Turkey Limit

[Grnwing]

I see the limit is still 4 birds this year, kind of surprised that they kept it at 4, I thought there was some debate that they may reduce it to 2 or 3.

 

[SKFOOTER]

They should have lowered it. But it seems a reactive reaction rather than a proactive one is more to their liking. It will eventually happen but not soon enough!

 

[Mike Belt]

Evidently those setting the limits don't hunt anywhere near where I hunted and they haven't seen the decline in populations. Those limits along with other problems sure resulted in not many birds to hunt here. Maybe that ought to be a requirement for those setting the limits to hunt areas where the populations have plummeted prior to setting those limits.

 

[Setterman]

Very little with our turkey management makes sense. It should've never been 4 in the first place.

Also, ban decoys

 

[knightrider]

Simple solution is you guys only kill two and I will kill my four where I have plenty of birds! It's a win for everyone, than you can stop belly aching and trying to change it for everyone else :pop:

 

[SKFOOTER]

Nobody is belly aching KR. Just stating the facts!

 

[catman529]

They should have lowered it. But it seems a reactive reaction rather than a proactive one is more to their liking. It will eventually happen but not soon enough!

exactly what I'm thinking.

I will gladly kill 4 birds here but I don't think it's gonna stay that way too much longer.

I still think they need zones for turkey like they do for deer. Some areas can easily sustain 4 bird limit year after year. Some area shouldn't be allowed to kill more than 1 or 2. Population fluctuates way too much for a statewide limit.


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[SKFOOTER]

They should have lowered it. But it seems a reactive reaction rather than a proactive one is more to their liking. It will eventually happen but not soon enough!

exactly what I'm thinking.

I will gladly kill 4 birds here but I don't think it's gonna stay that way too much longer.

I still think they need zones for turkey like they do for deer. Some areas can easily sustain 4 bird limit year after year. Some area shouldn't be allowed to kill more than 1 or 2. Population fluctuates way too much for a statewide limit.


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Precisely!

 

[prstide]

Very little with our turkey management makes sense. It should've never been 4 in the first place.

Also, ban decoys

Agree(on the bag limit part).

 

[Spurhunter]

I still think they need zones for turkey like they do for deer. Some areas can easily sustain 4 bird limit year after year. Some area shouldn't be allowed to kill more than 1 or 2. Population fluctuates way too much for a statewide limit.

Exactly what I've been saying for years. I don't understand why the powers that be don't get it.


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[SKFOOTER]

$$$$$$$$$$$$.

 

[Uncle Jesse]

I'm just glad they stopped the hen killing in the fall

 

[muddyboots]

Limit of 4 sells more license.

 

[ImThere]

Is the information out there for how many hunters kill 4 birds? Maybe they didn't see enough tag out that it would make a difference? Maybe they think Hunters will self regulate? Who knows. I do know the numbers are down. I mean way down. IMHO


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[bloodtrailing]

Self regulate? Have you seen the deer hunters discussing how a highly managed property like Ames over killed their doe population?

The limit is what regulates people. They want to tag out. I kill way under the limit but have seen how the number of birds are down where I hunt. Gobblers and hens


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[Andy S.]

Limit of 4 sells more license.

Especially non-resident licenses. That is a fact. A lot of out of state hunters look at cost/bird, and the 4 birds as the denominator, with no weekly limit, drives the cost down compared to neighboring states with 2-3 as denominator.

 

[Andy S.]

Self regulate? Have you seen the deer hunters discussing how a highly managed property like Ames over killed their doe population?

The limit is what regulates people. They want to tag out.

Sorry, but wanting to tag out and hunters self regulating themselves, or not regulating themselves, has nothing to do with the doe kill at Ames over the last 15 years. A goal was set, you slam 75-110 hunters in the woods, and voila, you kill 160-225 does very easily over 4 months. There has been some misinformation presented, don't believe everything you read until you live it yourself.

