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Decline of the Wild Turkey
#4125054
05/01/24 10:15 AM
05/01/24 10:15 AM
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,499 Amory,MS
Turkey Petter
OP
8 point
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OP
8 point
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,499
Amory,MS
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I'll start off by saying there are some areas that turkey numbers are doing well or at least holding their own. However, many places especially in the SE are struggling. What are some of the reasons? 1. Baiting Program - Ever since the legalization of bait for deer, many hunters continue to keep the feeders full during the spring. (Corn, Scratch, Milo, Wheat, Crickets?) People who do not turkey hunt but a couple of times per season routinely kill one over a bait pile on Opening Day. Notice the same people busting one and displaying it all over Facebook on every opening weekend. After shooting into a flock over bait, those same hunters scratch the rest of the season because the odds go back into the turkey's favor. 2. I find it hard to believe a wild turkey can withstand the hunting pressure that Covid has produced. Not to mention, YouTube, Hunting Industry (They have tried to make it like deer hunting - it's not and never will be) Outdoor television Programs, etc. 3. Habitat Loss in my area due to tornado damage and timber harvests. 4. Wild Hogs/ Predators 5. Bad Hatches
What other issues are we dealing with?
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Re: Decline of the Wild Turkey
[Re: Turkey Petter]
#4125067
05/01/24 10:39 AM
05/01/24 10:39 AM
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Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,901 Awbarn, AL
CNC
Dances With Weeds
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Dances With Weeds
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,901
Awbarn, AL
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Wouldnt it be safe to say that 95% of turkeys die from some type of predation?
We dont rent pigs
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Re: Decline of the Wild Turkey
[Re: Turkey Petter]
#4125079
05/01/24 11:00 AM
05/01/24 11:00 AM
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Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 11,113 Earth
TDog93
Booner
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Booner
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 11,113
Earth
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Just saw a video if a bald eagle swooping in to try to get a lay down decoy. Gobbler came in to protect hen/decoy 😀
Cool video
Hunt the wind - leave it better than you found it - love your neighbor as you love your self We need prayer for our country now more than ever
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Re: Decline of the Wild Turkey
[Re: Turkey Petter]
#4125080
05/01/24 11:10 AM
05/01/24 11:10 AM
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 20,193 Northport, AL
GomerPyle
Impatient Stinky Britches Wearin’ Off-Roadin’ Guru
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Impatient Stinky Britches Wearin’ Off-Roadin’ Guru
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 20,193
Northport, AL
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this is admittedly 100% anecdotal, but I feel like I see noticeably more "turkey hunters" than just 6-8 years ago
There are 3 certainties in an uncertain world:
1. All Politicians Are Liars 2. All Gun Laws Are an Infringement 3. Taxation Is Theft
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Re: Decline of the Wild Turkey
[Re: Turkey Petter]
#4125085
05/01/24 11:25 AM
05/01/24 11:25 AM
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Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 547 Baldwin County
zgobbler5
4 point
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4 point
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 547
Baldwin County
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Predators, poachers, nest predators, loss of habitat.
Turkey numbers are higher than ever in many places. "Decline of the Wild Turkey?"
"Your woodsmanship value and qualities are ten times more important than the actual calling ability."-Preston Pittman
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Re: Decline of the Wild Turkey
[Re: 3toe]
#4125111
05/01/24 12:15 PM
05/01/24 12:15 PM
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,499 Amory,MS
Turkey Petter
OP
8 point
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OP
8 point
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,499
Amory,MS
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I think cell cameras have a lot to do with it. Back when I started turkey hunting you had to be in the woods to know if you had turkeys. If you had turkeys then you had to be in the woods if you wanted to figure out what they were doing. Now folks can sit in the comforts of a couch and do all that with a little milo and a bunch of cell cameras. Can even tell you when a gobbler is showing up in a certain spot everyday. I think Ray Charles could kill a limit with the info cell cameras give hunters today. 100% in agreement with this... I always felt like using a cell camera was cheating. It's kind of like kissing a first cousin at a family reunion. It's a nice gesture, but really should you be getting much satisfaction from that?
