Lets try to be nice and respectful, I appreciate him facing the flames here!

I think it should be blatantly obvious that is the group most concerned with it. Heck that's the group it effects. Kind like raising taxes on people making over a million a year. The people making a million a year are truly pissed and the ones making 500k know it doesn't make sense, but it isn't getting in their pocket book, so they don't care.

I won't take it personal and I never called you childish.
Of course the people that actually kill limits are Gonna complain because they are the ones who are really passionate about turkeys and turkey hunting. They are also the same guys that spend a great deal of their time and money trying to better the overall condition of the resource.
To be lumped into the "I'm by God gonna get my 5 piss on everybody else" group has to be incredibly offensive to guys that work their asses off and spend their grandkids inheritance trying to leave them more turkeys than they had when they were kids. Brock was taking a shot at Gobbler and some other folks that had disagreed with him and it was childish....... Really no other way to say it.

Yet your comrades say that is not the case... which is it???

Let me say I would rather have the legislature set seasons and bag limits than let Auburn set them based on a computer model. At least they will weigh constituents opinions.

That's where we'll disagree. The general public making an emotional decision over science based decisions is very poor policy. I'm not suggesting the science is perfect, but it trumps decisions based on emotion almost every time.

I damn sure don't want Hank sanders telling me when I can hunt turkeys!

I'm not really concerned with what others think the case is. I think anyone who can calmly think through a situation realizes, the ones being affected are going to be more vocal than the ones not affected.

Maybe that is why the reductions are being considered. Hunters who kill over 3 birds a year are such a minority, that their voice is really insignificant. So to make it appear like progress is being made, the cab will bowl them over, and tell the majority they are "doing" something. We will never get back the current limits once they are reduced. So instead of slapping a bandaid on the engine because it's knocking, I'd like to see the problem diagnosed.

You believe in global warming?
Also can YOU answer why GA isn't being overrun by gobblers since they have the 3 bird limit and later season some folks seem to want here?

NOT basing this decision on emotion is EXACTLY what I am trying to put forward. GOOD science NOT a computer model. I want someone to show me the SCIENCE that justifies lowering the limit and shortening the season. So far... crickets...

In most cases you would be right, but when they admit they don't know what's wrong, so they suggest doing this til they figure it out..... Well that's different.

Its pretty simple numbers really. Matt Brock said the studies showed less than 10% of the harvest comes from birds 4-5. That is a maximum of 4.5k gobblers a year. Could be a fifth of that, who knows. So if 4,500 gobblers a year are saved, that's what about 65 extra birds in each county???? Top end. Bottom end could be less than 20 a county. Then you consider that we have almost no accountability as far as a tagging system. How many of those hunters decide to stop at 3 birds when they know it made no sense to reduce in the first place. So those portion of birds saved gets cut in half. Now we have saved 10-33 gobblers per county. So, in chilton county, there is a maximum of 1 more bird, per 13,614 acres...

Someone sent me this. If accurate, 70% of hunters do NOT perceive a decline

Get em' Austin

And furthermore, that was probably the most slanted instrument I've ever examined. It was designed to get the answers they wanted, and they still didn't get them. But in order to be "proactive", they are gonna ignore what hunters said.

The very idea of the "perceived decline" has been repeated so much that most are now accepting it as a fact. I don't know about the places in north AL that aren't really turkey habitat anyway, but there is sure no decline in the areas of the 4 counties that I hunt. But "proactive" seems to be the new catchword so I guess it covers that.

Gobbler, you might as well give up asking for a response on your question about GA. It doesn't promote us being "proactive" and nobody is gonna answer it.

How are you coming on getting the mob together?

Didn't I tell you that would meet on a Saturday in turkey season? And won't even tell us where. Pretty obvious that the Ruling Class doesn't want any of us peasants there. They know what is best for us. From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

I think the question the powers that be should be asking is how do the landowners feel about it? I'm talking about the people that actually make the decision on whether or not their land will be managed for turkeys, or just strictly managed for profit?

That used to be an issue that greatly concerned the department. I've seen no evidence that anyone has given it a thought in years.

Guys i dont post on here much because i dont have tge time. Like Matt and many others here i have a young family that takes up more time than i have in a day. Most here dont know me (and i like it that way :)). I am a former employee of a large wildlife conservation organization and ive been involved with many studies on turkey and quail populations, habitat issues, etc.

i believe the science is spot on. Most of you who are so passionate about turkeys also believe this. Its starts at the nest. Birds must have ample nesting habitat not only for the protectiom of the nest but also for a safe brood rearing habitat. It must provide great cover and food to raise a new poult for the first few weeks of life at least until the point at which that bird is able to fly to escape ground predation.

However, most hunters do not have the ability, whether it be the resource (land, equipment, time, cash, etc.) or the knowledge to properly manage for nesting habitat.

So i understand the departments dilemma. All they really can control is season and bag limits. However, in my opinion, the issue is not with the law-abiding citizen who strives to kill their limit of 5 birds each year. Its with the outlaw who strives to kill 10-15 or more each year. I know most of us will never accomplish that feat, but there are those who do every year. And until we are able to properly control those people, lowering the legal limit will accomplish very little.

I dont know if the answer is the game check system or a tagging system but just like the government trying to control gun violence, it does no good to put together more and more regulations if we dont first determine how to control those who do not abide by the laws currently in place. And in my opinion, until we do that we are all sitting on this forum wasting our breath and getting very frustrated over things that will have very little affect on the game bird that we love so much.

Thays Just my .02. That and 2 more dollarrs will almost get you a gallon of gas.

I don't have the time to read all of this and it may have been mentioned, but why all of the concentration on gobblers? One gobbler could breed 50 hens in a spring. A shortage of hens and the dam predator thing should be looked at more so than the number of gobblers. I can handle the reduction in the number of birds per season, but the April starting date --
We have fewer hens at our place than anytime in the past 15 years, based on my observation.
And making it easier to feed corn, ain't going to help the population a dam bit. Everybody needs a turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Im with you. I like the 5 limit but that's not my main concern with this. I love to hunt and the April starting date is what I have the biggest problem with. This whole proposal is stupid if you ask me.

Its pretty easy to see the decline in #'s of hens in my area. Its rare to see flocks of hens like we did 15 to 20 years ago. Instead of 15 to 20 mostly see 4 or 5 together. Also just like a balanced deer heard its also a lot easier to find a gobbling turkey now than it was 15 years ago. Not saying that's how it should be just saying its a lot more on habitat and predator's than turkey hunters and limits.

I don't believe that was broken out by District but I'd venture to say I know who is perceiving the decline because I've met with a few of them.