The season at most WMAs runs from March 15 through April 30, and the majority give youngsters who have not yet turned 16 a jumpstart -- either March 8 or 29, the latter for the Black Warrior and Lauderdale WMAs where the seasons don’t open until April 1. All kids must be accompanied by a properly licensed adult during those youth hunts.

These hunts are gaining in popularity, but getting a jump on the birds is not a sure bet for bringing one to the gun. One year, for example, only seven gobblers were taken by the 260 youngsters who took advantage of the chance to make the first yelps to eager toms.

Of course, nobody said it would be easy. And, it does not mean that there are fewer turkeys on WMAs.

“Hunting pressure is more of a limiting factor on public lands than it is on private tracts,” Barnett pointed out. “To illustrate the point: The same lovesick gobbler that runs to a poorly scratched out yelp on private land may balk at your sweetest pleas for romance on public land because it has encountered many hen calls from hunters.”

Our Best WMAs
Detailed here: the six WMAs that yielded the most gobblers in 2007.

Choccolocco WMA covers 46,550 acres in Cleburne County and gave up 110 gobblers last year. Permits for Choccolocco are available at the self-serve boxes at two checking stations -- at the intersection of Forest Service Roads 500 and 553, and at the junction of Joseph Springs Road (FS 522) and State Route 9. They may also be obtained by writing Area Biologist Randle Liles, 796 Chosea Springs Road, Anniston, AL 36207 or the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Office, 4101 State Route 21 North, Jacksonville, AL 36265. Send your current state hunting and WMA license numbers along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Season permits also are available locally where licenses are sold.

The 25,150-acre Sam R. Murphy WMA straddles Lamar and Marion counties in northwest Alabama. This tract produced 90 wild turkeys for hunters last season.

The check station is a half-mile east of Pikeville and four miles north of Guin on Marion County Road 2. Area biologist Kevin Pugh will stuff the season permits in SASEs if you write him at 827 Cooner Road, Jasper, AL 35501 and include your license numbers.

The permits are also available at numerous outlets in Guin, Hamilton, Winfield and Sulligent, or at the Marion County Public Fishing Lake.

Bibb, Hale, Perry and Tuscaloosa counties all claim a portion of the 44,500-acre Oakmulgee WMA. Last year this WMA gave up 85 toms to hunters. Here, all turkey harvests must be reported by completing a self-service form at the checking station or by contacting area biologist Jeff Makemson. His phone number is (205) 371-6375.

Permits are available at the self-service box at the checking station at the Elliott Creek Work Center on Hale CR 50, 11 miles east of Moundville. They’re also available through license vendors in Tuscaloosa and Duncanville and at the Pleasant Valley Store on Hale CR 25. Requests by mail should be sent to Jeff Makemson, 11481 Colonial Drive, Duncanville, AL 35456.

Coosa WMA spans 37,291 acres in the county of the same name. In 2007, the area yielded 80 gobblers to hunters.

Permits for the tract may be obtained by writing to the DWFF’s District IV Office, Wildlife Section, 1820-C Glynwood Drive, Prattville, AL 36066. Or you can usually pick up one at Kelley’s Cross Roads Grocery on SR 22, Sylacauga Outdoors on U.S. Highway 280 or at Toodlum’s off U.S. 231 in Hanover. The checking station is located at Mount Moriah Church, approximately seven miles south of Weogufka off of CR 29.

Blue Spring WMA takes in 23,370 acres of land in the Conecuh National Forest in Covington County. Last season, sportsmen harvested 65 birds from the property.

Permits for Blue Spring can be obtained by writing area biologist Thagard Colvin, 1100 South 3-Notch Street, Andalusia, AL 36420. Requests must include current state and WMA hunting license numbers and a large stamped, self-addressed envelope. Permits are also available at the check station inside Conecuh NF.

Black Warrior WMA’s 98,000 acres lie within sprawling Bankhead NF, which could well be the largest and prettiest oak forest in this state. And to whet turkey hunters’ appetites further, a vast network of well-kept roads allows easy access, and there are plenty of food plots that can only be reached by foot. Simply park at the cable, blocking the approach road and walk the 200 to 400 yards to the field. Such hunts yielded 65 gobblers on the WMA in 2007.

Season-long permits are available at the check station or by writing area biologist Ron Eakes, P.O. Box 775, Moulton, AL 35650. They’re also available at numerous outlets in Moulton, Russellville, Mt. Hope, Haleyville and Double Springs.

Minus Two, Plus One
It’s important to note that two public tracts previously open to turkey hunters are off limits this year, the state having lost its leases on both Escambia Creek WMA and the West Jefferson Public Hunting Area.

But some good news is on tap also: A brand-new public tract, 18,000-acre Perdido River WMA, has come on line. Paralleling the Perdido River where that stream serves as the Alabama-Florida border in Baldwin County, the parcel lies north of State Route 112.