2024 Spring Turkey Harvest:

Missouri: 43,380 total (3 week season)
Kentucky: 33,460 ( 3 week season)
Mississippi: 15,461 (6 week season)

MS was only 14k (2023 season)

How did Alabama finish this season compared to last?

What are the numbers for 2023 for those other states?

2023 Missouri - 44,543

2023 Kentucky - 35,655

Missouri also has had mandatory harvest reporting for a far longer time. So their compliance will be a lot higher. Missouri is nearly 1.5x the size of MS and has drastically better turkey habitat than Mississippi as a whole. Don't see non-managed pine plantations spanning thousands of acres all across the state. Not exactly apples to apples.

That’s true. Missouri has much better habitat. I’m shocked with the corn piles spread throughout MS during turkey season only 15,000 bit the dust. Are there not as many turkeys than there was ten years ago?

Are sure those reporting methods are apples to apples??.......There's a difference in estimated harvest versus game check numbers for some states......I think Alabama's estimated is somewhere around 30K

What percentage of corn pile birds get reported anyway.

The only thing that matters with reporting is year to year trends by state. Overall comparisons of total numbers state to state probably doesn’t tell us much.

No doubt the prevalence of baiting now is outright ridiculous. If the rope was tightened on baiters the early season harvest in our neck of the woods would be diminished a lot! Initially I suspected ~65-70% compliance with game check. I didn't think it was a stretch to have 7 out of 10 turkeys reported. But so many people tell me now of folks they know not reporting. And the first thing I do is tell them THEY are part of the problem for not reporting the person breaking the law. Then the excuses start. I guess I put too much faith in our fellow turkey hunters. 50% compliance would put us at 30,000 for the year, which ain't too shabby at all in my opinion.

In my neck of the woods there are about the same amount of turkey as a decade ago. But twice the turkey we had just 2-3 years ago at our decade low. 2019-2020 reproduction was terrible across most of northeast MS and northwest Alabama. Its amazing how quickly they can rebound with a couple good hatches in a row. One issue states have had over the past 20 years and is not being able to tie on successive good hatches. Its like we get a good hatch, then the next year sucks. Then a decent hatch, then bad hatch the next year. It is hard to ever gain ground when you can't get those eggs to consistently turn into poults. And a lot of that is up to mother nature.

Your first two sentences are exactly correct. If things keep going , a generation of hunters will not know any better than to kill ‘em over bait. What’s concerning is this will be socially acceptable.

Do you have the numbers from the last year a nonresident could hunt the 1st 10 days of the season without having to get drawn?

I’m pretty sure the last year without a nonresident draw was 2018.

2018 MS harvest - 17,939

2017 MS Harvest - 19,171

I think that you are right and the different reporting systems make any comparisons between those states all but worthless. MS had a 3 bird season limit for decades, but the hunters I knew from there didn't pay any attention to it. I have no idea what % report their harvest now, but I doubt their numbers as much as the numbers in AL.

The dcnr used to estimate GC compliance at 35%, but I haven't seen a recent estimate of that. My perception is that the number of turkeys killed over bait is going up since it was legalized for deer. And it's also my perception that the number of turkeys killed before the season is going up since they moved the opening back. It's unlikely that any killed over bait or before the season will be reported, and if the dcnr was correct that 65% already weren't reporting, then the legal harvest is much less than the illegal.

If they moved the season opening 10 March the same ones around here will start 1 Mar or earlier. Same ones dont report any during season either. Thats been going on since I was young.

MS didn't have harvest reporting until 2019. The first year of the NR draw was 2022.
Here is the estimated harvest (per Responsive Management survey - which many states use)

2017: 27,456
2018: 24,763


For comparison:
2019 Game Check #: 12,627
2019 Estimated: 25, 513

2020 Game Check: 12,005
2020 Estimated: 24,716

I met a guy in the Midwest who was from Arkansas in 2013. I asked how was his Arkansas season going? He replied he had not hunted Arkansas in five years. He said when the baiting for deer became legal it devastated turkey populations. He said watch out if your state ever legalizes baiting for deer. He was correct. It’s hit some areas hard.

Don’t get me wrong, we live and die by the hatch each year. However, deer hunters shooting them over bait, turkey hunters deer hunting them over bait, and disease is concerning.

At the end of the day if a hunter shoots a turkey off corn 30 miles from you it's not affecting your numbers. It's not right but if your numbers are down its something you are not doing. Burning, trapping and not shooting every gobbler that gobbles.on your place is.what helps you. These guys hunting before season and killing 10 plus birds are just killing their own place out. This year down here the Didn't gobble well all season. Doesn't mean I don't have birds, I saw a pile of gobblers all yr.

I hunt public land about 95% of the time. Therefore, yes being a "game hawg" and shooting turkeys of season on a management area DOES affect me. i agree - the gobbling was hit and miss.

Your statement just backs up his statement. Yall said the exact same thing. If people kill more than the limit it only effects the areas they do that at.

This sounds like someone trying to convince folks that it’s the hunters fault……

It's the hunters fault if they shoot all their turkeys and if they're not trapping and burning where they hunt. It's not a hunter 30 miles from me that's affecting my numbers. You can only control your own property.