>>>Spring season is only a function of hunter pleasure - they would rather kill one gobbling than in the fall - NO biological reason for it!<<<
Now wait a minute! I know better than to argue turkey biology with you, so this is probably just a question of semantics, but someone might not understand. Or maybe I am wrong; see if you disagree with this:
The spring gobbler is an excess bird in the flock. Seasons are set so that nearly all of the hens will be bred before the season even comes in. I've got to watch 2 being bred this spring, and that's the first time I've ever seen it more than once. Maybe the cold winter slowed them down a little?
At any rate, the gobblers job is pretty much done when the season starts. There won't be any more or less poults whether he lives or dies. If he dies, there will be plenty of other gobblers to take over for him next year. So from the standpoint of biology, this bird is the one to kill.
Doesn't that present a biological argument for a Spring season with a generous limit?
Theoretically, there were more of these "excess" gobblers in the fall, since the passage of time from October to April can ONLY result in lower turkey numbers. So, again theoretically, from a biological standpoint it would be wiser to harvest the appropriate number of "excess" gobblers the day after the last poult was hatched for the year (the day when the highest turkey numbers of the year is recorded). This would maximize turkey harvest.
Your timing scenario has a "little" merit
However, I would not say the gobblers job is done by Mar 15. I don't have any data to back me up but I would say that the majority of hens are bred in April that result in nests. Certainly some earlier but also a lot bred later, even into summer. Yea, the population does not need all those gobblers and many are excess, but some are needed all summer for potential "fill in" breeding for those hens who got broke up late!
When the spring seasons were originally set, I doubt they were considering whether breeding was done by Mar 20. I think they were more concerned with whether they were gobbling good yet
Write it anyway you want to. Why has only 6 counties had the Fall season? On your logic, we should have deer season in the summer months, since the breeding season is in the Fall? What is the biological justification for not having a Spring turkey season?
There are some excellent Basic Biology texts available that I can recommend for you. I know this concept is hard for you to understand but it does not matter when a critter screws, it matters when they are done raising their young to juvenile stage - fall. I'll try it one more time... Deer, Turkeys, Quail, squirrels, rabbits, doves, ducks, geese, snipe, woodcock, bears, mice, weasels, fox, coyotes, beavers, otters, even fish and bugs for cripes sakes, (you get the point) all reach their highest population in the fall after the young are raised to juveniles. This is the time traditionally set for game harvest for the majority of wildlife species. I believe, this was the time set for turkey harvest when the first game laws were enacted in Alabama and ALL counties with a turkey season had FALL turkey season. It was not just 6 counties, I remember when most counties had fall season, they have whittled it down to 6 remaining.
How can you twist my logic to having deer season when does are pregnant, that would be like having a hen season in March and April - how do you get that I think that? And why do you want to know what the "biological justification for not having a Spring turkey season" is. Are you simply trying to be an ass?
