# Thoughts on the 3 bird limit?



## Hammer Spank

What do you think?  Should it be raised?  Lowered?  

I know that killing gobblers doesn't have a whole lot of affect on the total population but there are a LOT more turkey hunters than there were ten years ago and the use of blinds and realistic decoys is adding some gobblers to the frying pan.  There has obviously been a decline in turkeys in the last ten years that we cannot contribute to hunting (I believe it's probably just spring weather and nothing more) but how many Longbeards are really surviving through the year these days?  I know that on my local club (800 or so acres), me and another guy pretty well kill the majority of gobblers on the club every season.

What ya think?


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## hoppie

Keep the 3 but put a 1 bird per day limit.


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## antharper

I'd say keep 3 bird limit  and no jakes except for youth weekend


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## sea trout

I'd say I wouldn't mind a 2 bird limit but then i'd get shot!

Idk, we talk about the same thing, bout how many more turkey hunters there are now.

But I go against the grain.....I don't feel....(in my huntin spots) that there are any less turkeys. We find...(obviously) (in our huntin spots) that there are more hens than ever!!!!! With the same amount of gobbla's.

I find....(in my huntin spots)....that the population of gobblas have not changed but turkey huntin in general has!!!!!!! We think its due to televised huntin shows increased turkey hunters and turkey huntin gadgets, and also the super abundance of hens!

20 years ago....(in my huntin spots).....the hard part was findin a gobbling bird. When you found that.....the next hardest thing was picking the best set up hiding spot. When you hit both of those......that was a dead gobbling bird!!!!!!!! It was pretty simple!!!!!!
Now.....we hear gobblers every morning on the roost.....call however you want....use what ever gadgets you want....they probably wont come to ya!!!!! They are busy with an abundance of real hens!!!!!!
Then....when they are off hens and do come in....they come in to 60 yards and they're lookin around for something wrong!!!!! Whether they find something wrong or not if they don't see somthin right....they're hesitant to come in!!!!!

These are me and my buddies experiences on our huntin spots.....we  or I by no means know what the heck turkeys and turkey huntin is doin in the rest of the state in places we are not hunting!!

Good luck to everybody these last few weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## rhbama3

I like the 3 bird limit.
I have no problem with someone killing a "meat bird" jake if they wish. I'd have gladly blown a jakes head off at the end of last season instead of going birdless.


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## whitetailfreak

I like the 3 bird limit. As far as Jakes go, lets not turn turkey hunting into what modern deer hunting has become. My .02


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## Millcreekfarms

3 bird limit is fine but needs some form of enforcement only the true sportsmen stop at three


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## Hammer Spank

No need to even speak of jakes.  The killing of jakes has less of an affect on the popation than a gobbler


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## goblr77

Outlaw decoys and keep the three bird limit. A bunch of newbies will quit hunting after getting frustrated.


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## Reminex

This thread really made me think.  I just dnt know an answer.  I like a 1 bird per day limit.  I  like a 2 bird per year limit.  I have a lot of turkey woods in my area and can kill my limit every year but dont know if it will be like that for much longer.  I would love to see a quota on Cedar Creek WMA.  I wouldnt mind outlawing blinds.  

What I will say is that growing up all I have ever heard was that "we need to get more people into hunting."  I try all I can every year to get folks their first gobbler.  I like that more than anything.  All to often I hear on this board fellow sportsmen wishing their were less hunters because they hunt different and its to easy.

Its true that some guys cant kill a bird without a decoy.  I cant kill one without my shotgun.  
whats next?  Bow only and natural voice only?

Im all for a 2 bird tagging system.  Maybe even a decoy tax of $50 to benefit turkey conservation only.


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## critterslayer

goblr77 said:


> Outlaw decoys and keep the three bird limit. A bunch of newbies will quit hunting after getting frustrated.



I'd say outlawing decoys would definitely save a lot of turkeys lives! There are some really realistic decoys on the market today.


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## ryanwhit

I hate - absolutely hate - the one bird a day rule in AL.  I have never killed 2 turkeys from the same setup, but I have killed 2 in one day a couple of times.  When I go hunting these days, I tend to dedicate the whole day to it.  I've made plans to be away from work, family, etc, and spent time and money like water to get to wherever I am.  I don't want to have to quit if I shoot one early.  I want to take him to the truck and go back to the woods.


