JEFFERSON CITY, MO. ? Missouri’s spring turkey harvest reached an all-time high this year, with hunters bringing 58,421 turkeys to check stations statewide.

The harvest total is 1,378 more than last year. It includes 3,660 turkeys killed during the two-day spring youth turkey hunting season and 54,761 killed during the 21-day regular spring turkey hunting season.

Slightly less than one in four turkeys taken by hunters this year was a “jake,” a year-old turkey. This is slightly below average, indicating that turkey reproduction was below average in 2002.

Wildlife research biologist Jeff Beringer said Missouri’s turkey reproduction also was below average in 2001,and that could mean hunters will face a tougher challenge next spring. Still, Missouri is likely to have the best turkey hunting in the nation.

“Like any wild species, turkeys have good years and bad years,” Beringer said.

Missouri’s spring harvest has topped 50,000 every year since 1999.

The average turkey harvest in the 43 other states that reported their harvest numbers to the National Wild Turkey Federation in 2002 was 12,760.