........but have seen how the number of birds are down where I hunt. Gobblers and hens

Same here for the areas I hunt in middle TN. There is one area I frequent in west TN where the birds are stable, or possibly growing and expanding, compared to 5 years ago. This is an area that did not have turkeys 10 years ago, so it is most likely an isolated case compared to most of the state where turkeys have been present over the last 20 years.

 

[ImThere]

I don't know the answer
I hear hunters always talking about if you want a two bird limit only kill two birds.
Then I hear the limit is 4 so I'm going to kill 4 birds.
But I will say if you control your property and want a 2 bird limit, set one. Have the lease setup that way. People always make things more difficult than they have to be.



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[Spurhunter]

Maybe they think Hunters will self regulate?

Before the internet most hunters probably would self regulate. Back then hunters were sportsmen focused on conservation. Now the majority of hunters are nothing more than social media attention whores. "Look at me! I tagged out in 6 days!" I even see guys posting 6 points during deer season with the caption "well I'm tagged out!" Like killing 2 yearling bucks is a huge accomplishment. If the limit was 15 turkeys most of the hunters would kill themselves trying to tag out. As you can see, I don't have much confidence in the new generation of hunters.

 

[Spurhunter]

I don't know the answer
I hear hunters always talking about if you want a two bird limit only kill two birds.
Then I hear the limit is 4 so I'm going to kill 4 birds.
But I will say if you control your property and want a 2 bird limit, set one. Have the lease setup that way. People always make things more difficult than they have to be.

In a high fence, that self regulation/property regulation would work. In the real world it's asinine. If I set my limit to 2 and every hunter on every property around me kills 4, what have I accomplished? Absolutely nothing. The answer is units or county limits.

 

[ImThere]

I don't know the answer
I hear hunters always talking about if you want a two bird limit only kill two birds.
Then I hear the limit is 4 so I'm going to kill 4 birds.
But I will say if you control your property and want a 2 bird limit, set one. Have the lease setup that way. People always make things more difficult than they have to be.

In a high fence, that self regulation/property regulation would work. In the real world it's asinine. If I set my limit to 2 and every hunter on every property around me kills 4, what have I accomplished? Absolutely nothing. The answer is units or county limits.

You saved the two you would have killed. Imho you have them a chance. More than some would.


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[megalomaniac]

I don't know the answer
I hear hunters always talking about if you want a two bird limit only kill two birds.
Then I hear the limit is 4 so I'm going to kill 4 birds.
But I will say if you control your property and want a 2 bird limit, set one. Have the lease setup that way. People always make things more difficult than they have to be.



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This ABSOLUTELY does not work with turkeys. Tried it for a decade on my farms after the limit went to 4 and I started noticing the population decline. Neighbors just kept killing every male bird they could. Hard to keep birds on your place alive when others don't mind sitting in a blind over a cornpile and killing for the sake of killing. The only thing that slowed the neighbors killing was the lack of birds to kill.

 

[Setterman]

Let me ask a question. What would be purpose of lowering the limit? I

It's obviously an effort to reduce the harvest. There's an easy solution for everyone, those that want to be able to kill 4 get their wish. It's as simple as outlawing decoys and fans. If that were to happen the harvest totals would plummet, thus leaving more birds in the flock.

It's not just that our limits are high, it's that their are tools now that allow it to be laughably easy to kill birds that normally wouldn't be killed.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Let me ask a question. What would be purpose of lowering the limit? I

It's obviously an effort to reduce the harvest. There's an easy solution for everyone, those that want to be able to kill 4 get their wish. It's as simple as outlawing decoys and fans. If that were to happen the harvest totals would plummet, thus leaving more birds in the flock.

It's not just that our limits are high, it's that their are tools now that allow it to be laughably easy to kill birds that normally wouldn't be killed.

I can agree with that. My eyes were opened more this weekend, I took some young men rabbit hunting and they were explaining how turkey hunting was their favorite hunting. Come to find out, they had never actually called to a turkey. They've been hunting for several years and have only done the "scoot and shoot" as they called it.


