by John Jefferson
Most readers have now had plenty of turkey leftovers. Some possibly gagged reading the title above.
Most turkeys consumed since last Thursday were Butter Ball Turkeys purchased at local supermarkets. Some hunters overlooked the fact that the Texas Outdoor Annual — the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) hunting and fishing regulations booklet — declares that beginning the first Saturday in November and ending in January 2026, white-tailed deer AND wild turkey seasons are open in the North and South Zones.
That includes a lot of counties, but few wild turkeys are taken in the fall/winter hunting season anymore. Back in the dark ages of the 1960s, there was no spring turkey season as there is today. Any turkeys legally shot then were taken by fall deer hunters incidental to deer hunting.
Remembering a rainy day in Beaumont when I was in junior high and just beginning to hunt — mostly for squirrels or ducks — I piled into bed and read the entire printed hunting regulations. Gosh, that was an inspiring revelation! I didn’t know you could hunt in Texas for deer, turkeys, bears, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes … and wild turkeys! The regs indicated they were all legal.
Regulations have changed now and there is NO Open Season for bear hunting.
Although mountain lions may be hunted and trapped, there are strict rules regarding frequent trap checking. And so-called “canned hunts” for lions are prohibited. (For more information, see the free Texas Outdoor Annual available online. Google “Texas Outdoor Annual 2025.”
The Outdoor Annual app is also on my phone.
Later, after becoming a novice deer hunter, I saw wild turkeys on several leases I hunted. I decided taking a wild turkey for Thanksgiving dinner would be a noble and popular thing to do. I had no idea how chancy wild turkey hunting actually was. Seeing one within range was rare.
I even bought what I thought would be a practical turkey gun. It had two barrels; both mounted on one stock — over and under. One barrel was rifled and chambered for .22 magnum ammo. The other barrel was a .410 shotgun. (I can hear experienced turkey hunters laughing!)
Fortunately, I never saw a turkey while toting the “turkey gun.” And the only shot I ever took at a turkey in the fall was with a .22 magnum pistol. Thankfully, the gobbler was moving and I missed.
After spring turkey hunting was legalized and became popular, some considered turkey hunting should only be done in the spring by shotgun hunters calling gobblers with turkey calls mimicking a turkey hen seeking a mate. A writer I know even declared it unsportsmanlike to shoot turkeys with a rifle near a feeder.
Although I prefer calling turkeys in the spring, I respect a friend who made a head shot with a 7- mm magnum rifle. Marksmanship is a virtue that sometimes overrides culture. That was one of those times.
You can still take a gobbler for Christmas dinner … If you SEE one!
JJ
