Easy there man. Don't be so sensitive.

"Picking on the state guys"

C'mon matt get the chip off your shoulder, there is nothing sickening going on. Everybody is glad you are back and posting again.

We should NOT have to justify why NOT to change the limits, especially decreasing them. We should have to biologically justify (NOT with some computer model) why lowering them would be a good idea.[/quote]

Hammer meet nail. This right here is the best statement I have heard on this entire subject.

If this is going to happen has nobody thought about what changing to the month of April will do. Most years turkeys are about all but thru by the 3rd week of April. That really only gives 2 weekends of decent hunting for the working man.

It's common sense, but it will be lost on those only concerned about killing 5 birds.

If the state wanted to increase limits I doubt we would see as much bitching.

You think it sounds good to lower the limit and save some gobblers. Last time I checked gobblers don't sit on a nest and raise poults. Gobblers don't control predators or the weather. Changing the limit will save a very small percentage of birds from what I understand. If the Alabama turkey decline is real we need to find a better system to protect and make turkey habitat and increase predator control. There seems to be some areas, especially in North Alabama where the population is suffering but nobody knows why. Slapping a 3 bird limit statewide isn't going to help the issue in North Alabama.

No it wont

I don't think it's a matter of them not listening. Take this thread for example, who should they be listening to? The ones saying a limit reduction makes sense if populations are down or the ones saying it won't help? Secondly, there's too much politics involved. The state legislature attempts to intervene in situations they should leave to the professionals. The current baiting bill and the repeal of the attempt at a mandatory Game Check are just two examples. The DCNR is being robbed of funds left and right, are you going stand up to the budget makers that fund your department in the next pissing match? The answer is no. These guys are in an unfortunate situation. If you want to solve it for good, contact all your representatives and tell them to leave all game and fish matters to the professionals we are paying to handle that job.

A bag limit change won't affect me much, I usually kill 2-3 birds each year but don't hunt a huge area that can consistantly produce a limit each year. In effect, I limit myself.

But, I have noticed a drastic reduction in the number of birds sighted over a years time in SW Alabama. I average about 1000 miles a month at work and much of it is on back roads. There are fields in which I regularly saw turkeys but rarely see them now. I did not see a single turkey in a food plot this past hunting season.

The only bright spot is one sighting last year, saw a hen with a large number of poults crossing the road on our property. There were 18 poults that crossed the road ahead of a single hen. I believe there was one or more hens present I didn't see as I doubt a single hen hatched 18. This comes after removing 16 raccoons and almost as many possums the previous winter. Due to weather and some other factors my nest predator reduction has not been as effective this year.

These conversations are good to have. The recent survey was good- to the point. I was delighted to find it in my inbox and more impressed the results were released so soon. . The results were decisive and I'm guessing unexpected by many. Hopefully the discussion will continue among those that make the decisions. People on this website are passionate about turkeys. Not just killing them but turkeys in general. It's great to see

Its NOT about kiling a limit. Alabama has the best population, density, turkey hunters and passionate turkey managers in the whole country. All of that is due to the most liberal season length and liberal limit in the nation. We VALUE or turkeys here. Why do we want to be like the other States that have lower populations, short seasons, low limits and restrictions on which birds we can kill?

Surely someone can answer my question of: if lowering the limit and shortening the season would make it better, why isn't GA run over with gobblers, they have EXACTLY the limits and season length that the DCNR suggested! Why doesn't every one want to go to GA instead of AL? If lowering the limit were to help declining populations of gamebirds why do we still have an 8 bird limit on quail? Why change the limit when hunter mortality of adult gobblers has no effect on the overall population?



Only this time it IS the DCNR making the suggestions to the CAB to lower the limit and shorten the season!

I read an AON article tonight, it may have been written by Mike Bolton that the tweaks to turkey season actually came from Auburn Dept of Wildlife and Forestry. Are you sure your information is right, or is Mr. Bolton wrong?

I've noticed in the last 4 years that I hardly ever see many birds driving. I drive to Georgia 3, sometimes 4 days a week for work, and I hardly ever see birds anymore. I hunted in the far north corner of Chambers county a few times last year, and saw zero turkeys between Auburn and Chambers county. 4 years ago, I would see 20 or 30 going back and forth to that property.

I don't know if it's harvest, hunting pressure, clear cutting and spraying, or predators, but there seem to be less birds, and I'm not the only one that's noticed it. Maybe it's just a cycle of nature as the experts and biologist claim, or maybe this is the new normal.

I think burbank has a deer hunter mentality when it comes to turkey populations. The argument that it is common sense that reducing the limit to 3 will increase the population due to the reduction in harvest numbers. That may be true, and we may save 5% (that's a very liberal estimate), but it is avoiding the real issue.

Hens and nesting success are the real crucial factors that contribute to population fluctuations. In every area of the state that I have hunted, I would bet that less than 5% of hens go through the breeding season without being bred. So there is not a shortage of gobblers to service the hens.

The problem lies with weather, habitat, and predators. Two of those factors are somewhat controllable. By bettering the habitat and reducing predators, you will promote nesting success. When hens are laying and nesting 8-12 eggs, it only takes a marginal increase in nesting success to equal major benefits in population numbers.

That all seems pretty clear to me, but apparently that is not so to some. Gobbler has repeatedly asked the same questions above, and I've yet to see an answer on why reducing the limit and or shortening the season would benefit turkey populations. Until I do see some evidence and answers to those questions, my opinion will remain unchanged.

^ this is exactly right. No evidence or definitive answer exists to combat it. The "we gotta do something" folks are missing the forest for the trees on this one.

You guys are making an assumption that everything we've been told up til now about the nesting success of the hen being the main factor is 100% correct. Do you realize how very little study has been put into the wild turkey with modern technology? Very little. Don't you find it odd that the population is declining and no one has a viable explanation why? Maybe it's not all about the hen. Maybe traditional "protect the hen" methodologies aren't exactly perfect. Maybe there's something different going on but you guys are clinging to the same old science that's almost 100 years old.

The presentation at the CAB was made by the director and referenced that Auburn recommends reducing the limit and shortening the season. I would love to talk to someone from AU to verify that but have had no luck getting someone to talk to. Yet



100 years is a stretch I was following radio tagged turkeys 25 years ago. The technology of radio tagging was pretty advanced then and there were a lot of projects then and a HUGE number of projects since then. The annual National Wild Turkey Symposiums would be pretty thin without hundreds of projects a year looking at reproduction parameters, movement, predators, etc. Great resource for info on turkeys. The 11th was just published.

To start, I don't find it odd that populations have decreased in some areas. Populations fluctuate. That is natural and to be expected.

Second, what do you think gobblers are doing to benefit populations other than breeding hens? Alternating nesting time to give the hen a break? Fighting off coons, coyotes, and other predators? Eating privet bushes to improve habitat? I just don't see any logic there

Keep at it, while you have them ask if they recommended extending season into Feb. for the whole state. When you think you've seen the height of stupidity, they top it. If DCNR did indeed suggest extending the season till Feb. 10, Chris Cook lied to me.

Please share the info with us when you find out!