Limiting Out

[TheLBLman]

Anyone noticing how important is seems to so many avid turkey hunters that they "limit out" each spring?

Kinda seems the exact number of kills is not nearly as important as being able to say "limited out"?

Or,
I will not live up to my reputation of being this world-class turkey hunter should I do anything but turkey hunting, so long as the law allows and I have not yet limited out. Just seems the focus of many is more about "getting the limit" rather than the quality of the hunting, or even thinking about the future of that hunting.

So commonly heard these days . . . . . . .
There's just so few longbeards, none of them dares to gobble, and I'm having trouble finding that last one to limit out. Heck, I took all this vacation time off, and now I can't find a bird to get my limit finished.

Me, I kinda feel guilty even shooting that first one, if I can't kill him coming in gobbling, strutting, and putting on a show.
Personally, I'm not that focused on limiting out, often more focused on NOT killing that final bird, just so can continue hunting with the option of killing one, should one put on the proper show, and all the stars align just the right way such that the kill becomes the icing on the cake.

IF we had a lower turkey limit, would those so focused on limiting out oppose or applaud it?
Really makes little difference to me, just wondering, and also wondering if we had more longbeards surviving each spring (and fall), would we then hear more gobbling, seen more strutting, and see more of Mother Nature's "greatest shows" in the subsequent years?

 

[Beard Buster]

Good post
Heck I will be the first to admit I am not killing one this year
I just got back from Mo and hunted 5 days without a kill
Came real close and called two in for my brother and he killed one and missed one
I think people evolve as hunters and it becomes more of the experience rather than the kill
JMO

 

[catman529]

I've tagged out the past 4 seasons so I feel like I fall short if I don't tag out. However that's not the only reason... I also like hunting them so much I would kill 5 or 6 or 8 if I could. As for populations, I try and hunt different places. I've got 3 this year and they all were killed a good distance apart, in 2 different counties.

Really if I didn't miss shots and get busted several times a year, I'd be tagged out way sooner every spring. Lol


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[Gravey]

I've only limited out once and really have no desire to. My goal every year is one maybe two but definitely not four as inthink the limit is too high anyway.

 

[Woodsman10]

I like being able to kill a bunch. I haven't limited out in several years.
But my goal isnt to limit out, it's to set up on and call up and shoot as many gobbling longbears as possible, legally of course.

There ain't nothing like it. Ready for next year, hopefully there will be an abundance of hot headed 2 year olds.

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[TheLBLman]

I think people evolve as hunters and it becomes more of the experience rather than the kill

I agree.
Am just concerned many younger hunters are never getting to experience much of those "experiences", thus the focus has become more on just the killing, by whatever means, that in part to prove one's manhood as a turkey hunter who is so good he limits out every year.

 

[chebuck]

I've tagged out the past 4 seasons so I feel like I fall short if I don't tag out. However that's not the only reason... I also like hunting them so much I would kill 5 or 6 or 8 if I could. As for populations, I try and hunt different places. I've got 3 this year and they all were killed a good distance apart, in 2 different counties.

Really if I didn't miss shots and get busted several times a year, I'd be tagged out way sooner every spring. Lol


I'm like you u. I limit out every year. But I hunt in several different counties and make sure to leave a bird or 2 in every location to ensure all the hens get bred.

 

[TheLBLman]

Ready for next year, hopefully there will be an abundance of hot headed 2 year olds.

Same here, but have noted HOPE is not a very good plan. :tu:

Just wondering if we would have more of those hot headed 2 year olds next year if we had had a 2-bird limit this year?

Would we have more if our turkey season was not as long, i.e. why does the KY turkey biologist see things so differently than the TN turkey biologist?

Would we have more if we didn't even have a fall turkey season?

If we went back to our 2-bird limit (something we had for many years), would the majority of TN's turkey hunters actually enjoy more turkey hunting?

I know there are quite a few avid turkey hunters who regularly turkey hunt in both TN & KY ---- what are your thoughts?

 

[TheLBLman]

I limit out every year. But I hunt in several different counties and make sure to leave a bird or 2 in every location to ensure all the hens get bred.

Meanwhile, many other hunters are doing exactly the same thing, often coming along behind you, ensuring there are zero longbeards in many areas, and that any hens needing to re-nest, are sitting on unfertilized eggs.

I don't mean to come across as criticizing your hunting, as totally agree with the need of leaving some for next year, and to ensure all the hens get bred this year, including when so many have to re-nest. Just trying to share some observations over the years.

One of those observations is the belief that the 2 birds seen surviving a "location" have actually or will "survive". These are often the same 2 longbeards another hunter thinks he "leaving" on another location a mile down the road, then another comes along believe it's ok to kill one of them, then another believing there's still 2, so he kills the last one, leaving none in multiple "locations" comprising a couple square miles of turkey range.

