I usually plan my tactics by dogwoods. Before dogwoods bloom. Run n gun. Call lots. Hunting is usually very good in this time frame. My favorite time. Then I have the week the dogwoods bloom. From the first one I spot blooming there is about 7 days on no gobbling. I just have to prepare to hunt with very little gobbling. A lot more sitting than moving. Then after this week I call late season. Cover lots of ground trying to find one still interested. Saw my first dogwood bloom today so this year I will not get to hunt the first two phases and the third is gonna be rough with season still 2 1/2 weeks away. This is really depressing from where I'm sitting. Dang this late opening. It stinks in my opinion. Just plain stinks.
Dogwoods
- Thread starter muddyboots
- Start date
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
Interesting observation. For whatever reason, dogwoods just started blooming in force this week in south MS (I found one here and there a week ago). So... despite the EARLY spring green up, dogwoods bloomed right on time down here. Same for the redbuds. But azaleas and oaks were WAY ahead of schedule this year. Oaks have already finished tasseling.
As far as the turkey behavior changing this spring, I just cannot say. Sample size of 1 bird found in the past month. In fact, I haven't cut a single gobbler track since season opened (and ive been in the woods 11 of the past 12 days). I've called up several hens without toms (another one this morn on a large block of public I've never hunted before). But from what I can tell with extremely limited sample size, birds are right on track for down here... most hens bred and gobblers roaming (either that or most toms killed and hens squawking looking to get bred, but I don't think so).
But as early as our local hens nest this far south, I've still killed hard gobbling birds on the last day of the season (May 1) the past 2 years in a row down here... so I don't think west TN is going to have any trouble getting on gobbling toms mid May if they are still alive.
As far as the turkey behavior changing this spring, I just cannot say. Sample size of 1 bird found in the past month. In fact, I haven't cut a single gobbler track since season opened (and ive been in the woods 11 of the past 12 days). I've called up several hens without toms (another one this morn on a large block of public I've never hunted before). But from what I can tell with extremely limited sample size, birds are right on track for down here... most hens bred and gobblers roaming (either that or most toms killed and hens squawking looking to get bred, but I don't think so).
But as early as our local hens nest this far south, I've still killed hard gobbling birds on the last day of the season (May 1) the past 2 years in a row down here... so I don't think west TN is going to have any trouble getting on gobbling toms mid May if they are still alive.
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The only thing constant in life, is change.
We're all mostly uncertain on how this change will play out.
We're all mostly uncertain on how this change will play out.
Let's trust TWRA on this and if it works we should have many more to hunt in the future.
From what I've gathered in the past we hunt similar properties. Timber company land with lots of pines. I was pretty sure my season would be a bust.
TWRA (biologists and such) had absolutely nothing to do with 2023 turkey season dates. That was 100% TFWC (aka The Commission). The Commission directed TWRA to set the season back based on hunter, constituent and stakeholder feedback and input. I'm all for anything that will help us "have many more to hunt in the future", but I am not convinced this alone will be the silver bullet. Time will tell if the powers to be leave things alone long enough to make an informed opinion based on real data, not hearsay and perception alone.Let's trust TWRA on this and if it works we should have many more to hunt in the future.
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...... or how long it will stay in place, or if it will stay in place long enough to truly evaluate it's impact. There is already one Commissioner questioning current dates and possibly suggesting to go back to traditional season dates. Guess where he lives: SW TN. I highly suspect hunters in his area are burning his email and phone number up. As he stated in Friday's Commission meeting, "we (The Commission) took away opportunity for no scientific reason."
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Try explaining that one to Climate change idiots!!
Wrangler95
Well-Known Member
I agree,I live in a county where the population of turkey's are getting lower every year,people will complain of the late start but I'm for anything that will bring the flock back!Let's trust TWRA on this and if it works we should have many more to hunt in the future.
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Afaik TWRA was against this delay of opening season. From what I understand, the commission forced the change to be implemented.
Boy that's a shocker.
That commission is a joke and needs to be cleaned out or done away with completely.
But hey, it's all good, duck hunters are just cry babies, remember?
Congratulations turkey hunters, welcome to the club.
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Well, here's what I'm seeing when it comes to turkeys. There's a ton of hunters who are PO'ed that twra didn't do something much sooner.
Then the commission steps in to make a change, and now there's another ton of hunters PO'ed because something was changed.
The agency likely didn't support the delay of season, because it obviously takes away the $$$ from non-resident licenses. That's prob the biggest reason TN's season opened earlier than everyone else's, to bring in the cash from NR's.
I'm not mad about the late opener even though it probably means I'll have no reason to hunt. If it means more turkeys in the future I'm all in.
Thank goodness. What's his email?
I maybe totally off base. I've been wrong before but not a lot. Lol. If my memory serves me correct I've hunted the last weekend in March several times with the limit was 2 and the turkey hunting was phenomenal. I would not even put in for other hunts because where I hunt was better. On bad mornings I'd hear 4 to 6 gobbling. And that was a bad morning. Then what happened. We raised limit to 3. Wait that didn't sell enough license so we went to 4. Now hunting is tough. Reap what you sow. Seems pretty plain to me. It's not the season dates. You couple high limits and tremendous coon population you have disaster. I think the late season is not doing crap but hurting me. Jmo Jmo. I was gonna go listen a few mornings but I didn't want to get whizzed off so I didnt go.
I disagree with this statement. I think there is plenty of scientific evidence, but I follow Dr. Chamberlain and read/listen to everything he puts out. Some people curse his name, but I see no reason for him to lie about his decades of research. I don't understand how someone on the other side of the debate can argue that allowing more hens to be bred before we start killing the breeders is a bad thing. I don't think the season needs to moved back forever, but maybe it works and things start looking better. I'm willing to sacrifice a couple weeks in April to see if it helps.
