The run of record turkey harvests in Tennessee is almost legendary. For 21 consecutive years, Volunteer gobbler enthusiasts set record harvests until we hit a wall with the 2005 season. But we did bounce back in a big way in 2006 when a record harvest of 38,197 birds was set. One year later, the 2007 turkey season fell well short of that mark, as 34,256 turkeys were tagged.

With the lack of help from Mother Nature in 2008, Tennessee hunters have now seen our first back-to-back seasons below a record harvest. In the spring of 2008, we took 30,148 turkeys. The fall harvests haven't been tabulated to this point and should add a few thousand birds, but we still won't come close to eclipsing the 2006 record harvest.

That's the bad news. The good news is it's a new year, and there's a new chance at setting a harvest record for Volunteer turkey hunters this season. If the weather cooperates, the chance is very real this spring. For now, get your hopes up and take a look at how the 2008 numbers break down and what they say about the coming spring hunts. Record or not, it's going to be a good spring in Tennessee's turkey woods. One thing you can bet on for a few years to come, Tennessee hunters will very likely take more than 30,000 turkeys annually. And that ain't bad at all.

A LOOK AT 2008
Gray Anderson, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's (TWRA) state turkey coordinator, is no longer a rookie on the job. One thing is for sure, as time goes on, he's become increasingly respected in his role, and he knows his turkey data and is getting the job done.

Anderson said the overall 2008 spring turkey harvest was almost exactly the same as in the spring of 2007, with more than 30,000 birds harvested. To break it down farther, he said the spring county harvest can be totaled out at 29,165 turkeys, while the spring wildlife management area (WMA) harvests kicked in an additional 973 birds for the spring total of 30,148 turkeys.

Hunters took 2,886 birds in the fall of 2007. Last fall, additional counties had fall seasons and the final fall harvest was expected to be somewhere around 3,000 turkeys. The fall WMA hunts also kick in an additional 100-plus birds. (Cont.)

2008'S TOP SPRING TURKEY COUNTIES
Here we go, the best of the best when it comes to top turkey-hunting counties across the state. When my home hunting grounds of Greene County led the state three seasons back, area hunters were elated -- it is a great thing to say you're on top.

But before we get into the top 2008 turkey-producing counties, we're going to frame the discussion with a few other figures first. In 2006, when all the numbers were totaled, Tennessee hunters took a record harvest of 38,197 birds between the spring, fall and WMA hunts. In 2007, we were significantly below that figure with a harvest of 34,256 turkeys. The 2006 record harvest isn't out of reach and may be attainable as early as 2009. In 2008, when all figures are totaled, we will have harvested just more than 33,000 birds.