Finally did it!!

[GreeneGriz]

Called in a gobbling Longbeard on South Cherokee this morning. Had him within 30 yards. All I had to do was pull the trigger. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm done. I won and had him dead to rights. And I'm proud of that! Our turkeys are going the way of the grouse and quail and I'm not killing anymore until the population rebounds. I've hunted every weekend since it opened and that's the only bird I've Heard up there. Seen some sign but nothing like compared in years past.
Might possibly plan a hunt next year in another part of the country that still has turkeys to hunt.

Must be all the chicken litter their spreading up on those mountains. (Sorry, had to say it).
A family friend has a farm in western Polk county and says his turkey population seems to ebb and flow from year to year. He thinks it has to do with the wet or dry spring we have during hatches.

To say, "taking a gobbler has no effect on the population at all" is a bold statement. Considering the bag limit is for male turkeys only, then why does TWRA even impose limits and modify seasons if how many males are taken (and when) has no impact on the turkey population? The below statements are copied and pasted from turkeymanagement.com. No doubt the focus should be on the survival rate of the hens and their offspring, but clearly the harvest rate of gobblers has some impact.

Turkey harvest rates can vary depending upon the timing of the season. Obviously, if the season starts after the peak of the breeding season then harvest rates will be low. On the other hand, if the spring season "captures" the peak of the breeding season, gobbler harvest will increase. Regardless of success rates, no more than 20% of the gobbler population should be harvested each year.

In summary, there is a lot of year-to-year variation in wild turkey populations due to the effect of weather and other factors on productivity and survival. The best way to cope with these changes is to continually change season length and bag limit based on changes in size of turkey populations. Often times, this is not feasible at a state or agency level, but can be done on your property if you choose to do so. It's not a bad idea to harvest turkeys, just make sure the population can handle the losses.

hens are taken and allowed in the fall in many counties. Males don't reproduce. Shocker, I know.

 

[13pt]

Yeah that number is just more Chamberlain BS. Numerous studies show gobbler harvest rates WELL in excess of 20% on areas and turkeys do just fine. Matter of fact, you will find harvest rates as high as 40-50% on some heavily hunted public lands. And year after year. Yet turkey aren't extinct. I've heard Chamberlain mention 20-30% a couple times then have a someone come speak right behind him who found 30-40% harvest rates with their study.

I'd venture to say places now days that have a harvest rate 20% or less are in the minority.

Well, I'm not arguing the percentages...you may very well be more of an expert in that area. I certainly am not. However, even to your point, there is an appropriate harvest rate of gobblers, so again, to say "taking a gobbler has no effect on the population at all" is unfounded.

 

[13pt]

Must be all the chicken litter their spreading up on those mountains. (Sorry, had to say it).
A family friend has a farm in western Polk county and says his turkey population seems to ebb and flow from year to year. He thinks it has to do with the wet or dry spring we have during hatches.

hens are taken and allowed in the fall in many counties. Males don't reproduce. Shocker, I know.

Humm, this is news to me, but then again I'm not up to speed on turkey hunting. Well, except I was surprised to know males don't reproduce...lol. I am curious about which of the "many" counties allow the harvesting of hens. This is all I found in the TWRA hunting guide regarding the fall season. I'm probably not looking in the right place.

FALL TURKEY

Bag Limit: 1 bearded turkey, per county, only in counties open to fall turkey hunting.

 

[timberjack86]

I agree...tremendous restraint! Maybe there's just one more hen that hasn't been bred yet this year. I hope your sportsmanship is rewarded. To that end, and I realize I'm a hike up the road from you in White County, but I'd like to offer our 130 acres for you to turkey hunt this last week. Our turkey population also ebbs and flows, but it's always at a pretty high level. This year is a good year, and I had some pictures of up to 80+ turkeys before the season opened. Since they broke up, I see 4 Toms running together and two groups of Jakes totaling 13 just about every day. Occasionally, I see a single Tom stroll through the yard. I know there were 9 Toms before the season opened, so I'm sure most are still here. I take a turkey about once every 3 years and this is year two not taking one. Just not a big turkey hunter, but a passionate deer hunter. All that being said, send me a pm if you'd like to take up the offer. Your sportsmanship is admirable!

