LOL at this one, gobbler. They sure oughta call you to come be a consultant and teach those farmers that turkeys can be a great cash crop. I looked at their regs after reading the article and found that they are full of nonsense like this:

>>>*Beginning in 2015, turkey hunters in WMDs 1-6 are assigned to either Season A or Season B based on their year of birth. During “odd” numbered calendar years such as 2015, hunters with “odd” birth years will be authorized to hunt during Season A (May 4-9, 2015 and May 18-23, 2015 this year); hunters with “even” birth years will be authorized to hunt during Season B (May 11-16, 2015 and May 25-30, 2015). All turkey hunters can hunt the last week (June 1-6, 2015).

During “even” numbered calendar years (2016, 2018, etc.), hunters with “even” birth years will be authorized to hunt during Season A; hunters with “odd” birth years will be authorized to hunt during Season B<<<<

This is the kinda system some people wanta bring to AL. I'd rather not.

And the thing is, Maine allows a hunter to kill 2 of either sex in the fall and 2 gobblers in the spring. I'm not looking up their harvest numbers, but if they are killing a good many hens in the fall then hunting might be having more effect on the population there than it does in AL.

For those doubting the existence of a turkey hunting culture in AL, Maine is a great example of a place that doesn't have one. And the reason it doesn't is that the state has made it pretty much impossible for one to develop. And all their rules contribute to the farmers being unable to monetize their turkeys. Post up an add for a turkey lease on aldeer and you get 100 replies the first day. I doubt such a thing even exists in Maine.

And that culture in AL is certainly not just for the few that kill a limit in a given year. It has been created over the decades because we have that long spring season and generous limit. I grew up when that culture was just beginning to develop. In the early 60s, nobody in our area knew how to turkey hunt when we first got a season. It took some time for those guys to learn, and they did a lot of trial and error. There was a group of 4 or 5 men that met at our house every morning to plan their different hunts. Most people in the community thought they were all crazy at the time, but the number of crazy people started to grow. Now we are everywhere.

I started hunting turkeys in 1965 at age 10, and I went before school every morning my dad would let me go. I continued to go before school or work as I got older. From 1965-1999, I killed a grand total of 3 limits. I had to be at work by 7, so the turkey had to almost fly down in range for me to have time to kill him, but I went anyway. Most seasons I killed 2 or 3, but I did put up some zeroes. After I retired from my first career, I had time to stay with the turkeys in the morning and started killing limits pretty consistently. Now I'm getting to the point of being too old and may never kill another limit. In fact, I'd better start my anti-jinx postings - I'll probably never kill another turkey period, much less a limit.

For most of us in AL, how many turkeys you kill is all about the season of life you are in and the opportunities you have to hunt. Those circumstances change, but the culture of turkey hunting that we are blessed with here remains the same. Maine doesn't have it, and probably never will. I don't wanta see AL lose it, even if my hunting days are almost over. I might need to lease out the turkey rights on my place to upgrade to a better nursing home someday.