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## Timber1

3 works for me. 
I would do away with baiting year round except for planted food. 
A better tag system is needed and better enforcement.


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## Hammer Spank

I'm of the David Peterson mentality 100%.  WE DO NOT NEED MORE HUNTERS.  We need better hunters; hunters that non-hunters can understand and respect.  I don't respect anybody on the tv shows anymore.  In fact, I haven't seen a hunting show in 3-4 years.


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## whitetailfreak

I dont use decoys, and have no desire to. With that being said I would be alarmed if they were "outlawed". I would support a tele-check system.


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## Gut_Pile

whitetailfreak said:


> I would support a tele-check system.



GA will have tele-check next year


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## Gut_Pile

I had a discussion on this same subject last night with a good friend of mine. 

As a state we are experiencing two things that hurt turkey populations. Increased number of predators (people, coyotes, coons, etc) and a decreased amount of habitat. Also the use of blinds and strutter decoys have allowed people with no skill whatsoever the opportunity to kill turkeys year after year.

I'm all for the 3 bird limit, but I would love to see decoys outlawed.


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## Wayne D Davis

I like the 3 bird limit and the fact if I want a jake I can take one. I hunt public lands and ALWAYS sign my birds out on the harvest sheet. I firmly believe we need a tagging system in place. I know some hunters take advantage of the system we now have. I tagged out April 9th this yrs and that same day the DNR knows it. A tag/reporting system would be awesome. As for decoys I have used them with zero benefit ...if they was done away with wouldnt bother me in the slightest.


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## ryanwhit

From a hunting perspective, my style would not be impacted if decoys were outlawed, so I wouldn't really care...although that's just another way the gov is telling you how you can hunt, and I do have some feelings about that.  Regardless though, I don't think outlawing the use of decoys will be on the table ever.


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## Reminex

I feel you Ryan, on the government encroachment.  I dnt like it either.  My only answer is if they can tell us how many and when and with what gun, one more reg aint gonna give them any more or less power over us.  Sticking together and having high numbers is how we keep our sport going.


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## TurDuckBuck89

*Agreed!!!*



Millcreekfarms said:


> 3 bird limit is fine but needs some form of enforcement only the true sportsmen stop at three



definitely need an improved tagging system and better/more enforcement!


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## hoppie

ryanwhit said:


> I hate - absolutely hate - the one bird a day rule in AL.  I have never killed 2 turkeys from the same setup, but I have killed 2 in one day a couple of times.  When I go hunting these days, I tend to dedicate the whole day to it.  I've made plans to be away from work, family, etc, and spent time and money like water to get to wherever I am.  I don't want to have to quit if I shoot one early.  I want to take him to the truck and go back to the woods.



I can understand that. It would be more for the killing of multiple birds on one setup, and it would be tough to say they didn't kill them on two different setups. I know it would not stop a majority of people, but it would cut down on it some I would hope.


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## humdandy

rhbama3 said:


> I like the 3 bird limit.
> I have no problem with someone killing a "meat bird" jake if they wish. I'd have gladly blown a jakes head off at the end of last season instead of going birdless.



All turkeys are "meat birds".

Rules set up now are just fine.


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## bowboy1989

leave it the same. we need a no jake rule exception of the youth hunters


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## Hammer Spank

bowboy1989 said:


> leave it the same. we need a no jake rule exception of the youth hunters




That's not even a realistic possibility.  Turkeys come in, often through very thick brush, and jakes often gobble just as much as mature birds do.  

Besides, there is no biological justification for a rule like that.


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## Troy Butler

Don't turn turkey into the thing deer hunting has become. If I want to shoot a jake I will if I want to use decoys I will, but then again I hunt with a bow. If you want to go to a one bird limit hunt with a bow hahaha.


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## Dinosaur

Maybe someone can help me as I struggle with a few things.
1) Why in the world would anyone ban hunting from blinds?
2) Why in the world would you ban feeding turkeys up till the season starts, once you stop they are leaving anyway.
3) If you kill the limit of three a season, what difference does it make how many you kill at one time? 
I hate to cause ripples, but to me this is crazy talk. JMO though. Any thoughts?


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## spydermon

I'm good with the 3.