Commissioner Cox and many others are listening to Dr. Craig Harper (UTK) who is assisting/leading the research in Giles, Lawrence and Wayne counties. The preliminary findings there suggest later season opener will not help with poult recruitment, more turkeys, better hunting, etc. Generally speaking, those who listen to and follow Dr. Harper could not care less about Dr. Chamberlain's theory. Generally speaking. That's it in a nutshell.
Totally agree muddyboots! Pictures of the great hatch with no two week delay, turkeys gobbling, breeding doing all the things they have done for the last 42 years I have hunted them , TWRA , our turkey coordinator nor any biologist recommended the change but a majority of the commission decided to delay instead of wait on the results of a 6 year study that TWRA stood and told them they would have shortly. The study released in December showed a two week delay did absolutely nothing with improving nesting success ? One commissioner at the.original meeting actually pointed out that delays had not helped anywhere they had been tried , he didn't win out.( I have watched the meeting several times) If a delay had been proven somewhere, anywhere, anyway at all to help turkeys I am all for it.Our TN study suggest otherwise so until there is some merit/evidence to the Chamberlain stuff , my opinion will not change. Weather, predators and habitat will determine nesting success this year just like it did for the great hatch last year not only in TN but throughout the south. Again just an opinion , I respect other opinions.
^^^ Watch this video to hear Dr. Harper's perspective.
Huntaholic
Well-Known Member
im not necessarily advocating this, but if you want to help our turkeys, kill EVERY hawk, owl, bobcat and coyote you see. Good Lord willing, next year will make 40 years that Ive been turkey hunting. Ive seen it go from NOTHING, to turkeys everywhere, and in some spots now, back to nothing. TWRA tries to manage a whole state and make everybody happy, it doesnt work. Manage your resources yourself!
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
Speaking of reverting any given aspect of the regs, I don't hardly see a way to do that without some sort of blowback. Public vs private, these counties but not those counties, only landowners with greater than X acres, start dates by region/units, etc. On the other hand regs for deer can be all over the place so maybe in reality, it wouldn't be a big deal to folks.
Unless you have manage thousands of acres that simply will not work. What I do on my 400 acres won't change a thing if the hunters hunting around me kill every turkey they possibly can.
I find this to be narrow minded. I will definitely watch the video you posted though. We have decades of research at our fingertips for free, and we choose to ignore it. Maybe Chamberlain is wrong on some things, but I would prefer a put our heads together and study all possible solutions opposed to the train of thought that Chamberlain just wants to take away the best hunting and keep me from killing my 4 turkeys.
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ImThere
Well-Known Member
Agreed
Well they are but it don't make them any less right!
This club sucks!!
Huntaholic
Well-Known Member
I get what youre saying. I am blessed to have property that I either own or lease in 4 counties and I try to only take a set amount from each place. Some places I wont take anything. I am fortunate to still have birds on them all. I couldnt care less if the limit is 1 or 10, if its 10 Im going to kill 10, I just have to spread it out even more. Like I said, I know I am BLESSED to have the resources I do. Heres the thing: just like when the deer seasons and units where the way they were, I could hunt unit A and kill 4 bucks archery, go to unit B and kill so many more, then 2 bucks in MZ, and another 4 with a rifle. Most I ever killed was 14 one year, 12 of those being bucks. I was young and dumb and all about the numbers. Now Im old and dumb and when it comes to turkeys, Im still all about the numbers lol. BUT we as hunters have to have some common sense and micro manage our areas for what the population will sustain and grow from. Just like when they started dropping the deer limit and even before, if I KILL IT I KNOW ITS DEAD. IF I let it walk, it has a chance to make it.
Very difficult to trust twra on anything.Let's trust TWRA on this and if it works we should have many more to hunt in the future.
Wrangler95
Well-Known Member
I bet most hunters that object to the late start of season are mostly in counties that dont have low numbers of turkey's like some of us.Just guessing!
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
In my mind, the most important things to look at with the delayed season opening are number of NR hunting the first 2 weeks compared to years past, BUT also, the number of NR hunting May 15 thru 31st.
I suspect there will be significantly fewer NR pressuring the birds mid April compared to around Apr 1st opener in the past. But I bet there will be a lot more NR coming to TN to hunt end of May this year compared to when last week of season was May 8 thru 15. Why would a southern NR travel all the way to MI, WI, or New England when he can just hop one or two states over to TN? But I bet the net effect is going to be positive in reduction of NR killing birds. If not perhaps TN should consider implementing a limit on public NR hunters like MS (only the first 2 weeks of season).
I've said before... you DONT want to have an early start date compared to the rest of the country due to NR influx...
If you west TN hunters want, I would have no objections to opening the state west of the TN River March 15, ending May 1st... as long as middle TN stays April 15 thru May 31 (of course, keep the 2 bird statewide limit). Be a LOT fewer TN, AR, LA, AL, MO coming to MS for the Mar 15 opener.
I suspect there will be significantly fewer NR pressuring the birds mid April compared to around Apr 1st opener in the past. But I bet there will be a lot more NR coming to TN to hunt end of May this year compared to when last week of season was May 8 thru 15. Why would a southern NR travel all the way to MI, WI, or New England when he can just hop one or two states over to TN? But I bet the net effect is going to be positive in reduction of NR killing birds. If not perhaps TN should consider implementing a limit on public NR hunters like MS (only the first 2 weeks of season).
I've said before... you DONT want to have an early start date compared to the rest of the country due to NR influx...
If you west TN hunters want, I would have no objections to opening the state west of the TN River March 15, ending May 1st... as long as middle TN stays April 15 thru May 31 (of course, keep the 2 bird statewide limit). Be a LOT fewer TN, AR, LA, AL, MO coming to MS for the Mar 15 opener.