One square mile is 640 acres. One longbeard regularly travels over a linear mile in any given week during April. How many are hunting "locations" that comprise much less than 600 acres?

 

[Beard Buster]

With all the hype about fanning more and more hunters are using that tactic
and filling tags a lot faster
I really wish TN would go back to a 2 bird limit
being a transplant from Mo I really like how we do it there
but that's just my opinion

 

[TheLBLman]

Catman, don't take this too "personal", as am just using what you said as an example of another observation. :)
And just think how much more fishing you could be ENJOYING if you weren't spending every spare moment trying to kill another turkey!

Really if I didn't miss shots and get busted several times a year, I'd be tagged out way sooner every spring.

This brings up another issue:

How many of those presumably "missed" birds later die the next week from having a single pellet in their gut?

The higher our limits, the more days we have to hunt, the more birds that die, from all causes, some of which do not result in a hunter taking home a kill. The more the focus on killing more, the more that opportunity, it sometimes seems the less we care about the risks and outcomes of poor shooting and taking low-probability shots?

 

[Woodsman10]

I will not believe in lower limits and chicken litter until someone 100% proves it.
If we had good hatches, and lots of poult recruitment, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Maury County continues to kill the piss out of them, and reload every year.

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[benellivol]

With all the hype about fanning more and more hunters are using that tactic
and filling tags a lot faster
I really wish TN would go back to a 2 bird limit
being a transplant from Mo I really like how we do it there
but that's just my opinion

I can't kill one, so if the limit were two it wouldn't bother me. This year has been tough.

 

[poorhunter]

I like being able to kill 4 a year, and I have been blessed to have several private properties that really have a great population and very limited other hunters. I only kill one or at most two on any one property, to keep from overhunting. That being said, I think it shouldn't be about what I want or have to hunt. The regs need to reflect what's best for the game animal's population. I know it may not be popular, but I would be for a yearly assessment and change if needed each year. Each years hatch can have a dramatic effect very quickly. Problem with trying to do this yearly is that each county may be different. I'd be for a 2 or 3 bird limit and close fall or allow only one in fall period, in high population counties only.

 

[TheLBLman]

If we had good hatches, and lots of poult recruitment, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

That is true! :mrgreen:
Now which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

 

[TheLBLman]

I have been blessed to have several private properties that really have a great population and very limited other hunters. I only kill one or at most two on any one property, to keep from overhunting.

Would you care to share the approximate acreage of your average turkey-hunting property? :)

 

[Dover_Mike]

I got my limit in 5 hunts this year. Took about the same the last three of four years. I hunt Stewart, Houston and Humphreys County. Killed two in Stewart and 1 each in Houston/Humphries. I did not kill any 1.5" or better birds this year, but I could really care less about that anyway. Killed 2 three year 1.25ish and 2 moviestar 2 year olds, 1". All four came in strutting to the call and on all but one they came in with multiple toms. I didn't hear as much limb gobbling this year as in years past but, I really didn't hunt enough to give a true estimate on that. I have noticed at my house that the local birds seem to be getting more vocal here lately. The areas that I hunt have not had a negative effect on birds that I read about on here but, if they were to drop the limit to 2 or 3 it would not bother me a bit. Good luck to everyone on the rest of your season.

 

[Dover_Mike]

I will add that I think Fall turkey hunting is a complete waste of time. A dead hen = zero eggs. There is really no sense in Fall Hunting in my opinion but, to each their own..

 

[Beard Buster]

I like being able to kill 4 a year, and I have been blessed to have several private properties that really have a great population and very limited other hunters. I only kill one or at most two on any one property, to keep from overhunting. That being said, I think it shouldn't be about what I want or have to hunt. The regs need to reflect what's best for the game animal's population. I know it may not be popular, but I would be for a yearly assessment and change if needed each year. Each years hatch can have a dramatic effect very quickly. Problem with trying to do this yearly is that each county may be different. I'd be for a 2 or 3 bird limit and close fall or allow only one in fall period, in high population counties only.

Yep
My biggest complaint is the season limits are set before we know how the hatch turned out

 

[Beard Buster]

If we had good hatches, and lots of poult recruitment, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

That is true! :mrgreen:
Now which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

Really?
More and more people every year take up turkey hunting
and with the liberal limits and long seasons we have over hunted WMA's
From out of state hunters and TN residents that flood public ground the first week
to kill and leave their private spots for later on in the season

 

[Tennessee Lead]

I will add that I think Fall turkey hunting is a complete waste of time. A dead hen = zero eggs. There is really no sense in Fall Hunting in my opinion but, to each their own..

