Wilderness Unlimited entered the world of wild turkey hunting back in 1994. Prior to that season, staff felt W.U.hunting Club's lands did not contain a large enough turkey population to conduct a decent turkey hunting program. The resulting story is just one of W.U.’s highly regarded successes.
It is safe to say, when W.U.Hunting Club first started, there were few or possibly no turkeys on W.U. held lands. In the early 90’s however, W.U. member field observations reported more and more turkey sightings. Based on those observations, for the ’94 season, staff put together a limited turkey hunting program. W.U.’s planning included consulting with the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and Terry Knight, perhaps California’s most experienced and knowledgeable turkey hunter.
The plan was set in a manner that only W.U. and its members are capable of doing. A pool of 50 turkey hunters were drawn at random and assigned to one of the seven ranches selected for the season. Following other W.U. education programs, Terry Knight led a “wild turkey hunting” seminar† for the “pool” hunters and others, as well.