Editor’s Note:
Beginning with this issue of Outdoor Indiana, we hope you will enjoy, and find helpful, a feature called “Ask a Conservation Officer.” With this page we will offer you, the reader, a chance to ask us any question you might have about Indiana law as it pertains to what we do here at DNR.
Even if we are not able to respond in print to every question we receive, we will attempt to forward your question to the appropriate person at DNR for an answer. Questions that are on the minds of many of our readers will find their way onto this page.
While our COs are often most visible during hunting seasons, Indiana’s conservation officers are trained and sworn law enforcement officers. They have received the same full training at the Law Enforcement Academy as the state police and other officers in Indiana.
Our COs, however, have gone even further and have received special training in Indiana’s conservation and natural resources laws. Today, in the 21st century, they are much, much more than the game wardens of decades past.
You’ll find today’s CO out on a boat enforcing boating safety laws. You will find him or her investigating an off-road vehicle accident. They may be investigating illegal possession or sale of endangered species or investigating a fish kill. Or you may find one of DNR’s officers shoulder to shoulder with local law enforcement in any emergency situation.
So, if you have an issue for which you need an answer, please share your question with us. It need not pertain to hunting, fishing, trapping or related fields. We’ll do our best to find an answer for you.
You may email your question to OI@dnr.IN.gov or write to Outdoor Indiana, Ask a Conservation Officer, Suite W255B, Indianapolis, IN 46204.
With the upcoming fall turkey season starting shortly, are there any different rules in place for the spring turkey season?
There are a few significant differences between the fall and spring turkey seasons. The inaugural fall season for archery (open in sixty-one counties) begins on October 1, 2005, and closes October 23, 2005. The season for hunters wishing to use a firearm (open in 26 counties) begins October 19, 2005 and concludes October 23, 2005. (See map for open counties.)
The bag limit remains one turkey. However, in the fall you may take a turkey of either sex. Hunters are required to possess a fall turkey license and a game bird habitat stamp. Spring turkey licenses that were not filled will not be valid for the fall season.
What are the requirements for bow type and size and firearm gauge for fall turkey season?
Archery hunters are required to hunt with a long bow or compound bow with a minimum pull of thirty-five pounds, or a crossbow with a minimum pull of one hundred twenty-five pounds.
Firearms hunters must use a shotgun, or muzzle-loading shotgun — 10, 12, 16 or 20 gauge — loaded with shot size 4, 5, 6, 7 or 7 1/2.
This will be my daughter’s first year hunting. If I want to help her call in a turkey, do I need a license?
Yes. If you are assisting a hunter in any manner, including calling in a game animal, you are required to have a valid license.
