Willysman
Well-Known Member
No way. Please. My Goodness.
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Length of Season - TN
- Thread starter Stlbaseball1
- Start date
Creek bottoms
Well-Known Member
4/15 to 5/15 is the best I can agree on.
Willysman
Well-Known Member
Me too. But month of April is what I prefer
Creek bottoms
Well-Known Member
They were hotter than a $2 pistol the week of 4/8.
And stayed that way till may 15-20, heard birds yesterday burning it down on the limb
AlabamaSwamper
Well-Known Member
Don't really matter here. Too little too late. Should have listened to us 10 years ago when everybody here sounded the alarm.
I was actually told it was normal population correcting or something to that extent.
I was actually told it was normal population correcting or something to that extent.
Although I do agree that the season needs to be moved back, I never did hunt this year. Its prime fishing season middle of April and I love hunting before the green up. My property needs a break any way. Population is way down from 7-8 years ago.
I agree. Shorten it. I live with these birds everyday. I can look at my office window and see them working the fields below and hear their gobbles exhoing through the hollar. Its over by mid may.
PickettSFHunter
Well-Known Member
I heard one burning it up this morning from my porch. Agree with a mid May end though imo
Huntaholic
Well-Known Member
Make it 2 weeks, starting April 1st, regardless of what day April 1st falls on.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
The problem with that is you are still gonna kill 20,000 birds before most hens are even bred
Lots of guys talk about the good ole days hearing 12 /15 birds a morning. When did we open back then? Seemed to work well , why don't we just go back to that? Lol, Again the ultimate compromise move it one week earlier than it was this season April 8 would have been opening day, 5 week season ending date would have been May 14. Worried about the hens not being bred, then just wait until the next weekend to hunt (April 15)if you have private property . Then you still have a 4 week season that some are advocating if you choose to wait . Public property open for residents only the first week of season or just open all public a week later -April 15 to avoid nonresident rush, however several other states would also be open April 8 so it may not be as bad. I put everything in this year's dates obviously the dates would change in 24. Simply a delay of 1 week from our old opener instead of two. Just a thought
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TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
I can provide at least a couple good reasons why we shouldn't (at least in the near term).
In times past there were not near as many accomplished turkey hunters, and only a fraction the non-resident turkey hunters. We also had a 2-bird limit back then (which for the 1st time since, we also have now).
It appears the single best thing we can do to help improve nesting success may be to not kill too many older Toms BEFORE they've bred the older hens. These older Toms know what they're doing & are much more effective at getting the job done (unlike jakes in early April). Also, many young hens are not "ready" to be bred before mid-April (or later), and there needs to be plenty of male birds available to get that job done.
Prior to this year, it appears we were simply killing way too many older Toms TOO EARLY.
Then, compared to times past, not only are there more "accomplished" turkey hunters, but even the average turkey hunters, especially the novice ones, are much more proficient at simply killing turkeys. This is in part the result of online instruction providing "experience" in times past accrued over a longer time horizon. It's also due to the turkey guns' effective ranges increasing as much as 50%.
Lastly, is the issue of killing turkeys over "bait". Generally speaking, baiting turkeys just doesn't work as well after mid-April, since the turkeys by then have an abundance of insects and plants to forage.
Adding to the killing over bait issue has been in the increase in people moving beyond suburbia, many having only a couple acres, but they have a wildlife (or "bird") feeder behind their house. There has been a huge increase in turkey kills over bait from people shooting off their back porches. This, imo, will only continue to grow (despite it being illegal and having nothing to do with turkey hunting).
This last thing about more people with small acreage poaching turkeys over bait from their yards is really huge when put in the context of the sustainable turkey harvest over the surrounding 200 acres. In many good habitat areas we see a hunter harvest of much less than 1 bird per 200 acres, yet we have a growing number of people with 2 acres killing turkeys in their back yards (typically over bait). If over bait, this is poaching, and actually "stealing" from the legitimate hunters.