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[REN]

I admittedly kill 4 a year however that is almost always spread over 4 counties. I would honestly be a little sad if it went back down to 2, not for a biological reason but more a selfish one. At 2 I would generally be done with the season in the first week or 2 and then have nothing but home stuff to do the rest of the spring lol. Id much rather be in the woods :)

Although i would love to see decoys removed from the equation just to see what happens to the new age hunter. Would be a very interesting statistic to watch, how many would adapt and how many would just give up.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Would be a very interesting statistic to watch, how many would adapt and how many would just give up.

Those that I know of that use'em would quit...and they'd be the first to admit it.

 

[woodsman04]

Wish the turkeys would get as much attention as the deer with cwd.
I know deer are the money maker, and I get that. Just would like for turkeys to get more attention.

At least, and I know it will make minuscule difference, at least they outlawed hen killing in fall.

As much as I'd like to see decoys leave, I think avian x and all have too much money to be made and none of it will ever happen. Even if some one is killed, I don't think it would happen.

Last year or the year before, there was a video around that had a guy get nicked with a 243. Another Hunter was on the fence line, shot at the decoy, and it grazed the hunters hip or side. So those of you that say, "I hunt private only and I'm the only hunter" need to watch out.
It don't take nothing for a guy driving down the dirt road with his trusty -06 and shoot a guy crawling behind a fan. It can happen and probably will.

I don't use decoys of any type, and if someone wants to use them than so be it. But at least need to get rid of fanning before someone is killed. Heck we all where orange during deer season for safety. Some places you are required to wear a safety harness in the tree. You are required to wear your seat belt in your car.

About our population decline, I think it's just as simple as the turkeys don't reproduce enough to satisfy the sheer amount of turkey hunters, or turkey killers that only use fans. Lots of the 3-4 year olds that made it to breed each season are now killed.



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[Andy S.]

Lots of the 3-4 year olds that made it to breed each season are now killed.

..........killed the first week of season while courting 15+ hens, when they are the most vulnerable with a fan/full strut decoy. Otherwise, 99% of them would be untouchable until the last few weeks of season, and a lot of them untouchable period (without fan/strutter decoy).

 

[woodsman04]

Lots of the 3-4 year olds that made it to breed each season are now killed.

..........killed the first week of season while courting 15+ hens, when they are the most vulnerable with a fan/full strut decoy. Otherwise, 99% of them would be untouchable until the last few weeks of season, and a lot of them untouchable period (without fan/strutter decoy).

Agree. Timing of when they are killed also has something to do with it. We could kill every gobbler as long as the hens where already bred.

Other than outlawing decoys, my other proposal to do would be to divide the state up into units and delaying the start of season in some areas.

In my spots of Lawrence, Giles, and Lincoln county, I think most if not all hens have been fertilized by about April 10-20. Most hens are setting/incubating the last week of April to first week of May. If opening day would be delayed to at least 10-15 days I think it would help more than what people would expect.

Also for the guys that limit out early, your missing the most crazy suicidal gobblers at the end of April, when they are so cocked and loaded they about run you over. I always chase gobblers as long as season is open, but several times I've let gobblers that have hens alone, and come back late season or sometimes mid day, and those are my most fun hunts when you actually call one up
Gobbling.


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[megalomaniac]

Really, all this discussion is just going down the rabbit hole.

Limits do not matter, timing of the kills is what counts.

Opening season 2 weeks prior to nest initiation is what's killing off our population. Sure, decoys, fanning, longer effectiveness of TSS all contribute to the problem, but the problem is removing adult males prior to hens initiating nests.

South Carolina DNR is actually recommending pushing the season opener back 2 weeks to mitigate the decline this year. Too bad our biologists have yet to acknowledge the value of males to produce viable offspring. Perhaps TWRA has no idea when hens initiate nests....