I would start here first if anything is changed.

Edit
Then I'd look at the strutting decoys and fanning methods
That would save a lot of Tom's

 

[TheLBLman]

I will add that I think Fall turkey hunting is a complete waste of time. A dead hen = zero eggs. There is really no sense in Fall Hunting in my opinion but, to each their own..

We must be about on the same page. :tu:

So did you kill those Stewart County birds in your front yard or your back yard, or was it near my front yard? :D

Mike, congratulations on having such good turkey hunting this spring. You and your neighbors have really been slaying them.
All I can figure out for me is I've been "unlucky" this spring, as I'm usually passing up longbeards trying not to limit out too soon. The only longbeards I've passed have simply been because I couldn't get a good head shot and didn't want to get pellets in the breast. Been two of those now, and I've still gone "birdless". But I have no problem with those who don't mind a few pellets in the breasts, to each their own.

On the bright side, I have been seeing more jakes than normal, and a lot more jennies. Just haven't been able to get the longbeards to gobble much, at least in response to my calling, which probably sounds more like a rusty gate opening than a lonely hen!

 

[Dover_Mike]

I will add that I think Fall turkey hunting is a complete waste of time. A dead hen = zero eggs. There is really no sense in Fall Hunting in my opinion but, to each their own..

We must be about on the same page. :tu:

So did you kill those Stewart County birds in your front yard or your back yard, or was it near my front yard? :D

Mike, congratulations on having such good turkey hunting this spring. You and your neighbors have really been slaying them.
All I can figure out for me is I've been "unlucky" this spring, as I'm usually passing up longbeards trying not to limit out too soon. The only longbeards I've passed have simply been because I couldn't get a good head shot and didn't want to get pellets in the breast. Been two of those now, and I've still gone "birdless". But I have no problem with those who don't mind a few pellets in the breasts, to each their own.

On the bright side, I have been seeing more jakes than normal, and a lot more jennies. Just haven't been able to get the longbeards to gobble much, at least in response to my calling, which probably sounds more like a rusty gate opening than a lonely hen!

HAHA!! Wes, you can use your imagination where the 2 local birds came from. :) As for the house birds, before season I was hearing between 5-6 behind the house on your lease, seems like they did what they do every year. They head for the cattle field across the street from your gate and mill around out there. I do know my neighbor and his son have killed a couple and the guy that hunts the cattle field has killed 2 or 3 judging from shots heard. There have been 2 longbeards that have taken up residency on my side hill near my spring (boarders your lease). I put 20k bees out there yesterday so they may have a sore lip if the wonder to close to the boxes haha.

I am with you on the lack of gobbling, like I said I think they are really now just starting to bust up and get to cranking. There is one bred hen that is building a nest back beside of my pond now too. I will keep a watch and see when she starts to lay.

 

[TheLBLman]

I put 20k bees out there yesterday so they may have a sore lip if the wonder to close to the boxes haha.

I actually saw those when I drove by, and was wondering when you had put out those bee boxes (just never noticed them before). Seems almost everyone around is putting them out. Are you going to get you a donkey soon? :) About everyone now has one of those, too!

Can always tell you've been "busy" around the yard, but never see you. (Yard, or should we say "estate", looks nice.)

 

[Mike Belt]

First of all my knowledge of turkeys isn't as much as that of the deer I hunt. So-o-o, I'm speculating that in the wild the biggest percentage of turkeys don't make it past 3.5 years old. In those 3.5 years they are the targets of a collage of predators, including those carrying shotguns; the only ones having a lawful legal limit. It would stand to reason that if that limit was even in part responsible for declining numbers or an unsustainable population that reducing that limit would benefit the population. The elimination of hens results in the elimination of poults results in the elimination of a percentage of "huntable" birds. Curtailing those regulations could only be a positive step towards improving numbers.

A discussion on limits is relative not only to populations but to those hunting the turkeys... and that can be varied. For those fortunate enough to live and hunt in areas that easily sustain high populations of birds a lower limit might not seem needed. At the other end of the spectrum those hunting areas with low numbers might be inclined to believe a limit reduction may be needed to increase the population. Those who have hunted areas that were once turkey meccas but have had a dramatic drop in population over the years are probably the most open to the idea of a limit reduction.

"Limiting out" during any season on any game is probably a undeniable goal for many. There's nothing wrong with that mindset as long as the game population can withstand it and possibly even more so, that it happens because of opportunity and circumstance rather than because it's the primary goal of a hunting season. Priorities differ but when how many you can kill takes precedence over the actual experience of making those kills something seems to be lacking; namely the right to call yourself an ethical, responsible hunter.