For those that want decoys outlawed... take your bow and go hunt without one.  Its pretty tough on the bowhunters without them.  Not so much as bringing them in, but having them focus on that moreso than a hunter trying to draw back

 Outlaw decoys... there's other ways around that


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## hoppie

Dinosaur said:


> Maybe someone can help me as I struggle with a few things.
> 1) Why in the world would anyone ban hunting from blinds?
> 2) Why in the world would you ban feeding turkeys up till the season starts, once you stop they are leaving anyway.
> 3) If you kill the limit of three a season, what difference does it make how many you kill at one time?
> I hate to cause ripples, but to me this is crazy talk. JMO though. Any thoughts?



3) It is a lot harder to kill 3 birds on 3 separate hunts than it is to double or triple up. A lot of hunters would have a tougher time reaching that quota if they had to do it with separate hunts.


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## Dinosaur

hoppie said:


> 3) It is a lot harder to kill 3 birds on 3 separate hunts than it is to double or triple up. A lot of hunters would have a tougher time reaching that quota if they had to do it with separate hunts.



Thanks, that does make sense. But as the op posted, it wouldn't be good for those that have limited time in the woods.


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## kmckinnie

This thread has some very interesting thoughts.


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## Dinosaur

kmckinnie said:


> This thread has some very interesting thoughts.



That's a nice way to put it.


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## kmckinnie

Dinosaur said:


> That's a nice way to put it.



You've done good in here.


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## kmckinnie

Its easy getten doubles.... When U good...


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## sea trout

a lot of y'all are for reporting somehow that a hunter has killed a gobbler, or a tag system, report system. I'm not smart enough to figure out the best way to go about that but I would be for it.

A lot of birds get killed and not recovered. Would those be in the tag/report system some how? That would be an honesty system.

Many of y'all mention outlawing decoys and blinds.
Y'all must be huntin different birds than I do, when I use decoys the turkeys either run the other way or circle them at 60 yards away?
Blinds? I cant get a gobbler to come within a half a mile from a blind I put up?
I must not have those things  right if they make it that much easier.


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## Hammer Spank

This thread got derailed pretty hard. I was really only concerned with your thoughts on the limit.


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## humdandy

Hammer Spank said:


> This thread got derailed pretty hard. I was really only concerned with your thoughts on the limit.



Keep is the same, don't limit out on a jake next time.


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## kmckinnie

Hammer Spank said:


> This thread got derailed pretty hard. I was really only concerned with your thoughts on the limit.



Isaw that in the beginning, I wasjust posten by double because of other post. I apologize.

I  think the 3 is good, wish it was 5 birds sometimes. I find it easy to get 3 quick sometimes. I wish there where more birds also.
3 seems to be a fair even amount.
Good thread.


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## Dinosaur

Sorry sir, 3 is just right.


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## Johnny 71

I've not been on the forum long and I've received a lot of good advice that has helped me in the woods, but if there is no blinds and no decoys then it could be said the same for ducks, then why not do away with tree stands for deer hunting, no flash lights, no scopes, no telling how far it would go, once you get started, I think the best thing for turkey hunting is for you people to keep giving good sound advice, that has changed they way I hunt more than any of the rules, but I don't like the gov having to much control so that may be why I feel that way


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## BigPimpin

kmickinnie,

Sorry, but I'm gonna have to 1-up ya.  3 jakes in 1 shot back in my earlier days.

No regrets.  Wish it had been 4.


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## BigPimpin

I forgot mention that it was a straight-up bushwhack.


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## Dinosaur

BigPimpin said:


> I forgot mention that it was a straight-up bushwhack.



You mean you didn't earn them?Lol


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## Johnny 71

Only my second year turkey hunting, but seams like there are a lot of turkey's out there , is the numbers down everywhere? I live in north west Ga and if I was a better hunter I could have been tagged out by Easter, are y'all saying there used to be even more turkey?


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## BigPimpin

Now on a serious note, I am fine with whatever the State decides is best for the sport.  Since my Jake incident, I would like to think that I have matured into somewhat of a turkey hunting purist.  I now enjoy the pursuit as much as the kill.   I have a deep respect for the well-being of the population and the tradition of the sport.  I would like to think that turkey hunting is a gentleman's game.  This discussion is beginning to lean in the same direction as some of the deer hunting threads that pollute this site.   Let's think back to the way Tom Kelly separated the turkey hunting crowd from the deer hunting (with dogs) crowd.  I don't want to see us heading in this direction.


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## BigPimpin

Dinosaur said:


> You mean you didn't earn them?Lol



I just meant that the method in which I took them was by ambush.  

