Turkey limit question / poll

[showmehorns]

Because I want my son and daughter to hammer them like I have when it comes their time, I've taken the #7 stance. However, in a perfect world, I would drop it to 3 birds, no jakes except for the Juvy hunts and do away with fall season all together.

 

[Hawk]

I'm gonna vote for # 1 simply because thats what the folks who are alot smarter than me when it comes to turkey biology have set it at.

1) No change to present bag limits statewide

AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!

Not an option on the poll but I think if Tenn. ended each spring day's hunt at 12:00 Central/1:00 DST like Mo. the gobbling would increase and less hens would be bumped off the nest.

 

[Cabbage]

2) Reduce statewide limit to 3 birds, no change to fall season.

 

[Grizzly Johnson]

#4 or #5 and only allow 1 jake. But put this spin on it.... allow juvy hunters to take any bird that they want.... long-beard, jake, or hen.

 

[Buck Assassin]

4 and 7

 

[eddie c]

1 or 9.

I am no biologist. I think TWRA can handle that department just fine.
I also dont think we should restrict the harvest of jakes or hens any more than it already is. The reason I feel this way? I think if we restrict what our NEW hunters(reguardless of age) can shoot(deer or turkeys, jakes or spikes) and their sucess rate is zero, they would get discourged and quit hunting all together. The same with hunters that have limited time in the field, no sucess, quit hunting, no sales of any products.
I know of some guys that their hunting time got limited due to having kids. This was before Unit L was created. they ended up quiting hunting because all they were seeing was does during their limited hunting time and the does were not legal to shoot.
I also dont care what legal weapon a person uses just as long as that person is in the field enjoying the hunt.

 

[CopperHead77]

#5

 

[RUGER]

Hawk I forgot about that one.
I meant to add that as well.
Time for another poll.

 

[VolDoug]

I wouldn't mind going back to 3 statewide & 1 WMA bird, or 2 and 2 like it used to be in the past. Of course, I have a WMA about 20 minutes from my house, and if we went that route, it would be covered up with hunters trying to get that extra bird.

Leave the fall alone. It is a different kind of hunting that those guys are just as hardcore about as the spring hunters are. Only 2000 birds were taken last fall, with 2/3 being hens.

Reducing the jake harvest to one is futile, because most hunters who would take a jake aren't going to kill more than one anyway.

 

[buckhorn40]

7

 

[Taylor]

So many choices.
I'd leave spring like it is.
Plenty of opportunity.

Mainly, I'd opt for more fall hunting opportunities. I wonder what the participation numbers in fall really are?

As for killing jakes. MS has long had some regs on not taking jakes. I think they allow kids to shoot 'em, maybe? Don't know. Knowing how/if it has paid off over the years would be interesting. I seriously doubt a lot of hunters are filling their tags with jakes.

Doing a statewide restriction because of a bad hatch would really be hard to justify.
It would seem better to place restrictions on specific areas/regions that wildlife managers know recorded bad hatches (which I think happens most often in river bottom areas). And TWRA has done that before, example: Mississippi River Bottom.

 

[easy45]

I would take 3

 

[muddyboots]

#8

 

[eddie c]

eddie C, we have a no jake policy in Miss and no one has quit hunting because of it, if anything our license sales are increasing and finding places to hunt get harder and harder, because of the stricter regs.

The idea that restricing harvests as long as they are not insane, will not quell license sales or hunters.

Captain, not to argue your point but I personally know of some folks (in both states)that have not bought licenses and quit hunting because of restrictions. some of these are family members that have hunted for years.

 

[Baxter83]

#8 with one jake.

I would like to see the juvy hunts open to either sex.

 

[wdsnipes]

3

 

[RNT]

#2 maybe even #3. 3 birds is plenty in my opinion.

 

[deerchaser007]

#7- allowing only 1 jake

BUT,.. i would shorten the season to 4 weeks only and have a noon hunting cut off everyday. I think this would greatly increase the gobbling by the mature birds in pressured areas of this state.

 

[buckmaster 320]

Can we add a # 11 ???
4 bird limit with no more than 2 being taken on open statewide spring season and no more than 2 on WMA....
Just like it was several years ago...
Absolutely NO Fall season!!!!

 

[4onaside]

I wouldn't mind going back to 3 statewide & 1 WMA bird, or 2 and 2 like it used to be in the past. Of course, I have a WMA about 20 minutes from my house, and if we went that route, it would be covered up with hunters trying to get that extra bird.

Leave the fall alone. It is a different kind of hunting that those guys are just as hardcore about as the spring hunters are. Only 2000 birds were taken last fall, with 2/3 being hens.

Reducing the jake harvest to one is futile, because most hunters who would take a jake aren't going to kill more than one anyway.

So, you're saying that those of us who kill jakes can't kill longbeards? Interesting, but totally incorrect statement. I kill whatever shows up. This season it was one jake and two longbeards. But, had it been four jakes, that's what I would have killed. Or four longbeards. Makes no difference to me, but you're the first one that has told me that I probably wont kill more than one turkey a year anyway. Nice to know. lol