Did you know that turkeys have something like a breast sponge that holds fat and protiens. Much like a camel and its hump. During breeding season the toms are less concentrated on food and water. When they need nourishment they will draw from this "breast sponge". So dont rely on food sources and water sources too much during the spring season. Find his roost and find where there are hens and you will have him. Also,birds taken in the fall tend to be bigger than birds taken in the spring. In weight. They are bigger in the fall because there is more mast crop for them to eat therefore they have more to eat and they will weighmore. In spring season there is not much mast crop yet, plus they are concetrated on breeding, not eating.

Can kinda give you a sense of how they made out in winter to in those areas that have a lot of snow. Neither of the birds I harvested in CT last year had much of any sponge to them after a winter with long periods of snow on the ground, and not much of a mast crop the preceding fall.

all the gobblers that I have taken weight more in gobbler season in the spring than the ones I take in the fall season.by several lbs.
that may well be that they have been eating all the mast in the fall and have saved it up to live off of in the spring.
durning the start of the gobbler season they are heavy , then in the late part of the season , they have lost a lot of weight.

usually in the fall season in Fl. the mast haven't fallen yet and they are smaller because of the long hard dry summers.
?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ? JMHO.

yea, i understand both of what you are sayin. Here in arkansas, there is always a good mast crop in the fall. Ive taken some pretty big birds in the spring also.