I have no idea what you mean by "earning them".


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## Dinosaur

BigPimpin said:


> I just meant that the method in which I took them was by ambush.
> 
> I have no idea what you mean by "earning them".



Sorry, I thought you may have seen the thread a couple weeks ago about "unearned turkey kills". Look it up if you get time, it's a doozy.


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## antharper

I recieved a lot of negative responses to the no jake law , I just feel like when u kill 1 you have nothing , no beard , no spurs , about half the meat and most of all that thundering gobble ,I feel it's no different than shooting a spotted fawn (they are not very smart) !!!


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## Hammer Spank

antharper said:


> I recieved a lot of negative responses to the no jake law , I just feel like when u kill 1 you have nothing , no beard , no spurs , about half the meat and most of all that thundering gobble ,I feel it's no different than shooting a spotted fawn (they are not very smart) !!!



Some jakes gobble a lot.  Some jakes weigh a lot.  I accidentally killed one this year that weighed 16lbs.  I thought he was the gobbler I was on but it was his silent companion.  I've killed long spurred gobblers that weighed 14.


And to the earlier post, yes, GA had a lot more turkeys just a few years ago.  I hunt in Cherokee and we seem to have had some good hatches the last few years.  There seem to be a lot right now but South GA (who has always led the pack in turkeys) doesn't have nearly what it used to.  Just a lot of rain on the nests and poults (that are earlier than ours up here).

GA still has a very healthy population and the killing of male turkeys (just like deer) doesn't really affect anything as a whole but it does affect the number of gobbling turkeys we get to play with.  There really weren't many turkey hunters 10 years ago.  Now everybody that sits down and watches some idiot on tv wants to go out and kill one.  So they buy some decoys and a gobble tube and go out and make a ruckus and may or may not eventually luck into a stupid one one day.  

This does have an affect on the overall hunting (especially on public land) so I just wondered what everybody thought.  3 is enough stress for me every year to try and kill but if I didn't work a lot in the spring, I might want more.  But I'd probably just buy an Alabama license and spread it all out.

Man, I love love love turkey hunting!!!!!!!


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## antharper

I'm not sure about stress on me but it sure puts a lot on my marriage , thankfully I have a very understanding wife !!!


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## Son

I vote, leave things alone. Don't make turkey hunting so restrictive that we lose hunters, we need the numbers. Don't know about others hunting areas, but in mine we police our own. Three gobblers is the limit. I limit myself to one per day, just a way of making my season last longer. 
The only thing i see that's having a negative effect on our turkey population is predators. Getting hens on the nest at night, and catching gobblers while strutting. I often find feathers and turkey bones in the woods, and we didn't throw em there. My beef is Georgia has a season on Racoons, Bobcats and possums. Those three help coyotes keep the turkey population down. A wet nesting season does damage also.  Noticed some post go from the extreme to not. Lets all get together and realize there is an average that is best for everyone who hunts turkeys without shoving a personal agenda.


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## bowboy1989

Hammer Spank said:


> That's not even a realistic possibility.  Turkeys come in, often through very thick brush, and jakes often gobble just as much as mature birds do.
> 
> Besides, there is no biological justification for a rule like that.[/QUOT
> 
> This is true tho many times you can plainly identify jakes from mature birds


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## brlewis

The club that I joined this year has started an 8 inch minimum for the beard.


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## spydermon

^ well that's dumb....beard rot, mites or genetics could very well dampen a situation on a bird that is very mature and you never know it.  Its not deer hunting.. you don't really have know exactly how big a gobbler is until you put your hands on them


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## BigPimpin

Dinosaur said:


> Sorry, I thought you may have seen the thread a couple weeks ago about "unearned turkey kills". Look it up if you get time, it's a doozy.



Oh yeah, I saw that.  I have kilt two this season and guided several more.  All birds called into our lap runnin and gunnin.  I will say, if I were to hunt hard all year and not take one and on the last day I rounded the corner and old spur daddy was standin there beggin for it,  I would let him have it.  I aint perfect and dont consider that a violation.  Them jakes i crawled up on, raised the gun and shot at one.  They were in tall wheat and all i could see were red heads.  Only shot at one, but three went to floppin.  It was an immature thing to do and its been a good long while since I did it.  I wouldnt do it again, but it was legal and they did eat good.  If Georgia made the limit 1, I would be happy to kill one and put the gun down.  If you think killing more than 1 or 2 on your place would have a negative effect on  your turkey population and you care about having more to hunt and pass the tradition down, dont depend on the state to set the limit.  Practice self control.  Btw, where i kilt them jake is eat up with turkeys to this day!


