Photo by John Ford

Get out the birthday candles because this is the 30th spring turkey hunting season in modern Minnesota history. Once on the brink of extinction, Minnesota's turkey population -- and the hunting of them -- has grown over the last three decades and has become part of our rich hunting tradition.

During that first modern season 30 years ago, 411 hunters shot a total of 94 birds. Fast-forward to 2006, which had the second-highest harvest ever and is only the second season to eclipse the mark of 8,000 birds killed. Last year, about 28,000 hunters bagged a total of 8,241 turkeys, which was only 193 birds short of the record set in 2004.

The really good news is that the growing turkey population is showing no signs of slowing down.

"Barring a rough winter, the 2007 season should be as good as, or maybe a little better, than last year," said Bill Penning, the Department of Natural Resources' Farmland Wildlife Program leader in St. Paul.

The growth of Minnesota's turkey population was a slow one at first but has ramped up over the last decade. Minnesota's 10th turkey season saw 2,520 hunters kill 520 birds, while the 20th season had 11,610 hunters harvest 3,302.

One of the biggest changes in turkey hunting today as compared with the early years is that hunter success is regularly within a few percentage points of 30 percent. In the early 1980s, there was a period of five years when hunter success rates ranged from 5.3 percent to 8.2 percent. Over the last five years, the success rate has averaged a whopping 31.1 percent.

NEW IN 2007
There have been a few adjustments made to the turkey regulations this year, including expanded hunting hours. For most of the 30 seasons, turkey shooting hours lasted from sunrise until noon.

"The nice thing about turkey hunting with those limited hunting hours was that you could get in some great trout fishing after the morning hunt," said Jim Luttrell, a longtime Minnesota turkey hunter.

Several years ago, that time restriction was changed so hunters could stay out there until 5 p.m. This year, hunters will be able to hunt from a half-hour before sunrise to sunset. When asked why this adjustment was made, Penning said there was no biological reason to end hunting at 5 p.m.

"It just makes sense because it provides more opportunities for hunters -- particularly working people and kids who can come home from work or school and hunt in the afternoon," Penning said. When jokingly chastised for forcing hunters to spend every hour of daylight in the field, Penning commented that there's nothing forcing people to stay out there the entire time.