Harvest report

[poorhunter]

Can anyone post the harvest so far this year? I was wanting to compare to past years, but for some reason I'm only gett

 

[Pilchard]

Not sure if I did this right. And I did not include youth dates but:

2022, 4/1-4/10: 13,576
2023, 4/15-4/25: 20,096

This also wouldn't account for the counties that were on delayed start last year. I don't know which counties these are.

 

[Boll Weevil]

I simply ran a report for Mar1-Apr25 of both 2022 and 2023 with the knowledge it was open 2 weeks longer at this point in the season last year.
2022: 24,159
2023: 22,365

If my math is right (and the report is valid) we're currently 1794 birds behind last year, but with the season having been open approximately 2 weeks less.

 

[knightrider]

It will be close to the same i have a feeling, the people that killed birds last year will kill them this year, only real difference is the loosing of the third tag which was unnecessary

 

[BamaHudson]

I don't think losing a 3rd tag is unnecessary. It just leaves more birds for the following year. The birds this year also had an extra two weeks to get their breading done. I think the changes will end up being good. Seems like everyone is still getting to hunt, still getting to hear birds, still getting to kill birds. Not so bad.

 

[knightrider]

I don't think losing a 3rd tag is unnecessary. It just leaves more birds for the following year. The birds this year also had an extra two weeks to get their breading done. I think the changes will end up being good. Seems like everyone is still getting to hunt, still getting to hear birds, still getting to kill birds. Not so bad.

If they got so much breeding done than why was loosing the third tag necessary? Loosing hunting opportunity for no reason other than a knee jerk feel good reaction is unnecessary

 

[hbg1]

If they got so much breeding done than why was loosing the third tag necessary? Loosing hunting opportunity for no reason other than a knee jerk feel good reaction is unnecessary

You need to consider areas outside of yours that are struggling to maintain any resemblance of a population. We should always remember our small window of how things are isn't the full picture.

 

[Popcorn]

There will still be renests that will need tending
Plus there is never anything wrong with leaving a few for good measure!! The "Kill 'em all" attitude can leave you without in several different potential crisis situations.

 

[Donk]

Just curious, how many of you guys that talk of taking away birds from the limit do predator controll? Trapping coons and other nest raiders. You just do the talk or do you do the walk too. What the limit is should be for your area, does'nt mean it should be state wide.

 

[megalomaniac]

Just curious, how many of you guys that talk of taking away birds from the limit do predator controll? Trapping coons and other nest raiders. You just do the talk or do you do the walk too. What the limit is should be for your area, does'nt mean it should be state wide.

Its too much work for most turkey hunters to improve habitat and predate the predators.

As far as the 2 bird limit... certainly wasn't necessary on my farms. If I wanted to, I could have killed 20 this year. As it is, my season is probably done in TN, and I'm still sitting on my 2nd tag. The bird I wanted to kill just bested me every single time I hunted him... but thats probably because I put too much pressure on him and hunted him every single day except for the one day I tagged my first bird on another farm right off the roost.

But the really funny thing is... even though I only killed 1 bird in TN, I certainly didn't feel less accomplished or less successful. I beat most of the birds on my farms, some of them even twice.... just didn't need to kill them.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Just curious, how many of you guys that talk of taking away birds from the limit do predator controll? Trapping coons and other nest raiders. You just do the talk or do you do the walk too. What the limit is should be for your area, does'nt mean it should be state wide.

I walk it. 133 trapped and killed in 2022 and thus far in 2023. Plus major habitat improvements.

Like @megalomaniac said, I get it - most can't do all that trapping. It's a lot of work and too much work for most. I've given up a lot of hobbies to focus on trapping and habitat. Used to golf 30-40 times a year. Now as I age, I'd rather be in the woods doing stuff rather than hitting a ball around big fields. It's just prioritization. This is what I choose to do. Wouldn't have it any other way. It's either doing this stuff or hang out with todays society that's going to hell in a hand basket

 

[woodsman04]

Delay was needed perhaps. Limit reduction not so much. I think only thing that needs changing is the way people shoot turkeys and methods they use.

 

[Donk]

A limit is a limit. As long as it is a safe method why would anyone care how I hunt. You don't hunt where I do, so what does it matter to you? Any of you give some thing back? or just keep on taking.

 

[timberjack86]

Just curious, how many of you guys that talk of taking away birds from the limit do predator controll? Trapping coons and other nest raiders. You just do the talk or do you do the walk too. What the limit is should be for your area, does'nt mean it should be state wide.

I trapped until season closed at the end of February on our local wma.

 

[BamaHudson]

If they got so much breeding done than why was loosing the third tag necessary? Loosing hunting opportunity for no reason other than a knee jerk feel good reaction is unnecessary

I think the simple answer is killing less birds will never hurt the population. It's 1 extra turkey for you but thousands of turkeys across the state. I think its a fine trade off and if it goes well they may up the limit again one day instead of eventually being lucky to even see 3 turkeys in a season like many places.

 

[BamaHudson]

Just curious, how many of you guys that talk of taking away birds from the limit do predator controll? Trapping coons and other nest raiders. You just do the talk or do you do the walk too. What the limit is should be for your area, does'nt mean it should be state wide.

If you can tell me how killing more birds will help the population I'll let it go

 

[megalomaniac]

If you can tell me how killing more birds will help the population I'll let it go

Killing more birds won't help the population, but if season structure is set properly, will not harm the population either.

Of course, killing excess males (and especially males that are not in excess in a localized geography) can cause irreprovable damage to the localized population if they are killed before hens are bred.

Multiple studies have shown the earliest hens to breed are also the most successful at actually hatching poults and their success or failure is mostly responsible for population increases or declines. Is that because the dominant hens are better nesters? Or is it because the later nesters are laying infertile eggs because all the sexually mature males were already removed?

Personally, I don't really care what the limit is with the new season structure. I'm not going to punch my last tag unless it's a really memorable hunt or a really special bird. Something psychologically in me NEEDS to know I could kill the bird if I so CHOSE to do so, rather than I could not kill the bird because I tagged out already.

 

[C1295]

I think the simple answer is killing less birds will never hurt the population. It's 1 extra turkey for you but thousands of turkeys across the state. I think its a fine trade off and if it goes well they may up the limit again one day instead of eventually being lucky to even see 3 turkeys in a season like many places.

2 birds are better than 1.

 

[Bgoodman30]

I think the simple answer is killing less birds will never hurt the population. It's 1 extra turkey for you but thousands of turkeys across the state. I think its a fine trade off and if it goes well they may up the limit again one day instead of eventually being lucky to even see 3 turkeys in a season like many places.

The 3rd bird is neglible statewide. Most folks will shoot 1 or 2. Taking away a ton of opportunity for no real population changes for those who are avid turkey hunters.

 

[Boll Weevil]

The 3rd bird is neglible statewide. Most folks will shoot 1 or 2.

^Fact.