Super Generous offer right there!! People like you are who make this the best forum on the internet!!

 

[th88]

Well, I'm not arguing the percentages...you may very well be more of an expert in that area. I certainly am not. However, even to your point, there is an appropriate harvest rate of gobblers, so again, to say "taking a gobbler has no effect on the population at all" is unfounded.

Didn't mean to come off so brash, I just have an issue with someone's theories and agendas being shoved down our throats which have resulted in drastic losses of hunting opportunities all across the eastern US.

When you get to high harvest rates you are definitely banking on the hatch from 2 years prior to have decent numbers of gobblers to hunt. And with harvest rates likely higher than ever before, I suscept we are going to be in a situation soon seeing more drastic ebbs and flows in the overall statewide harvest. Pre 2020 and social media, you'd see a lot better carryover than you do now days. That carryover would help get you through those bad hatch years. I miss those days!

As I've seen stated several times on here by those who live in lower turkey population areas, yeah, if there is only a gobbler or two around in a few square mile area and you whack them on opening day. That could definitely be an issue!

 

[13pt]

Didn't mean to come off so brash, I just have an issue with someone's theories and agendas being shoved down our throats which have resulted in drastic losses of hunting opportunities all across the eastern US.

When you get to high harvest rates you are definitely banking on the hatch from 2 years prior to have decent numbers of gobblers to hunt. And with harvest rates likely higher than ever before, I suscept we are going to be in a situation soon seeing more drastic ebbs and flows in the overall statewide harvest. Pre 2020 and social media, you'd see a lot better carryover than you do now days. That carryover would help get you through those bad hatch years. I miss those days!

As I've seen stated several times on here by those who live in lower turkey population areas, yeah, if there is only a gobbler or two around in a few square mile area and you whack them on opening day. That could definitely be an issue!

It's all good...I see where you're coming from. I do have one question. If it helps to avoid whacking those one or two gobblers in the lower population areas early in the season so more hens are bred, then wouldn't the same logic apply to letting one go at the end of the season since that gobbler will likely be around to breed at the beginning of the next season increasing the likelihood that more hens will be bred next year?

 

[megalomaniac]

but I guess I just don't understand that. Second one I remember reading about that's "gonna do their part". For the most part, the gobblers have done their job this season….most hens are nesting or have hatched off.
Maybe that's good practice for when they take our guns and we have to go out with a tobacco stick, call in a gobbler, point it and say "boom, I coulda had you"
Guess I grew up watching too much Roger Raglin

If there are any toms left in an area, they are still actively breeding hens. I posted another thread with a pic taken yesterday.

 

[th88]

It's all good...I see where you're coming from. I do have one question. If it helps to avoid whacking those one or two gobblers in the lower population areas early in the season so more hens are bred, then wouldn't the same logic apply to letting one go at the end of the season since that gobbler will likely be around to breed at the beginning of the next season increasing the likelihood that more hens will be bred next year?

You are going to have the jake age class move into the adult gobblers' spot the following spring.

 

[TNTreeman]

Called in a gobbling Longbeard on South Cherokee this morning. Had him within 30 yards. All I had to do was pull the trigger. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm done. I won and had him dead to rights. And I'm proud of that! Our turkeys are going the way of the grouse and quail and I'm not killing anymore until the population rebounds. I've hunted every weekend since it opened and that's the only bird I've Heard up there. Seen some sign but nothing like compared in years past.
Might possibly plan a hunt next year in another part of the country that still has turkeys to hunt.

Good for you! I do this with deer, snap a good pic or video and say " gotcha"!

 

[KODAK]

Good for you timberjack86! I love the preparation for the hunt and my surroundings. There are only a few spots in Polk with that elevation and a 3 mile walk, and they are beautiful. You had a checkmate situation!

 

[Drewski 121]

Called in a gobbling Longbeard on South Cherokee this morning. Had him within 30 yards. All I had to do was pull the trigger. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm done. I won and had him dead to rights. And I'm proud of that! Our turkeys are going the way of the grouse and quail and I'm not killing anymore until the population rebounds. I've hunted every weekend since it opened and that's the only bird I've Heard up there. Seen some sign but nothing like compared in years past.
Might possibly plan a hunt next year in another part of the country that still has turkeys to hunt.

