Crossbows are legal for use during Pennsylvania's spring and fall turkey seasons. Photo by Al Raychard.

Pennsylvania's 2008 fall turkey season was one of the most productive in years, up 19 percent from the average harvest of the previous three season's average. The 2008 fall hunters bagged 26,485 turkeys, as compared with 21,900 the prior year.

"The fall harvest increase was expected for several reasons," said Mary Jo Casalena, the Pennsylvania Game Commission's wild turkey biologist. "Turkey reproduction was average to above average throughout most of Pennsylvania in 2008, which led to a larger population. More turkeys and poor fall crops of acorns and beechnuts in many forested areas forced turkeys to concentrate around available food sources, and they consequently became more visible and easier for hunters to locate and pattern."

Casalena noted that turkey harvests fluctuate annually in response to factors including fall season length, summer reproduction, hunter participation, fall mast crops and the season's weather. She added that population gains made through the reproduction of the prior nesting season can offset the increased take by fall turkeys hunters. Thus, as of last spring, the state's wild turkey populations are in better shape than in recent years due to better spring conditions for nesting, improved reproduction, and the use of shorter fall seasons when recruitment was below average, she said.

"The outcomes of fall turkey seasons, where hunters may harvest birds of either sex, are very important because they can truly influence turkey populations, unlike in the spring, when only gobblers -- and a few bearded hens -- may be taken by hunters," Casalena said.

"We control the harvest of hens in the fall through season length," she added. "The longer the fall season, the greater the number of hens harvested. Our goal is to provide optimum wild turkey populations in suitable habitats throughout the state for all Pennsylvanians to enjoy."

Though the results of the 2009 spring nesting season were unavailable at press time, the overall spring weather experienced throughout much of the state was relatively warm and dry, typically a recipe for a good reproductive spring. That, coupled with low mortality among wintering adult birds the prior year or two, means things look good for the fall hunt.

With this in mind, here's a look at five top spots to chase toms and hens this spring, based largely on the most productive management zones of last year's fall hunt:

WMU 4D
No matter where you live in Pennsylvania you are not too far from some of the most productive fall turkey hunting in the state. That's because centrally located Wildlife Management Unit 4D, which includes Centre County, produced more harvested turkeys last fall than any other unit.

WMU 4D produced not only the highest harvest, at 2,856, but also the highest harvest density, 1.04 turkeys per square mile.

This unit falls within the state's traditional wild turkey range and typically has the full three-weekfall season. Hunters are fortunate in having a good number of public areas to choose from.

SGL 100
State Game Lands 100 lies in Centre and northern Clearfield counties along the southern side of the Susquehanna River valley (West Branch). The area is laced with smaller secondary hollows, such as Holt Hollow, Buckshot Hollow, and Wrigley Hollow, which feed the main river corridor. The area is heavily forested. Access roads that lead to the interior may be found off Ridge Road in Burnside Township (Centre County). This game lands also borders the vast acreage of Sproul State Forest.

Other Centre County game lands worth investigating for fall turkeys include SGLs 92, 103, 33 and 176. In southern Clinton County, SGL 295 is a good spot.