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## 01Foreman400

3 is fine with me.  I don't get much spring time in the woods anyway.

2 of the tracts I hunt have a 1 bird limit and another has a 2 bird limit.  No jakes are legally killed on any of the tracts I hunt.  Several of the tracts I hunt by myself and limit what I shoot there.  Most of the time if I kill one on a tract I'm done hunting there anyway.  There is only one tract that I hunt where I will kill 2 and it’s the biggest tract I have and no one else has killed a bird there in the past 5 years.


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## 01Foreman400

BigPimpin said:


> kmickinnie,
> 
> Sorry, but I'm gonna have to 1-up ya.  3 jakes in 1 shot back in my earlier days.
> 
> No regrets.  Wish it had been 4.



Was that on the local club that you had?


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## sea trout

BigPimpin said:


> Oh yeah, I saw that.  I have kilt two this season and guided several more.  All birds called into our lap runnin and gunnin.  I will say, if I were to hunt hard all year and not take one and on the last day I rounded the corner and old spur daddy was standin there beggin for it,  I would let him have it.  I aint perfect and dont consider that a violation.  Them jakes i crawled up on, raised the gun and shot at one.  They were in tall wheat and all i could see were red heads.  Only shot at one, but three went to floppin.  It was an immature thing to do and its been a good long while since I did it.  I wouldnt do it again, but it was legal and they did eat good.  If Georgia made the limit 1, I would be happy to kill one and put the gun down.  If you think killing more than 1 or 2 on your place would have a negative effect on  your turkey population and you care about having more to hunt and pass the tradition down, dont depend on the state to set the limit.  Practice self control.  Btw, where i kilt them jake is eat up with turkeys to this day!



Man u got it all right! At least I agree anyway!
We can not depend on the state to know whats best for every huntin club and each individuals huntin styles and preferences!!!!!!!!!!

If we feel like 7 or 8 birds should die on our club with all the hunters combined then lets get em! If we feel like 1 or 2 max should meet the fryer then so be it!!!

Jakes??????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Most fun bird I ever killed was a jake!!! It was the first bird my boy n I killed together, My boy was 4 at the time.
I didn't even know it was a jake until we went to him floppin. He gobbled like a man, stepped out on the log road like a man and bowed up, all I cared about was my son was about to see his first bird kill!!!!!! Funnest bird I ever shot!!!!

Take the regs the state gives and we can make our own decisions.
3 bird limit is fine. If they made it 2 it would be fine by me. Mainly because I take kids, wife, nieces and nephews most of the time anyway. If they all get 1 bird each that would be a dozen. But mostly we are unsuccessful in dead birds but always successful in fun!!!!

What ever we and/or the state has to regulate to make sure these kids can take me turkey huntin when im an old man is what I want!!!!


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## BigPimpin

01Foreman400 said:


> Was that on the local club that you had?



No.  Private property.


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## BigPimpin

Them are the only jake i ever kilt.


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## Timber1

Dinosaur said:


> Maybe someone can help me as I struggle with a few things.
> 
> 2) Why in the world would you ban feeding turkeys up till the season starts, once you stop they are leaving anyway.
> I hate to cause ripples, but to me this is crazy talk. JMO though. Any thoughts?



I'll give you my reasons why I don't like baiting. This applies to all wild animals not just turkeys.

Feeding/baiting wild animals congregates them and makes the spreading of disease more likely.
Feeding/baiting wild animals makes them one step closer to being domesticated and reliant on man for survival and makes them less wild.
Feeding/baiting wild animals from the same location puts them in a predictable travel pattern that makes "hunting" them not hunting them.
Feeding /baiting wild animals makes them vacate some of the wma's I hunt and makes me susceptible to crossing property lines.
Feeding/baiting sometimes does not stop by the deadlines set by dnr.

If they leave an area after you quit feeding prior to the season starting why would you feed them in the first place?


