Mark twain nf

[bammerslammer 50]

My dad calls me and asked if I wanted to hunt MO for a week. I got the vacation in and I can't wait. I've never hunted outside of Alabama. Regardless of the outcome im happy to get to spend a week with my dad and brother, but I was wondering what kind of action should I expect. Any tips or advice would be helpful. I'm not asking for gps coordinates on gobbling birds just a general idea of what to expect. Thanks in advance and best of luck this season.

[hunter22]

I have hunted the Mark Twain National Forest out of the towns of West Plains, Licking, and Lebanon and killed gobblers in all three areas. Get some maps and find areas that are not easily accessible. I never saw another hunter in the woods in two of those areas. Beautiful scenery along some of the rivers/creeks in those areas.

[SKFOOTER]

Which area do you plan on hunting, bammer???

[hunter22]

I am not hunting Missouri this year. Conflicts with a couple other hunts I will be on. If I were going to hunt the Mark Twain I would hunt near Lebanon. The last few times I have hunted Missouri I have hunted with an outfitter in southwest Missouri.

[J Hook Max]

 I have hunted there quite a bit over the last ten or so years. Used to be infested with turkeys and then they dropped off. Now, they are making a comeback. You will find plenty of birds and sometimes plenty of people. If you reall learn your way around and try hard, you can get away from the crowd.
You will be impressed at the habitat and number of birds.
I have hunted South Alabama for over thirty years and hear that ou birds are the slickest around. Our birds have nothing on those Ozark gobblers. I worked hard for every bird I got there.

[wbpc]

Get ready to hear the loudest drumming you've ever heard. I hunted up there 5 years straight. Had some good years and some not as good. Just depends on the weather.  Lots of pressure where I hunted around Winona.


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[GSLAM95]

Hunted the public ground around Rolla, St James, Lebanon and other areas as well.  The bird #s are not like they were in the 90's but if you put in your time you can still find and kill birds.

[SKFOOTER]

Which area of the Mark Twain National Forest are you planning to hunt, bammer???

[Neill_Prater]

Check out the Missouri Department of Conservation website. You can look at kill figures from past years, county by county, which will give you a good idea of where bird concentrations are the highest. Good luck.

[bammerslammer 50]

Not sure exactly which county yet it was thrown together on a whim. Still got a couple of months to plan. Thanks for all the tips and advice. There's some great people on here.

[hunter22]

If you are hunting the Lebanon area look for the Gasconade River. Rugged, beautiful country. I killed some gobblers there a few years ago.

[Big Timber]

The Paddy Creek area just west of Houston used to hold a lot of birds, I used to hunt up there several years ago. We would stay at the boiling springs resort.

[Gooserbat]

The thing about MT NF is its hard to find a bad spot, howbeit some places are better than others.  I too would look at central MO.

[55esox]

Coming up from Bama I would look into the districts up around Poplar Bluff or Doniphan. Lots of land and plenty of turkeys. No need tack of a few more hours onto your ride. I've felt the southern portions get less hunting presuure, maybe because its a bit further than St Louis?

[Rwgrobe]

Also look at conservation owned land what week you going to hunt.