Gobbler density.

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Sounds like there might be both a supply and demand problem. Not only have reproduction numbers faltered, but hunters may simply be killing too many per acre. A later season start, lowered limit, shorter season, even modifying legal hunting methods doesn't address this. People hunt where they have access to hunt be it public or private whether it's 20ac out the back door or 20,000ac of national forest. 1 tom per 4000 ac is 1 tom per 4000 ac. Period, full stop, end of discussion. If somebody kills him, 100% legal, no trespassing involved...that's it.

I don't have a good recommendation for how to address hunter density vs. gobbler density. There seems to be a significant mismatch in some areas.

Good topic Bgoodman.
 
megalomaniac said:
It's a huntable population... just not a good hunt.

Most MS WMAs average around 1 killed per 2000 acres or so. Around 1 killed per 4000 acres in southeast MS WMAs. But kill numbers only loosely trend with overall population. It's fun to look at the 'man days' required to kill a bird. 30 to 40 days hunting to kill a bird is average here, with some locales requiring 90 to 100 man days of hunting to kill a single bird!

But then the flip side is also true... there are tiny properties that have a TON of birds. There is an old fellow a couple miles down the road from one of my farms who has had fed birds so long in his yard he can open his back door, call them, and they come running to him. He has about 60 acres and it's no hunting anywhere nearby. These birds are way too visible, don't shy away from cars or people, and are basically pets. I love having them near, because I can use that flock to judge how birds are behaving a certain day. At one point a couple weeks ago, he had 12 adult toms in his yard.

Just a couple miles away, I've only had 1 tom on my 220ac farm this season (and I'm leaving him alone because he and 4 hens have started using the property I've improved with food plots and road/ trail management hoping to get a flock started there.).
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We average about 1 bird killed per 10 hours hunting here just looking back over the last few years.
 
Boll Weevil said:
Sounds like there might be both a supply and demand problem. Not only have reproduction numbers faltered, but hunters may simply be killing too many per acre. A later season start, lowered limit, shorter season, even modifying legal hunting methods doesn't address this. People hunt where they have access to hunt be it public or private whether it's 20ac out the back door or 20,000ac of national forest. 1 tom per 4000 ac is 1 tom per 4000 ac. Period, full stop, end of discussion. If somebody kills him, 100% legal, no trespassing involved...that's it.

I don't have a good recommendation for how to address hunter density vs. gobbler density. There seems to be a significant mismatch in some areas.

Good topic Bgoodman.
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Biggest thing I see is human pressure.

Man - every 40 acre farm in the county seems to get hunted. It's a lot of pressure to put on birds trying to reproduce.
 
Bgoodman30 said:
Yeah its bad. I heard 6-7 shots opening morning but only heard one bird gobbling..
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I have no doubt that over-hunting impacts many geographic areas in TN.

Managing limits by entire units, often comprising 20+ counties, is like trying to manage finances by only looking at how much you eat out.

I'm generally a fan of TWRA, but they are undermanned and in some cases improperly motivated.
 

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