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## Gaswamp

Timber1 said:


> I'll give you my reasons why I don't like baiting. This applies to all wild animals not just turkeys.
> 
> Feeding/baiting wild animals congregates them and makes the spreading of disease more likely.
> Feeding/baiting wild animals makes them one step closer to being domesticated and reliant on man for survival and makes them less wild.
> Feeding/baiting wild animals from the same location puts them in a predictable travel pattern that makes "hunting" them not hunting them.
> Feeding /baiting wild animals makes them vacate some of the wma's I hunt and makes me susceptible to crossing property lines.
> Feeding/baiting sometimes does not stop by the deadlines set by dnr.
> 
> If they leave an area after you quit feeding prior to the season starting why would you feed them in the first place?



  good post, unfortunately I am surrounded by folks  down in this area who are becoming dependent upon baiting/feeding


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## Dinosaur

Timber1 said:


> I'll give you my reasons why I don't like baiting. This applies to all wild animals not just turkeys.
> 
> Feeding/baiting wild animals congregates them and makes the spreading of disease more likely.
> Feeding/baiting wild animals makes them one step closer to being domesticated and reliant on man for survival and makes them less wild.
> Feeding/baiting wild animals from the same location puts them in a predictable travel pattern that makes "hunting" them not hunting them.
> Feeding /baiting wild animals makes them vacate some of the wma's I hunt and makes me susceptible to crossing property lines.
> Feeding/baiting sometimes does not stop by the deadlines set by dnr.
> 
> If they leave an area after you quit feeding prior to the season starting why would you feed them in the first place?



Thanks for replying timber, interesting points. Just curious, what is your opinion on food plots, especially Chufa patches. Seems they make wildlife predictable as well and can cause them to congregate just as much as feeding them. Don't they become dependant on them?


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## jrmcc

Telecheck system. 1 bird a day. 3 birds, with no more than one being a jake unless by a youth hunter.


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## 01Foreman400

I throw wheat seed out in front of my cameras in Febuary to do a camera survey on the tracts I hunt.  I like to get an idea of what is on the property.  This gives me an idea if I need to hunt a particular property.  Some of my tracts don't always hold birds from year to year.


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## kmckinnie

I think 3 birds is good


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## kmckinnie

I Hear yA timberwolf


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## NUTT

I would support a 2 bird limit and not care the least how they were legally killed.


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## GA DAWG

It use to be 2 I'd like to see it 2 again.


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## Water Swat

Why do folks continue to say limit the # of jakes killed? There is no bearing negatively on the population whether a bird is a jake or 2 year old. 

I didn't quote his post but i agree with most of what the young fella Gut Pile said.


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## birddog52

Been turkey hunting for over 30 years started when it was 2 bird limit . Had no problem leaving it at that. North carolina has 2 bird limit ga just needs a better tagging system similar to maine. South carolina is dropping there limit back to 3 from 5 they have realized there bird numbers are down ga numbers down too. High bag limits encourage folks to kill more than they should kinda like whats happened to the deer. T v has changed  turkey hunting decoys take to much advantage of a turkey in my book. I still kill gobblers the way i learned how thats call them up into gun range  so what if he hangs up out of gun range there be another day to hunt him. Past the point in my hunting career of having to kill a limit ever spring have killed 2 toms this spring doubt will hunt anymore. Just think boys when you kill that ole tom think about all the perils he has survived to reach that point when you have killed him. Sure not the turkeys in my neck of the woods that we had 10 years ago. Why kinda been limiting myself to 2 for past 5 years


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## TurkeyDreamer

I'd be fine with 2 bird limit until numbers improve. I'd like to see jakes only for youth regardless. It's my opinion but I believe any respectable adult turkey hunter should have the patience and fortitude to shoot full fans only. I suspect the only reason it will never be that way is b/c if it was, 90% of the folks wouldn't turn in themselves or their hunting buddy anyway since, as we all know, accidents (not identifying target completely) do happen.


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## GTHunter007

Gotta love this forum for entertainment value when a real biological based question is asked.  You find out all you need to know about a man by their recommendations.  From the outlawing of decoys and blinds to the outlawing of killing jakes...speechless.  Over a turkey.  An animal that besides the grasshoppers they eat, is at the bottom of our food chain.  

You try to take my old man's ability to kill a turkey away and him and you may fight...just sayin.  Taking away blinds and decoys so people are less successful in the woods    Why not just say what you mean...I don't want anybody killing turkeys until I got mine.  Even then they better leave me plenty for next year.  

ITS NOT JUST ABOUT YOU!!!!!  GET OVER YOURSELF YOU GREEDY lshgdljkghsjkgsafjkg!  

