Does a shorter season with the same limit of 5 really help things? There are a bunch of folks in this part of the state that manage to kill 5 in 30 days. Obviously if there are no turkeys to kill it doesn't matter how long or short the season is.
Actually, I think the number of hunters that kill a limit is running around 2%. The season limit is a moot point when it comes to limiting harvest. And we all know that without tags most of the hunters that can kill more than 5 will do it anyway.
But most people won't hunt out of season. Shorten the season and you limit the harvest. That's what AL has been doing all of my life and it seems to work to me. A shorter season means fewer hens being killed by hunters, either accidentally or on purpose. This happens a lot more than most realize, and is probably the primary benefit to the flock for a shorter season.
I was on an out-of-state hunt this season and one of the other hunters came in with a hen. He shot at a gobbler and killed a hen instead. This guy was all torn up about it, but it doesn't bother some folks.
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
