counties were opened for gobbler hunting. During that first season, 12 birds were checked in. Today, when the weather cooperates, statewide spring harvests of over 20,000 gobblers are considered routine.

"We had gobblers harvested in all 88 counties last season," said Mike Reynolds, a wildlife biologist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

"And because we had a good hatch and survival rate this past year, we expect to see as much as a 5 percent increase in harvest rates for the 2008 spring season as well."

From the first restocking efforts that took place in Athens, Hocking and Vinton counties in 1956, wild turkeys have gone on to reclaim the entire state as their homeland. Ohio's turkey population is now estimated to be between 260,000 and 300,000 birds. A game bird once completely eliminated in Ohio due to habitat destruction and unregulated hunting is now abundant once again.

During the spring 2007 season, the top five counties for gobblers ranged from the northeastern region to the extreme southern areas of the Buckeye State. Leading the pack, as usual, was Ashtabula County (952) with its large land mass and excellent turkey habitat. Next in order of county harvest were Tuscarawas (540), Muskingum (519), Adams (515) and Washington (502).

In rural areas across the state the sound of springtime gobbling is now common occurrence. Over the past half-century, Ohio's biologists have worked steadily to help reestablish the wild turkey within its original range statewide. Today, that work is nearly complete. Northwest Ohio continues to receive stocked birds in suitable corridors where water and forested land are plentiful.

Yet for most of the rest of the state where suitable habitat is available, the job is done.

This success story has resulted in superb opportunities for turkey hunters. The following is a region-by-region forecast on how the turkey woods are shaping up for the statewide opening day on April 21, 2008:

DISTRICT ONE
According to Gray Ludwig, wildlife management supervisor for the ODOW's Wildlife District One, the turkey-hunting opportunities in the counties surrounding the state's capital should be about the same as last year. He noted that Licking and Knox counties are the district's top producers. Yet finding land on which to hunt can sometimes be difficult.