I practice QTM...8" beards are required to shoot.


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## antharper

TurkeyDreamer said:


> I'd be fine with 2 bird limit until numbers improve. I'd like to see jakes only for youth regardless. It's my opinion but I believe any respectable adult turkey hunter should have the patience and fortitude to shoot full fans only. I suspect the only reason it will never be that way is b/c if it was, 90% of the folks wouldn't turn in themselves or their hunting buddy anyway since, as we all know, accidents (not identifying target completely) do happen.



Just a warning , you gonna make these jake killers mad!!!


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## Bucky T

Going on the worst season of my career...  I'd gladly take 1 gobbler right now.  Then I would put my gear up and leave this season in the rearview mirror..............


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## HD28

I'm for two bird limit, having to tag & report them and one month season.


----------



## TurkeyDreamer

antharper said:


> Just a warning , you gonna make these jake killers mad!!!



Yep. But that's the thing about opinions. One's opinion is always going to make someone else mad. Just look at GTHunter's response. This thread is an open discussion and the OP is asking for opinions. I gave mine and I see no reason to apologize.


----------



## GTHunter007

TurkeyDreamer said:


> I'd be fine with 2 bird limit until numbers improve. I'd like to see jakes only for youth regardless. It's my opinion but I believe any respectable adult turkey hunter should have the patience and fortitude to shoot full fans only. I suspect the only reason it will never be that way is b/c if it was, 90% of the folks wouldn't turn in themselves or their hunting buddy anyway since, as we all know, accidents (not identifying target completely) do happen.



No...it will never be that way because there is no biological data or evidence to warrant such a rule.  

Ever killed a bird that didn't strut?  

Ever killed a full fan that had beard rot?  

For what its worth, I would be fine with 2 birds or 5 birds as long as GA WRD felt we could support it.  I have zero issues with whatever the limit nor with actually tagging birds.  Whatever the rules in place, as long as the future of our resource is protected I am fine with it.  

If turkey populations are dwindling or "fluctuating" which is the likely situation in specific areas, hen turkeys and issues with nesting are the problems, not some hillbilly with a shotgun and which male turkey he decides to kill.


----------



## straightshooter

I am very old school, so let me stir the pot...

No decoys
Three bird limit OK
One bird per day
I would outlaw popup blinds for turkey hunting if I could
No shot size larger than #4 or smaller than #7
No afternoon hunting till after May 1
Getting time to put a bounty on coyotes

Told you I was old school...


----------



## MKW

straightshooter said:


> I am very old school, so let me stir the pot...
> 
> No decoys
> Three bird limit OK
> One bird per day
> I would outlaw popup blinds for turkey hunting if I could
> No shot size larger than #4 or smaller than #7
> No afternoon hunting till after May 1
> Getting time to put a bounty on coyotes
> 
> Told you I was old school...



   
I'm with you, Marty!


----------



## 01Foreman400

straightshooter said:


> No shot size smaller than #7



Explain your reasoning on this one for me please.


----------



## TurkeyDreamer

GTHunter007 said:


> No...it will never be that way because there is no biological data or evidence to warrant such a rule.
> 
> The title of this thread is "Thoughts on the 3 bird limit?" not "Do you have biological data or evidence to warrant your opinion". I have major in biology so no need to go there.
> 
> Ever killed a bird that didn't strut?
> 
> Yep.
> 
> Ever killed a full fan that had beard rot?
> 
> No, but I have two buddies who have.
> 
> For what its worth, I would be fine with 2 birds or 5 birds as long as GA WRD felt we could support it.  I have zero issues with whatever the limit nor with actually tagging birds.  Whatever the rules in place, as long as the future of our resource is protected I am fine with it.
> 
> Then we are on the same page!
> 
> If turkey populations are dwindling or "fluctuating" which is the likely situation in specific areas, hen turkeys and issues with nesting are the problems, not some hillbilly with a shotgun and which male turkey he decides to kill.
> 
> Not sure if this was a general comment or in response to me, but if you look back, I never made reference to any potential causes for declining turkey populations.



Happy jake hunting to you though!


----------



## kmckinnie

Ya'll need to read back at everything said by all. Its a little crazy. Just saying. Why would ya'll care if a man hunts outa a blind with dekes & shoots a jake and is happy. Its his business & legal.

