The Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge and the Wildlife Management Areas are home to some of the best turkey hunting around the Starkville area. Don’t let the thought of overcrowding and excessive pressure deter you from chasing these birds.
My first few years at Mississippi State back in the late 1990s, I was just beginning to call good enough to hunt on my own. I had lots of friends up here that were going to the refuge on a regular basis. I tried it once or twice, with no tips or advice, which ended up being fruitless efforts. The refuge is huge, and my experience level was tiny. I found some tracks. That was it.
Fast forward 10 years, and things have changed. For starters, I asked for advice. But just as important, I’ve learned how to scout for turkeys since then. I’m not going to draw you a map or give you road names, because that’s just not fair to the rest of the people who have put in the legwork. But, I can give you enough tips to get you started, and I can assure you that if you follow these tips, you can be listening to turkeys gobble by the end of the week.
The most important tools you can use to your advantage on public land are maps. The way I got started was focusing on Wildlife Management Areas. There is more than one reason for this. To hunt the WMA, you must pay an additional fee for a WMA User Permit. It is relatively inexpensive ($12-$15), but anytime it costs a little more to hunt one piece of public property over another, you will see a decline of some sort on the hunter numbers. The John Starr WMA costs an additional fee on top of the WMA User Permit. For more information on obtaining these permits, visit MDWFP.com, and look under turkey hunting. There is a section listing each WMA and has all the contact information you need to get started.
Turkeys like to roost over water a lot of times. They also like to strut in open areas. Hens like to nest in thick areas. All of these things can be found on the aerial photo side of the maps. Pine trees are a shade of red on these maps, with hardwoods appearing more gray and black. If you can find an area that provides open spaces for strutting (this could be a power line, open fields or maybe just a big flat area of creek bottom hardwoods, along with some young pine thickets that are good for nesting), you are headed in the right direction. Another handy feature to become familiar with is all of the water on the desired area you intend on hunting. This may come in handy for finding a roosting area, but it will also keep you from getting hung up while going after a hot bird.
The flip side of the map, the topographical side, also has features that will keep you from getting hung up. By learning how to read these maps, you will be able to spot ridges and bottoms. This can be beneficial in saving you time by going around a steep cliff that you may not be able to climb. It will also help you find steep ridges that may overlook a cypress break or creek bottom that are good roosting spots. I use these maps religiously. The first week of the season, I used the map to my advantage. I knew where a bird had roosted, and after I figured where he flew down, I simply looked at the map I had folded in my pocket and by process of elimination, I figured out which way he would go now that he was on the ground. This example is not always going to be the case. This bird only had one way to go without taking flight again because of the swamp to the north and the thick young pine plantations to the south and west.
Get a map and get to hunting. I made a big mistake the first time I was up here, and I neglected some of the best turkey hunting out of fear of over crowding. One tip to help with the crowded part is simple: get there first. I have waited for over one and a half hours before walking in the woods. Another good tip is to go during the week. Fewer people have the luxury of turkey hunting every morning of the week. Some students do have this luxury, and shouldn’t neglect it. Don’t let laziness keep you from collecting a few more beards and spurs for the trophy case, and some delicious wild turkey for the freezer.
Brandon Parker is a senior majoring in communication. He can be reached at [email protected].