Nice job ,its about the hunt..

 

[th88]

The forum talk about Cherokee this year had me intrigued, considering the rest of TN seemed to have had a stellar season. I'm a data nerd, so threw this together.

OUCH. What blows my mind the most is there were a fair amount of jakes killed last year. Usually, that is a good sign for the following season. But doesn't seem to be the case this year. Hopefully the new jake rule kept more people from shooting jakes on Cherokee this spring. If not, next season really is looking bad too!

Props to you guys who stick with the mountain birds. Its obvious you love the hell out of the area. I'd have to be driving to areas with much better bird densities.

 

[GreeneGriz]

Humm, this is news to me, but then again I'm not up to speed on turkey hunting. Well, except I was surprised to know males don't reproduce...lol. I am curious about which of the "many" counties allow the harvesting of hens. This is all I found in the TWRA hunting guide regarding the fall season. I'm probably not looking in the right place.

FALL TURKEY

Bag Limit: 1 bearded turkey, per county, only in counties open to fall turkey hunting.

Bearded hens are common and make up quite a few told the bearded birds taken every year.
I haven't taken part in any fall turkey hunts in many years, but I know Tennessee did allow for hens to be taken at one time and allowed some on draw hunts. I do know LBL allows either sex turkey hunts in the fall.

 

[Willysman]

The forum talk about Cherokee this year had me intrigued, considering the rest of TN seemed to have had a stellar season. I'm a data nerd, so threw this together.

OUCH. What blows my mind the most is there were a fair amount of jakes killed last year. Usually, that is a good sign for the following season. But doesn't seem to be the case this year. Hopefully the new jake rule kept more people from shooting jakes on Cherokee this spring. If not, next season really is looking bad too!

Props to you guys who stick with the mountain birds. Its obvious you love the hell out of the area. I'd have to be driving to areas with much better bird densities.
View attachment 179548

Very interesting report. This is just my opinion but I've never really trusted the numbers reported as killed in the Cherokee. This goes back to the days when you could kill two birds on a management area and two outside a management area. They would be killed outside and checked in as killed inside. There is no reason for that now but I believe it still happens. Same as when a deer was a bonus buck in the Cherokee a deer could be killed anywhere in the state and checked out in the Cherokee until TWRA finally figured it out. Even if it is accurate 192 turkeys for over 600,000 acres is pretty poor. Again this is my opinion so don't want to get an argument started.

 

[th88]

Very interesting report. This is just my opinion but I've never really trusted the numbers reported as killed in the Cherokee. This goes back to the days when you could kill two birds on a management area and two outside a management area. They would be killed outside and checked in as killed inside. There is no reason for that now but I believe it still happens. Same as when a deer was a bonus buck in the Cherokee a deer could be killed anywhere in the state and checked out in the Cherokee until TWRA finally figured it out. Even if it is accurate 192 turkeys for over 600,000 acres is pretty poor. Again this is my opinion so don't want to get an argument started.

The numbers are so piss-poor I don't think any argument is going to be started! unless its an argument for the lack of forest management on the Cherokee National Forest.

 

[thirdwilliam]

Congrats

 

[Willysman]

The numbers are so piss-poor I don't think any argument is going to be started! unless its an argument for the lack of forest management on the Cherokee National Forest.

That is a big part of the problem

 

[RoyalPrudent]

Must be all the chicken litter their spreading up on those mountains. (Sorry, had to say it).
A family friend has a farm in western Polk county and says his turkey population seems to ebb and flow from year to year. He thinks it has to do with the wet or dry spring we have during hatches. He may be right.

science...

 

[RoyalPrudent]

The numbers are so piss-poor I don't think any argument is going to be started! unless its an argument for the lack of forest management on the Cherokee National Forest.

I don't know. I saw someone arguing against logging and fires because they believed it hurt the turkey population. No way to make folks happy.

 

[Soft Talker]

Always been Turkeys in these mountains, North and South, and always will be. They are in pockets, as they have always been.