Alabama public hunting

[gung]

Looking for some recomendations on public land in Alabama.Planing a trip in march and was wondering if anyone had any ideas on good wma's.

[scratch]

hunted ala for the last 11 years..check out talladega national forest..killed several birds there..tough hunting.. steep ground also had luck at fort rucker in lower ala.

[turk2di]

Oakmulgee WMA near Centertown/Brent is a good one, tho u can only hunt it til noon.

[ril7572]

I hunted Hollins WMA several years ago. There were alot birds there, but they are tough and hunted hard. The first week of there season is normally too early for the birds and it is crowded. Most hunters will find the hunting in Alabama much different from what they have here in Ky. Birds don't gobble much, and have heard all the calls before. Leave the cutting and cackling with mouth calls here at home. Soft calls with a box or slate will work much better. I did find that since hunting ends at noon or 1:00 on WMA that birds did gobble some in the afternoon. I roosted birds every afternoon, but most times they didn't gobble the next morning.
I still go south every year to get the season started. It's always fun, but you will come to realize, for a kentucky turkey hunter, There's no place like home.:)

[gung]

Thanks for the help guys I really didnt know where to start looking.I'm really looking forward to going.Never been out of state before.Trying to go to kansas after a rio.Thanks again.

[trkycreek]

all the previously mention wma's are very good. my personal favorite for turkey hunting is the cahaba wma. it is covered up with birds like you wouldnt believe. its only about 20 min off of I-65, and once you get off, it is a straight shot, not turns. its a huge place and plenty of room to hunt. early in the season the hunting is pretty normal, birds arent that call shy and are still is place that are easily accessed. later in the season though, it takes a little more work to get back to where the birds are, so be ready to do some serious walking. best time to hunt is during the week, besides the rig workers and truck drivers.....its basically a ghost town as far as hunters are concerned. good luck with your trip......

[turk2di]

Thanks for the help guys I really didnt know where to start looking.I'm really looking forward to going.Never been out of state before.Trying to go to kansas after a rio.Thanks again.
You be better off going to Kansas;)

[snareman]

When does Alabama open this year?

[ken w]

i`ve hunted taladaga in the past , tough birds, the northwest part of the state
has been better for me some good pl there i also hunt ms around starkville
i killed more birds in ms

[richarr3]

If you are coming to Alabama anyway, you might as well hunt. Send me a PM and I would be happy to hunt with you on the Cahaba River MA. It is just south of Birmingham, 10 minutes from my house. It has had a lot of timber harvesting going on the past year.

All WMA's in Alabama are hard to hunt. The birds are very difficult. We refer to the successful WMA hunters as MR., Sir, Or Ben (Rogers Lee). They are worshipped and songs are written about them. :)

Season opens March 15th!

[trkycreek]

the seaeon opens up on march 20th....and runs to the end of april.....Hey richarr.....you in bham????? in right over here in hoover myself....we need to get together and go out there and do some early scouting soon....weather should be ok for it.

[richarr3]

Trkycreek, sent you a PM.

[trkycreek]

so i have been corrected....season opens on the 15th.....good luck

[stevemeadows]

Be sure to check your dates, Alabama has 2 different zones that do not open at the same time! That is the way it was a few years ago.

[turk2di]

If you are coming to Alabama anyway, you might as well hunt. Send me a PM and I would be happy to hunt with you on the Cahaba River MA. It is just south of Birmingham, 10 minutes from my house. It has had a lot of timber harvesting going on the past year.

All WMA's in Alabama are hard to hunt. The birds are very difficult. We refer to the successful WMA hunters as MR., Sir, Or Ben (Rogers Lee). They are worshipped and songs are written about them. :)

Season opens March 15th!
That sounds about right;)

[trkycreek]

i actually went and did a little snooping around out at cahaba the other day and found what appears to be a regular feeding locations....and there is some really nice timber around. looks like a promising spot so far. its an area where ive seen a lot of birds in the past.

[Bee]

In the fwiiw category, I have hunted in Ala bout every spring since early 80's. Frankly, for a place that has the reputation for turkeys that it somehow has, it is the hardest place to kill a bird I have ever hunted. If you feel have to go south consider north florida at the same time(Mar 15 to 30) or later. If you stay a week in alabama , Be prepared for the most beautiful weather you can imagine; that weATEHR WILL LAST MAYBE A DAY IF YO U ARE LuCKY AND THE REST OF IT WILL BE DODGING TORNADOES AND VICIOUS THUNDErSTORMS AND wind . The time period of late MArch is the prime tornado season all over the lower south ; last year i prayed hard to survive one night in a mobile home at a deer camp in an area south of Selma. In mid March Be prepared for birds that gooble one to five times at daylight on the roost and do not say another word for the rest of the day. Be prepared to see birds in green fields that have surveyed the premises to identify precisely where the exact middle of the field can be found and know how to walk /fly in and out of that location without coming within 175 yards of any possible cover that could hide a turkey hunter. Course I go back every year, and am lucky enough in most years to kill a bird, soemtimes two. If I was smarter I would go to Missisispippi which has much beter adult bird poulations i think with its Jake restrictions. And if I was really smart i would go back to alabama about the time the Ky season opens , which happen to be about when the Albam birds find themselves alone about 8 am and start gobbling their brains out. See you there .