The spring turkey hunting forecast for 2025 was good but not great, and some hunters may have found it a little tougher to bag a bird this year. There are several reasons why, and not all are entirely bad.

First and foremost was the weather. I’m not referring to the abundance of rain this spring, though that may factor into the future, as you’ll see. There’s a bit of a lag effect. Two years ago we had cold, wet conditions during the critical brood-rearing period. As a result, production was down. Two-year-old males are the foundation of the spring hunting season. This is their first spring as an adult tom, sporting a beard of 8 inches or more. Most hunters target adult males and 2-year-olds are usually the most abundant age class among those. They also tend to be a little easier to entice. Unfortunately there weren’t as many out there this spring.

What we did have was a healthy stock of adult males that survived at least two hunting seasons. For a number of reasons, not the least of which is knowledge acquired through negative encounters with hunters, they are tougher adversaries. While there were still enough to go around, there weren’t as many, so we were hunting fewer, tougher birds, increasing the importance of every encounter.

The challenge was made even tougher by much more favorable brood-rearing conditions last spring. That meant more 1-year-old males, known as jakes. They too are legal game and sometimes downright naive, but are seldom targeted by veteran turkey hunters. Like teenagers at a high school dance, they share the same urges as their elders but lack experience and self-control. They also share another nasty habit with young men.

In spring, turkeys tend to segregate by sex and age, and jakes form gangs. While a single jake is no match for an adult tom, these gangs can and will terrorize solo adults, driving them from hens or hunters. On more than one occasion I enticed an amorous adult in my direction only to have him run off by rowdy juveniles before he closed the critical distance.

Those dark rain clouds do have a silver lining. Next spring, all those jakes that survive this season will be 2 years old and sporting a proper necktie. Revenge, as they say, is a dish best served cold. If hunters show enough restraint now, next year’s spring season could be downright phenomenal.

Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer and Registered Maine Guide who lives in Pownal. He can be reached at: [email protected]