What’s sad is that your exactly right. I’m sure all of us on here know someone that killed a turkey this year and did not report it and it’s about dang near impossible to do anything about it. What kills me is you’ll here these same people gripe about declining turkey numbers but they don’t want to do their small part to try and fix it. I think they would have been better off requiring everyone to mail in their hunting license and the penalty if it’s not there on a certain date is you don’t hunt the next year. I know for fact a lot of older hunters aren’t going to fool with calling in or getting on the internet to report a bird but if the penalty gets stiffer maybe more people would do it. It still wouldn’t keep people from sending in a blank harvest report but I think most would end up filling it out before they mailed it.

As far as dropping the limit and if they do, I’d rather see them go 4 Toms no jakes than just 3 of any.

After thinking about it, I just gotta comment on what they said about the Auburn study. Many of us here said that we were afraid that the primary purpose of the study was to provide some "scientific" cover for the director to push for a lower limit. If CAB members are already publicly speculating that the study will indeed recommend a lower limit, you gotta admit that sure seems to confirm our fears. As I have posted several times, I hope I am wrong about this, but reading things like this make me think that I'm not.

N2turkeys, thanks for going to the meeting and reporting on it.

Who should be in charge of this hunters or bureaucrats? If we don't like who's running it how do we change who's running it?

I took the opportunity to voice my opinion to several of the board members after the meeting. Not that it'll do any good, but I could tell by the look on their face that they knew I had shot holes it their rationale. Only time will tell what will happen.

Call your CAB rep and voice your opinion to them.

Some smartass put this in an email that made the circuit 2 years ago when this was last discussed

If only there were a magical place that we could look at as a comparison to Alabama that had already implemented low turkey limits and a later season. Wouldn't that be much better than a computer model to look at what would happen if Alabama lowered it's limit to 3 and made a shorter, later season. If only there were such a place, maybe only separated by a river, both worried about a perceived turkey decline, both with upper and lower coastal plain, flatwoods, piedmont and mountain habitat

OK, here are the stats:
Georgia:............................................................Alabama:
37 million acres.................................................34 million acres
25 million timber................................................ 23 million timber
56% private.......................................................62% private
25% corporate...................................................8% corporate
10% forest industry............................................25% forest industry
9% public..........................................................5% public
limit - 3 gobblers................................................limit - 5 gobblers
No fall season....................................................Minuscule, limited fall season
Season Mar 26-May 14 (7 weeks)........................Season Mar 15-April 30 (7 weeks)
Population 300,000.............................................Population 400 - 450,000
Kill 30,000 .........................................................Kill 40,000
Hunters 55,000...................................................Hunters 60,000

One of the Biologists on Alabama's Turkey committee (or members of the CAB who voted for the change - yea good luck) needs to explain why GA, N FL (37 day season starting 3/17 with 2 bird limit), Mississippi (48 day season starting 3/15 and 3 bird limit), and Tennessee (44 day season starting 3/31 and 4 bird limit) aren't crawling with turkeys if lower limits and starting the season later is the answer. Anyone??? I get lots of 'splainin" but no explanation of the biology of the proposed changes. Especially in light of the fact that we (and all the surrounding states) are having a reproduction problem - not enough poult recruitment of young turkeys into the fall population. Epidemic of hogs, Raccoons and other nest predators, these and hawks as well as other predators of poults, chicken litter, aflotixin in crappy corn spread all across the landscape due to our new baiting laws, Increases in the use of blinds, decoys and fans in "hunting" as well as more people participating, and of course uncontrollable weather patterns. All of these issues are a factor in our recruitment problem but our CAB and Conservation Department as well as our turkey committee decide to focus on limits and season dates. JC

Gobbler, they have a computer program that is really, really great and will tell them everything they need to know. It's far too sophisticated to even try to explain it to us ignorant laymen, but we should all trust that it will be great.

But wait a minute, YOU oughta be able to understand it.

Maybe not.

I am wondering as well. This is the project website
http://www.turkeyres.org/
Why is there so little information on it? For what is supposed to be the largest turkey study ever undertaken, I cant seem to get any updates. These updates on here are from March of 2017 and NOTHING about mortality, movements, reproduction, etc. Whats the scoop? My understanding was the data collected from this study was going to help generate a computer model that would tell if lowering limits and shortening seasons would increase the population - yes my simplistic explanation.

They voted and passed opening the season on the 3rd Saturday in March????

I’m going to take everything with a grain of salt until something official is released

What part don't you believe?

But wildlife biologist you did support the admin that passed turkey decoys.? How in the world did MOULTRIE voting the deciding vote to allow decoys stand up to legal ethics review due to the conflict of interest? Heck I Sat in James Sumners office and he told me he was the most shunned politcal man in office but that Moultrie came to see him regularly to inform him that his actions were ethically correct. The ethics department needs subpoena power..

Curious about this as well?


So does that mean it will definitely open the 3rd Saturday?

Unless the process has changed, it still has to be accepted by the commissioner and a legislative committee, but they usually rubber stamp everything.

Jallen, I am pretty sure gobbler had nothing to do with the decoy thing.

Won't affect us much next year as the 3'rd Sat is March 16'th, however not too far down the road it will cut out as much as a week of the season.

2019 (March 16'th)
2020 (March 20'th)
2021 (March 19'th)
2022 (March 18'th)
2024 (March 16'th)
2025 (March 15th)
2026 (March 21'st)


This whole endeavor seems kind of pointless. Simply delays the season a week every 5 years or so.

So in other words Preacher...you are saying it's time shuck the oppressive yoke of beholdance of the DNR?

Gobbler, you make a great argument and I believe correct argument with your comparison to GA. Regardless of the numbers , you have a valid point. Why isn't GA overrun with turkeys. It' is much bigger than just bag limits and season changes. However , Chuck and Co will default back to flawed data from both states. Their mind is made up , they're just waiting on AU numbers to give them cover. At least that's my take on the situation.

So just keep on keeping on is what you saying?[/quote]


Not saying anything except punishing the ones who obey the regs because others don't obey the regs is only gonna make more people ignore the regs.

I don't know if there is a genuine biological need to reduce the limit or not. I just don't think many of us trust the current administration to make decisions based on science instead of politics.[/quote]

So in other words Preacher...you are saying it's time shuck the oppressive yoke of beholdance of the DNR?[/quote]


You never would let me goad you into posting a deer picture, so I ain't gonna let you goad me into raising the black flag.

What deer?

Let the old women who run the CAB drop your limit to 2 a year....then we will see if you aren't part of The Account

Mother nature and the timber Co. lowered the limit on our place to zero in 2005 and it won't ever be the same. Habitat loss in South Ala after hurricane Ivan decimated the turkey populations.