Popularity of turkey hunting

I asked Mark Hatfield of the National Wild Turkey Federation how popular, on the whole, is hunting wild turkeys? Across the country it's turkey. Hunting is probably higher, a solid number two when you come to the eastern half of the United States. But then there's some regional variations in that as well. So turkeys, deer, waterfowl are the big three, turkeys are more hunted in the southeast than they are in the west. There's more of a tradition there. So it is variable within the general pockets of where you're at, but it's typically top three by far. Speaker1: And I guess, Mark, one of the reasons is, is that when you're hunting turkeys, there are so many variables, so many things, you have to be astute about that hunting a turkey really is hunting. It's not shooting fish in a barrel. Speaker2: Yeah. You know, turkeys, they are interactive, which causes some variables. They're a very, very vigilant bird in general, everyone likes to eat the turkeys. And so they're interactive. They've got a very complex, more complex pecking order than we've probably ever realized. So turkeys are a lot of fun to hunt the interaction and makes them a very good entry point into recruiting, retaining and reactivating hunters. The proximity in which you do harvest these birds and shoot these birds provides a different element altogether. Getting a bird within 40 yards is different than getting someone within 300 yards. Speaker1: Boy, ain't that the truth, particularly if you're archery hunting.