Via press release:
Turkey season opens statewide on April 1 so plan ahead for your turkey tags. Turkey tags are available in person at S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offices located in Columbia, Charleston, Clemson, Florence and York.
Tags can be ordered online at www.dnr.sc.gov by clicking onto the “BUY” tab. You may also request tags at any license sales vendor statewide.
If you request tags online or at a license sales vendor you should receive your tags within 7 business days. Make sure to request your tags in plenty of time for them to arrive by mail. You must have your tags in your possession before hunting turkeys.
The outlook for the 2015 spring season is only fair for most areas. This is based on recent turkey harvest and reproductive trends. Annually since the early 1980’s, DNR conducts a Summer Turkey Survey to estimate reproduction and recruitment of turkeys in South Carolina.
The survey involves agency wildlife biologists, technicians and conservation officers, as well as many volunteers from other natural resource agencies and the general public. Reproduction in turkeys has generally been poor to fair for the last decade and 2013 was the lowest recruitment ratio since the survey began in 1982.
Most hunters know that having an abundance of 2-year-old gobblers typically leads to good hunting because they are generally more responsive to hunters’ calls than older more dominant gobblers. However, the record low reproduction in 2013 will not be felt until this spring because 2-year-old gobblers in 2015 would have been hatched in 2013 and that simply did not happen in most parts of the state.
For more information on wild turkeys, the 2014 Turkey Regulations, the 2014 Summer Turkey Survey or the results from the 2014 spring gobbler season, see the following link: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/index.html.
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