PRATT – If you like a good challenge, want to test your hunting prowess, or just want to shake up your fall hunting plans, consider adding a fall turkey hunt to your list. Spring turkey hunts are hugely popular, and given the time of year, it’s no surprise – it’s the first hunting season of the year, temperatures are comfortable, and action is everywhere. But come fall, action-packed turkey hunts can still be had, that is, if hunters are up to the challenge.

Hunting techniques used in the spring can prove less effective later in the year. Unlike the spring when mating is top priority, during the fall season, turkeys are gathering into winter flocks and are focused on finding food. Therefore, fall hunting is often a matter of finding birds, scouting their feeding areas and setting up an ambush point.

A hunting technique common in southern states is to break up a flock of turkeys, sometimes using a dog to scatter the birds, then hiding quietly as the birds begin to re-group. Birds will make a “kee-kee-run” call to locate flock members, and the hunter can use this call to an advantage. One thing that doesn’t change from spring to fall is the fact that good camouflage and well-timed movements are still keys to success.

The 2017 fall turkey hunting season runs from Oct. 1 - Nov. 28 and opens back up again from Dec. 11 - Jan. 31, 2018.

Hunters may take one turkey during the fall season. Resident fall turkey permits are $27.50 for hunters 16 and older and $7.50 for hunters 15 and younger. Nonresident fall turkey permits are $52.50 for hunters 16 and older and $12.50 for youth 15 and younger. Fall turkey permits are available wherever licenses are sold and at ksoutdoors.com.

For information on turkey hunting regulations, legal equipment, unit maps and public hunting areas, reference the 2017 Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary and 2017 Kansas Hunting Atlas, or visit ksoutdoors.com.

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