Dave Beck

Last week’s snow and cold were a good reminder that it’s still winter and that winter is going to be here for a while. Recently a couple of signs that better things are to come have surfaced: the annual arrival of the yellow postcard from the Department of Natural Resources and the change in programming on the outdoor channels. 

The yellow card not only confirms a successful application, but it also confirms which turkey season I will be hunting. I say this every year and I will say it again this year: spring turkey hunting is the reward for enduring another long hard winter. 

The outdoor channels start playing less deer hunting and similar types of hunting shows and start playing more turkey hunting shows. Actually, there are more fishing shows to watch as well but that’s a topic for another day. Seeing the green grass and red headed gobbling tom turkeys on a wide screen is a wonderful break from the winter blues.   

Talking turkey is enough cause for me to go to a happier place and that exact location is turkey memory lane. In no particular order, here 

My very first turkey hunt was down in Vernon County, Wis., where the sport first started in the early 1990s. That was ground zero where the birds were first reintroduced in the state of Wisconsin. At that time, the only thing that was more scarce than turkeys were the turkey hunting tags. When I finally drew a tag, I was greeted with an opening day snowstorm that brought deep snow, high winds and no bird action. That brief introduction was enough for me to know that I was going do it again and hopefully with better results. 

I received my first local tag for Pierce County in 1996, and if memory serves me correctly, hunters received a tag every other year. Nowadays there is a surplus of spring tags available but that’s not why the season was memorable. My opening day hunt became an instant classic when a 28-pound turkey gobbled his way into range. There have been many birds after that one but none bigger. 

Better days are coming. 

There have been many birds bagged since that 28- pounder but none bigger. I have been fortunate to be on hunts when green horns turned into veteran turkey hunters. Helping someone else harvest their first bird was almost as good as when I harvested my first bird.  

The upcoming spring turkey hunts are a welcome distraction from shoveling out from another reality blast of winter. There is only one thing better than a spring turkey hunting tag in Wisconsin: a bonus turkey hunting tag. 

Wisconsin bonus tags go on sale: 

Zone 1: Monday, March 20

Zone 2: Tuesday, March 21

Zone 3: Wednesday, March 22

Zone 4: Thursday, March 23

Zone 5: Friday, March 24

Zone 6: No permits

Zone 7: No permits

All remaining bonus authorizations go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 25.

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at dave@piercecountyjournal.news Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @thepiercecountyjournal