Some observations….

- Turkeys are the most henned up I’ve seen in a couple of years, but I’ll take it as I think it’s due to more hens/birds around.
- I have seen and had in range numerous large groups of Jake’s…looking forward to the future Lord willing
- Properties I hunt have more birds I think due to good hatches the past couple of years. One in particular used to have a total of 1 gobbler with 2 hens for multiple years. I would kill him and kind of feel bad about it. This year, there were 3 gobblers with 6 Jake’s, and 5-7 hens. Significant increase.another property that would have 1-2 gobblers and a few hens now has 4 gobblers etc

Just my personal observations. I am very optimistic about what I have see. I think the push to habitat management plus trapping has made a difference in addition to some fantastic God given hatches. Good luck to everyone!

I agree with habitat management and trapping making a difference. I think the harsh reality is trapping, habitat management and location make the big difference. Turkey hunting is cool now so everyone is die hard to kill one and ask every landowner they can for permission. Not many are willing to try and make what they do have better. They'd rather leave it and look for greener pastures. But at the same time some places will never have turkey's due to location no matter what you do. Kind of a slippery slope I guess

I concur! Henned up early in the season, but there are so many birds in the woods, that it's almost impossible to reel one in past all the females!

Where are y’all experiencing henned up situations? Our hens have been broken up into singles, walking around road and field edges and I’m assuming that means laying/nesting - for a while now. Game camera pics stopped showing groups of birds back around March 1st. Hen groups turned into random singles. Gobbler/jake groups broke into singles/doubles.

This is the third week I’ve been seeing single hens on road sides etc…..

First week of April I saw two longe beards be ignored by a single hen and she went her way and they went theirs.
The few birds I’ve been on have had hens too. This is all in Colbert.

At the farm I had the only group of hens April 2. 7 hens with 5 jakes
I have another group I can’t legally hunt. Of 4 jakes and two gobblers and one hen they ignore. She’s nesting I’d bet.

Others I’ve talked with are having henned up toms and and seeing a singles too

I killed the only gobbling bird I’ve heard on our place this season. Sucks here this year

I haven't heard a gobble on my place since early March.

Game check had 18,000 killed last year and we're sitting at 12,000 right now.......Got a good bit of catching up to do in order to match last year

I used to think that if we got a lot of rain north of us(swole our river/creeks around here) that it would run the birds out of the river bottoms etc. This season has me re thinking that hypothesis. I’ve found more crawfish in turkey’s crawl this season and I think they’re sticking to those bottoms like glue and eating like kings when the water recesses a bit? Who knows. Just going off what I’ve seen this season. My “turkey philosophy” is always subject to change

I posted this on CNC’s other thread. River birds are always a little different to me than “upland” birds though. This thread is more fitting for what I’m trying to say though.

I might be going deaf though. Last week I watched a bird gobble 3 times in an open pasture less than 100 yards from me and only heard the tail end of one of his gobbles.