Martin and I remain in the hollow and continue to call, but as the shadows lengthen and the sun begins to set, I come to the conclusion that I have made a 5 1/2-hour drive for naught. Then . . .

"Two turkeys at 11 o'clock," Peck whispers.

I slowly turn my head and spot the duo. My body tenses and when the birds move behind some trees, I shoulder the 12 gauge. The lead bird comes into view, the shotgun roars, and the long drive, after all, was well worth it. It is 6 p.m., just 15 minutes or so before the birds would have flown to roost on that cloudy, damp evening.

As excited as I was to harvest a Marshall County turkey, I must report the disappointing news that the unofficial 2004 harvest was just 1,295. The kill was 30 percent lower than the 1,841 reported in 2003 and was the lowest fall harvest since 1987. Last year, only 19 counties were open to fall hunting. Fewer areas were open because two consecutive poor brood years had decreased the base population in many areas of the Mountain State.

Moreover, sportsmen are still seeing the negative effects of poor brood years in 2002 and 2003, as well as overly harsh winters, especially in 2002-03. The high mountain counties of the Monongahela National Forest (a major and traditional destination for fall sportsmen) have been especially hard hit by the weather and poor reproduction.

However, some encouraging news does exist. First, Paul Johansen, assistant chief of game management for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR), reports that brood production was better in 2004 than it was in 2002 and 2003. Second, an important reason why the 2004 kill was down from 2003 is that in the latter year, 26 counties were open to fall turkey hunting. When the 2003 and 2004 harvests are compared in the counties that were open both years, the kill decline was just 4 percent. And, third, a relevant reason why the harvest was down was because of an abundant hard mast crop, particularly acorns, last autumn.

When the oaks produce in abundance, the turkeys are more scattered, harder to find, frequent fields much less, and the kill typically drops. More mast being around should also be a positive in terms of the turkeys coming through the winter better and entering the spring breeding season in better shape.

Last autumn, the top 10 counties (with their harvests in parentheses) were Monroe (164), Greenbrier (138), Preston (125), Hampshire (122), Hardy (114), Nicholas (99), Grant (69), Randolph (65), Mineral (56) and Pendleton (50). Four of the six DNR districts possessed counties that were open to hunting. District II (the Eastern Panhandle and other eastern counties) led the way with 485 birds, followed by District IV (southern West Virginia) with 302. District III (the Monongahela National Forest and the mountain counties) came in third with 266. And fourth was District I (northern West Virginia) with 242. It should be reported that some of the counties in District I (like Marshall, Brooke, and Hancock, for example) were only open for a week. Actually, the harvest increased by 15 percent in districts I and II, while declines took place in districts III and IV.