Wild turkey hunting wilderness survey

Before the hunt

• If you are a Quebec resident and wish to start wild turkey hunting, you must have a training certificate to purchase your license. In Quebec, it is offered by the Fédération québécoise des chasseurs et pêcheurs (1 888 523-2863 or info@fedecp.qc.ca).
• Choose your hunting territory and obtain the necessary authorizations if you’re hunting on private land you don’t own.
• Identify the hunting zone in which your territory is located and the hunting dates that apply.
• Buy your license for the season in which you will be hunting (spring or fall) and respect its conditions of use.
• Be aware of the ban on baiting wild turkeys and the rules applicable to hunting in the vicinity of sites baited for other purposes.
• Learn about the rules forusing a dog to hunt wildturkeys in the fall.
• Review the rules for handling, using and transporting your firearm.
• Read and make sure you understand all the general and specific rules.

Comply with the obligations relating to :

• The hunting license, in particular:
  • Carry your certificate of successful completion of the wild turkey hunting course, unless you hold an introductory license.
  • Carry your wild turkey hunting license for the current season (spring or fall).
  • Share your wild turkey hunting licence with a youngster.
• Hunting hours.
• The types ofweapons and ammunition authorized, as well as their handling and transport.
• Restrictions applicable to certain equipment (hearing aids, etc.).
• The rules ofturkey baiting.
• Identifying your game before harvesting it (with beard in spring, with or without beard in autumn).
• Shooting from the public road.
• Safe handling of your weapon and shooting (avoiding danger to other hunters).
• At grip limits.

• If necessary, follow the rules for searching for wounded game.
• Follow the rules in the event of afelling error (by accident or mistake).
• Once the slaughtered animal has been found, affix the required transport coupon . If you are a young person hunting under an adult’s license, you must also comply with certain special rules.
• Carry your weapon according to the rules (empty, holstered, etc.).
• Recover and dispose of waste properly (empty cartridges, food waste, etc.).
• Register your game online or by presenting it complete, eviscerated or not, at a registration station within 48 hours of leaving your hunting grounds.
• Keep the transport coupon attached to your game until it is butchered or stored.

The following rules also apply:

• Wild turkey is hunted in the morning only, from 30 minutes before sunrise to noon.
• Orange fluorescent bibs are not mandatory for wild turkey hunting.
• In Quebec, you can shoot 2 turkeys during the same half-day hunt, provided the second turkey comes from zone 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (spring only) or 10.
• As wild turkeys are not small game, shooting restrictions from public roads apply in certain areas.
• It is forbidden touse a dog to hunt wild turkey, except during the fall season when the use of pointing or retrieving dogs only is permitted.

A hunter is permitted to kill 3 wild turkeysper year under the following conditions:

Spring season: two bearded wild turkeys. However, the second must be slaughtered in one of the following zones: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10. The hunter can shoot 2 turkeys during the same half-day hunt.

Fall season: a turkey, with or without beard, in zones 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10.

Baiting wild turkeys for hunting is prohibited in Quebec.

It is also forbidden to hunt wild turkey within 100 metres of any place where bait has been deposited, regardless of the other types of game for which it is intended.

The following are not considered as bait:

• standing crops;
• crops stacked according to normal farming practices;
• grain spilled during normal farming operations.

The clues above serve as a guide. When in doubt, refrain from shooting.

The adult male, also called Tom, has a uniform tail outline. Its lug measures less than half an inch (1.2 cm) and his beard, about 5 inches (12 cm). Its lateral wing feathers are barred white to the tip, and the tip is generally rounded.

The juvenile male, also known as Jake, is characterized by its longer central tail feathers. Its lug measures less than half an inch (1.2 cm) and his beard, about 5 inches (12 cm). Its lateral wing feathers are barred white to the tip and are generally pointed.

Adult females and adult bearded females have no ergot and generally no beard. Less than 5 % of species have a beard. When they have one, it can measure around 5 inches (or 12 cm). Its head is blue-gray in color.