Not long ago, I heard solid evidence of a father & son who poached 8 Toms over a corn feeder behind their house in early April. They bragged about it in Sunday school. All 8 were "checked in" as "legal" kills. Their attitude was "it's our land & we'll do as we please". That family owned @ 5 acres of land, yet poached more birds than were legitimately hunter harvested that year on the surrounding 1,000-plus acres. I believe that particular problem was nipped in the bud, but it's an ongoing & growing issue all across TN.
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Southern Sportsman
Well-Known Member
As long as the season starts late enough to allow ample breeding before we kill a big chunk of the available gobblers, and as long as bag limits are reasonable, I don't think the end date matters much. I think 4 weeks is long enough with a 2 bird limit, but I have no problem running the season Memorial day.
Willysman
Well-Known Member
Basically what it amounts to is the TWRA will set seasons as they please. It does not matter to them what we say about it.
To be clear, TWRA (staff biologists) had nothing to do with changing 2023 spring turkey season dates. Based on 2022 hunter survey feedback and Commission testimony from hunters/conservationists, TFWC directed TWRA to set the dates as they were this spring.
I continue to care more about the turkeys than turkey hunters. There are ZERO ways that delaying the start of the season two weeks are bad for the turkeys. Having two weeks of uninterrupted breeding gives our flock a chance to recover from years of mismanagement.
As a turkey hunter, yes, I missed the earlier opener. But, if our flock continues to decline like it has the past decade, there won't be much of a reason to even go. We are about at that point where I hunt. Thus, I will put my hunter preferences aside in hopes that the population can get better.
As a turkey hunter, yes, I missed the earlier opener. But, if our flock continues to decline like it has the past decade, there won't be much of a reason to even go. We are about at that point where I hunt. Thus, I will put my hunter preferences aside in hopes that the population can get better.
Huntaholic
Well-Known Member
Creek bottoms
Well-Known Member
Close it to non-residents for 3 years unless they are property owners.
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Here's another perspective regarding ongoing turkey "harvests" (regardless who, what, or how they die):
Tennessee has 42,144 square miles, or about 26,972,160 acres.
How much of that is "huntable" turkey habitat?
Not professing to have all the answers, just adding some thoughts.
Let's just assume half of Tennessee's acreage is "huntable" turkey habitat.
That puts us down to 21,072 square miles, or about 13,486,080 acres.
Human hunters who report their spring turkey kills just reported killing about 32,000 turkeys this year (Spring 2023) in TN.
13,486,080 acres divided by 32,000 = 1 Turkey per 421 acres
Having observed and monitored some large acreage tracts in TN for years, I can tell you, not many areas have a sustainable ongoing human hunter harvest of any more than 1 Turkey per 200 acres. Many that did a few years ago now are seeing 1 Turkey per 500 to 1,000 acres (and that's with some accomplished turkey hunters hunting those areas).
So just to add another perspective, as more and more people decide to buy a "mini-farm" (5 to 15 acres) and kill a turkey or two annually on it, will this alone negate much of the "traditional" management of turkeys & turkey hunting?
Tennessee has 42,144 square miles, or about 26,972,160 acres.
How much of that is "huntable" turkey habitat?
Not professing to have all the answers, just adding some thoughts.
Let's just assume half of Tennessee's acreage is "huntable" turkey habitat.
That puts us down to 21,072 square miles, or about 13,486,080 acres.
Human hunters who report their spring turkey kills just reported killing about 32,000 turkeys this year (Spring 2023) in TN.
13,486,080 acres divided by 32,000 = 1 Turkey per 421 acres
Having observed and monitored some large acreage tracts in TN for years, I can tell you, not many areas have a sustainable ongoing human hunter harvest of any more than 1 Turkey per 200 acres. Many that did a few years ago now are seeing 1 Turkey per 500 to 1,000 acres (and that's with some accomplished turkey hunters hunting those areas).
So just to add another perspective, as more and more people decide to buy a "mini-farm" (5 to 15 acres) and kill a turkey or two annually on it, will this alone negate much of the "traditional" management of turkeys & turkey hunting?