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Re: Decline of the Wild Turkey
[Re: Turkey Petter]
#4125114
05/01/24 12:25 PM
05/01/24 12:25 PM
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 2,277 Clayton, AL
BC_Reb
8 point
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8 point
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 2,277
Clayton, AL
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I think cell cameras have a lot to do with it. Back when I started turkey hunting you had to be in the woods to know if you had turkeys. If you had turkeys then you had to be in the woods if you wanted to figure out what they were doing. Now folks can sit in the comforts of a couch and do all that with a little milo and a bunch of cell cameras. Can even tell you when a gobbler is showing up in a certain spot everyday. I think Ray Charles could kill a limit with the info cell cameras give hunters today. 100% in agreement with this... I always felt like using a cell camera was cheating. It's kind of like kissing a first cousin at a family reunion. It's a nice gesture, but really should you be getting much satisfaction from that? I agree with y’all. Get rid of decoys and cameras
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Re: Decline of the Wild Turkey
[Re: GomerPyle]
#4125158
05/01/24 01:28 PM
05/01/24 01:28 PM
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Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 25,729 Locust Fork, Alabama
BC
Freak of Nature
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Freak of Nature
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 25,729
Locust Fork, Alabama
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this is admittedly 100% anecdotal, but I feel like I see noticeably more "turkey hunters" than just 6-8 years ago
When I was kid first starting out you had to order calls from a mail order catalog and you never saw any other turkey hunters. I saw one coming out of the woods one time in Montgomery Co and was shocked. Now you stop at a gas station in March or April before dawn and there 12 guys in there decked out in camo. Look in the lands and leases section or on the many Facebook pages for hunting club memberships. "No Turkey Rights" is the #1 tag line. People have now figured out they can find a piece of land and gather up a half dozen suckers to hunt pine goats and pay for them a piece of turkey hunting property.
"Some men are mere hunters; others are turkey hunters."
-- Archibald Rutledge
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Re: Decline of the Wild Turkey
[Re: Turkey Petter]
#4125345
05/01/24 07:44 PM
05/01/24 07:44 PM
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Joined: Jun 2021
Posts: 3,215 Madison
3bailey3
10 point
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10 point
Joined: Jun 2021
Posts: 3,215
Madison
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Just leaving Mo. last week and we saw 2 eggs busted in a thick field, looked like crows had done it. Hunting back here in Ms.yesterday and had a huge coyote come running to my caller, he got a face full of Apex.
Last edited by 3bailey3; 05/01/24 07:45 PM.
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Re: Decline of the Wild Turkey
[Re: turkey247]
#4125384
05/01/24 08:38 PM
05/01/24 08:38 PM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 12,148 Sylacauga, AL
poorcountrypreacher
Booner
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Booner
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 12,148
Sylacauga, AL
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If hunters are shooting gobblers only, within the framework of a “normal spring season” - then more hunting pressure sucks for us hunters that have been hunting forever - but they aren’t affecting a hen’s ability to do what she does, and raise poults.
There’s something else - so figure out that something else.
I'll never understand why hunters don't seem to get this.
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
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Re: Decline of the Wild Turkey
[Re: poorcountrypreacher]
#4125451
05/01/24 10:02 PM
05/01/24 10:02 PM
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Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 8,420
Atoler
14 point
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14 point
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 8,420
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If hunters are shooting gobblers only, within the framework of a “normal spring season” - then more hunting pressure sucks for us hunters that have been hunting forever - but they aren’t affecting a hen’s ability to do what she does, and raise poults.
There’s something else - so figure out that something else.
I'll never understand why hunters don't seem to get this. Agreed. Pressure really sucks from an “enjoyment” standpoint. And maybe even from a standpoint of how many birds are alive to hear gobbling. But it has no affect on the future population. I really think it’s a few things: 1. Crappy habitat 2. Normal population swings after restocking. 3. Weather trends related to nest/poult success 4. An abundance of nest predators 5. Possibly some disease, maybe related to feeding, herbicides, or natural causes.
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