My thinking on that is that its too easy to kill multiple gobblers at one time with no daily limit. I've had times when I could have killed 5 gobblers at once. I wouldn't do it if it were legal, but there are plenty that would. That probably wouldn't have kept the hens from reproducing that year, but it sure would have cut down on the gobbling and the quality of the hunting, not only for my place, but for my neighbors as well.

GA has no daily limit, but has an unenforceable 3 bird season limit. That's gotta be GW's nightmare.

They set the limit at 5 decades ago, knowing that the vast majority of hunters were not gonna kill anywhere near 5. I've asked time and again how many hunters actually kill a limit, but can't get an answer. It would be in the Hunter Survey info, but they won't release it. Somebody told me on here a while back they were gonna find out, but I forgot who it was. I'm suspecting the number is so small that they don't want it released. It would show that reducing the season limit would accomplish nothing, and I think a reduction is in the works. We'll see. I'm getting too old for it to matter to me.

Wiping out a whole flock of gobblers in one day before they get busted up (and before the breeding even begins in the northern part of the state) doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Seems to me that it would be about the only way that a guy could hurt the overall population by shooting gobblers.
Some of the old timers liked the idea of killing a bunch in one day too. They would pour out a bunch or corn in a trough, lay next to it, and ground-sluice a whole flock of em when they all got their heads lined up in the trough.
I think they ran out of turkeys pretty quick though.

if one could kill five a day then many hunters would kill multiple birds, and increase the total number of birds killed in a season, when they normally wouldn't kill that many birds in a season.

Kansas has a 2 bird season and two a day limit. I killed my Kansas limit bam..bam and was done for the hunt, but it was only a three day hunt anyway.

The season limit is completely unenforceable under current rules. A hard tag system would slow the "overkill" down a lot and has been asked for by dang near every GW enforcement officer in the state at one time er another. Powers that be in Montgomery say it won't make any difference but I know damn well I could of slowed some folks down with a tag system.

With that reasoning I assume you would be for a hard tags for deer also. I am for hard tags for both deer AND turkey. I also think it would make it more enforceable, especially when the GWs catch a hunter with someone elses tag. Now there would be an added expense for production of said tags. I wouldn't have a problem paying $.50 - $1.00 per tag but must buy your whole limit at once. I'm sure this will ruffle some feathers.

Not many people have called up 2 or 3 different birds in the same day, but a whole lot of people could line up 2 or 3 heads in the early season.

We are told time and time again on here that killing the mature gobblers won't in any way effect the over all population. So, it shouldn't matter.

I think they set it at one a day because they knew that a limit of 5 for every turkey hunter was too much. Apparently, somebody setting the seasons way back then thought that killing too many mature gobblers in a season would affect the population. With the current system, neither limit(per day or season) is easily enforcable. Alot of us know people that take over as the limit every year.

So they set the limit at 5 cause they really don't want people to kill more than about 3? I can't really get my head wrapped around that.
Whoever set the season limits "way back when" evidently felt like spring gobblers were expendable to the point that he gave Alabama the most liberal limit of any state in the union. He had sense enough to make it illegal to shoot hens as well. Seems to me like it has worked beautifully.
Maybe, just maybe they set the limit at 1 per day to keep some yahoo from cutting down on a flock of early spring gobblers and killing 2 and maiming a couple more for the coyotes all in one fell swoop. That makes perfect sense to me

Yep

The old timers were killing gobblers and hens, and doing it all thru the year. I think everyone knows that's different than killing a spring gobbler.

I've always tried to be careful to point out that the mature gobbler population can be reduced to the point that it hurts the overall population, but that I've never seen that happen on any place that I've hunted. If you don't have enough left to breed the hens, then you have a problem. If you are still hearing turkeys gobble at the end of the season, then its not a problem in that area.

How else could it hurt the overall population? They don't sit on the nests or help raise the poults. What is it they do, other than breed the hens?

PCP, ya do know "they" raised the limit to 6 for a couple three er so years, then back to five???

Troy, I remember the 6 bird limit well. I never was able to get 6. I never knew why they raised it or why they reduced it back. It's kind of a moot point anyway. As best I can tell, in the more than 50 years they've had a season limit there has never been a single person prosecuted for exceeding it. That ain't much of a record for supporting season limits of any number.

Meanwhile, I have kin that had to pay the fine for breaking the daily limit.

It oughta just be one a day. They could enforce that and the outlaws could become respectable citizens.

Reread my post. I was talking about the one per day making it harder for folks to kill 5. Folks can cut down on or maim birds regardless of the limit per day. It makes perfect sense to me. I'm sure the State and Auburn are doing their turkey study just to waste money.


Good luck this season guys and gals.

I killed the six bird limit every year it was in place. One of those six bird limits was with a double SXS muzzleloader. Like you I never knew why they raised it or lowered it.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. I personally believe our population of wild turkeys is fine. How do they know sitting in the air conditioned office or the heater for that matter. Drop it to1 or 3 or leave it idont really care,

Anybody can kill a deer but just anybody is not gonna kill a turkey.

your right, N2! enforcing it isn't easy either way.

BHam, 1 a day is no different than 5 in one day, that only works for honest turkey hunters, and I haven't met to many of them. I'm on board with it being 1 a day and being enforced, but you can only stop an honest criminal...

1 a day is a lot different than 5 a day. IF legal 5 in a day would increase the total season kill of gobblers by allowing a hunter, esp early season, to whack 2,3,4 birds at once. Starting the season with 3 birds sure make 5 a lot easier to get to.

How out of touch is the public on what we do? You think we sit in an air conditioned office all day? I've been working outside the last a TWO days, and have three more days of field work this week. Most others do too.

PCP, I was supposed to get your 5 bird limit info if it's available. Forgive me.

Lowering the legal limit would increase the number of gobbling turkeys, therefore increasing hunter satisfaction. Just a thought. No one has said the limit should be or will be lowered at this point. But, all options are on the table while evaluating a trend of declining turkey populations.

Matt, the way I look at it. Most people can't kill more than a gobbler or two a season. I'd really like to see those numbers, because I would imagine the percentage who kill 4 or 5 or more is very small. And typically those that can kill 4 or 5 or more, are not the ones complaining..... So if you have a property that bubba hunts and he can't kill enough birds to make a difference anyways, then reducing a limit isn't going to raise his satisfaction. Because bubba sucks at turkey hunting, and Bubba ain't gonna be happy either way.

>>>I killed the six bird limit every year it was in place. One of those six bird limits was with a double SXS muzzleloader. Like you I never knew why they raised it or lowered it.<<<

That's super cool! You still got it and hunt with it some? Lets see a pic of that ultimate turkey gun!

>>>PCP, I was supposed to get your 5 bird limit info if it's available. Forgive me.<<<

No problem, Matt. I didn't even remember who said it. I don't believe they will give it to you anyway.


>>>Lowering the legal limit would increase the number of gobbling turkeys, therefore increasing hunter satisfaction. <<<<

Now whether that is a true statement or not depends entirely on the information I've been requesting. If the number of birds in the total harvest that are birds #4 and #5 is a pretty significant number, then you will be right. If its as low as I suspect it is, it won't make a bit of difference in the world and might even be detrimental. You'd have to look back at the philosophy of Charles Kelley to figure out how it might be detrimental, and I doubt there is anyone in Montgomery now who remembers.

But you gotta admit that under his leadership, we went from almost no turkeys to the biggest flock in the nation per acre. He musta been doing something right.