 

[TheLBLman]

"Limiting out" during any season on any game is probably a undeniable goal for many. There's nothing wrong with that mindset as long as the game population can withstand it and possibly even more so, that it happens because of opportunity and circumstance rather than because it's the primary goal of a hunting season. Priorities differ but when how many you can kill takes precedence over the actual experience of making those kills something seems to be lacking; namely the right to call yourself an ethical, responsible hunter.

Generally agree, Mr. Belt.

Would add, I personally perceive a big difference in the "limits" regarding some game species vs. others. Maybe I'm personally being hypocritical?
But when I go dove or duck hunting, it is much of my intention to "get the limit", as I don't perceive that as having the same potential negative effect as killing the limit of some non-migratory bird (such a turkey).

One other thing, even though many of us daily "limit out" on doves and ducks, none of us actually "limit out" for the entire season on doves and ducks. Well, maybe no one except for Chaneylake, but I don't really have a problem with his killing the dove limit every day of the season. :mrgreen: More power to him. By contrast, we're talking entire annual limits on turkeys, where the hunter's goal is to achieve that annual limit. With doves and ducks, hunters can often get the daily limit, yet not even kill 1/10th the annual limit in an entire season or year.

Back to the turkeys, they do seem very similar to quail, just much larger birds.
So go the quail, so will go the turkeys? Any truth to that?

I guess if we had so few turkey hunters as we now have quail hunters, none of us would be any more concerned with the current turkey limits than the current quail limits? On the other hand, if we had a bunch of quail hunters working so hard to get their limits as do the turkey hunters, we would have already seen the total extinction of bobwhite quail.

 

[megalomaniac]

Anyone noticing how important is seems to so many avid turkey hunters that they "limit out" each spring?

Kinda seems the exact number of kills is not nearly as important as being able to say "limited out"?

Or,
I will not live up to my reputation of being this world-class turkey hunter should I do anything but turkey hunting, so long as the law allows and I have not yet limited out. Just seems the focus of many is more about "getting the limit" rather than the quality of the hunting, or even thinking about the future of that hunting.

So commonly heard these days . . . . . . .
There's just so few longbeards, none of them dares to gobble, and I'm having trouble finding that last one to limit out. Heck, I took all this vacation time off, and now I can't find a bird to get my limit finished.

Me, I kinda feel guilty even shooting that first one, if I can't kill him coming in gobbling, strutting, and putting on a show.
Personally, I'm not that focused on limiting out, often more focused on NOT killing that final bird, just so can continue hunting with the option of killing one, should one put on the proper show, and all the stars align just the right way such that the kill becomes the icing on the cake.

IF we had a lower turkey limit, would those so focused on limiting out oppose or applaud it?
Really makes little difference to me, just wondering, and also wondering if we had more longbeards surviving each spring (and fall), would we then hear more gobbling, seen more strutting, and see more of Mother Nature's "greatest shows" in the subsequent years?

It would be opposed by the vast majority of TN hunters (and esp out of state hunters that come to TN for the 4 bird limit)

 

[megalomaniac]

I've tagged out the past 4 seasons so I feel like I fall short if I don't tag out. However that's not the only reason... I also like hunting them so much I would kill 5 or 6 or 8 if I could. As for populations, I try and hunt different places. I've got 3 this year and they all were killed a good distance apart, in 2 different counties.

Really if I didn't miss shots and get busted several times a year, I'd be tagged out way sooner every spring. Lol


I'm like you u. I limit out every year. But I hunt in several different counties and make sure to leave a bird or 2 in every location to ensure all the hens get bred.

That works out perfectly if no one else is hunting anywhere near where that last bird was left

 

[PickettSFHunter]

They'll do whatever it takes to get the limit. Crawl em, fan em, bushwhack em, shoot at em from 60 plus yards, whatever. I've also noticed if they live in an area like I do that isnt loaded with birds and they can't be that successful, they'll head off to Middle TN. It's the TV star wannabe crowd if you notice.


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[megalomaniac]

Ready for next year, hopefully there will be an abundance of hot headed 2 year olds.

Same here, but have noted HOPE is not a very good plan. :tu:

Just wondering if we would have more of those hot headed 2 year olds next year if we had had a 2-bird limit this year?

YES

Would we have more if our turkey season was not as long, i.e. why does the KY turkey biologist see things so differently than the TN turkey biologist?

YES

Would we have more if we didn't even have a fall turkey season?

YES

If we went back to our 2-bird limit (something we had for many years), would the majority of TN's turkey hunters actually enjoy more turkey hunting?

MAYBE.... the vast majority would have a more enjoyable experience, but those that like to rack and stack would be miserable.