I think 3 turkeys is good.


----------



## kmckinnie

O yea, there are folks on here that know how I hunt & I help others get a bird every year. Lets take a breath & be thankful we can get 3 birds in ga.


----------



## TenPtr

This has been a major topic of conversation amongst my turkey hunting buddies lately.  I believe the three bird limit is ok.  However, I believe there should be some restrictions on hunting tactics.  

  The most unfair practice in hunting could very well be hunting turkeys out of popup blinds.  When a turkey has no fair chase method of detecting danger, what is the challenge??  I think popup blinds should be limited to the youth, elderly, and disabled.   I also think the use of full strut decoys and fan decoys such as the Scoot and Shoot have really become bad for the sport.  Watching a video of some bozo crawl up to a gobbler and crush it at point blank range is really disheartening.   I have used real fans to fan birds but I didn't buy my fan at a store...I killed it myself.  There are a lot of folks killing birds with fans these days that wouldn't be able to get their own fan from the woods because they are horrible hunters.....however, now that they can get them at any store or online they are using them to kill turkeys that they could never normally kill.   
   There are more and more turkey hunters in the woods and more and more cheap, unethical, pathetic (yet legal) methods for killing turkeys and skill is no longer required.   I have kept notes on turkey numbers my entire turkey hunting career and I hunt all over this state.   I have noticed a SEVERE decline in turkey numbers over the past 5 years.....   Anyone who has managed property for turkeys like I have.... They know just how fragile these populations are and that is before you add in the hunting pressure factor.   Turkeys are not like deer.  They are not resilient and they don't adapt to every form of available habitat.   Turkeys can be eradicated with relative ease.   
  I am an old school hunter and I value our resources as much as anyone on this planet.   The turkeys in this state are in trouble and it is the new technology and methods for killing them (not hunting them) that are playing a negative role in the population decline along with habitat loss and natural predation.   
  Not all areas are experiencing sharp declines in turkey populations but many are.  Those who hunt these impacted areas know exactly what I am talking about.  

3 bird limit is not the problem.  It is the unethical, yet legal, means of killing them that is.


----------



## MKW

TenPtr said:


> This has been a major topic of conversation amongst my turkey hunting buddies lately.  I believe the three bird limit is ok.  However, I believe there should be some restrictions on hunting tactics.
> 
> The most unfair practice in hunting could very well be hunting turkeys out of popup blinds.  When a turkey has no fair chase method of detecting danger, what is the challenge??  I think popup blinds should be limited to the youth, elderly, and disabled.   I also think the use of full strut decoys and fan decoys such as the Scoot and Shoot have really become bad for the sport.  Watching a video of some bozo crawl up to a gobbler and crush it at point blank range is really disheartening.   I have used real fans to fan birds but I didn't buy my fan at a store...I killed it myself.  There are a lot of folks killing birds with fans these days that wouldn't be able to get their own fan from the woods because they are horrible hunters.....however, now that they can get them at any store or online they are using them to kill turkeys that they could never normally kill.
> There are more and more turkey hunters in the woods and more and more cheap, unethical, pathetic (yet legal) methods for killing turkeys and skill is no longer required.   I have kept notes on turkey numbers my entire turkey hunting career and I hunt all over this state.   I have noticed a SEVERE decline in turkey numbers over the past 5 years.....   Anyone who has managed property for turkeys like I have.... They know just how fragile these populations are and that is before you add in the hunting pressure factor.   Turkeys are not like deer.  They are not resilient and they don't adapt to every form of available habitat.   Turkeys can be eradicated with relative ease.
> I am an old school hunter and I value our resources as much as anyone on this planet.   The turkeys in this state are in trouble and it is the new technology and methods for killing them (not hunting them) that are playing a negative role in the population decline along with habitat loss and natural predation.
> Not all areas are experiencing sharp declines in turkey populations but many are.  Those who hunt these impacted areas know exactly what I am talking about.
> 
> 3 bird limit is not the problem.  It is the unethical, yet legal, means of killing them that is.



Could not agree more...BRAVO, sir, BRAVO!!!


----------



## kmckinnie

Timber companys cutting is our problem where we are, sure it good for a few then its thick and no turkeys. Blinds are not the problem or dekes. Its habitat & preditors. If everything was right for them they would run us over like the hogs do. Hens hatch 10 or more a year if everything goes right. But they have everything after them from the egg to the fields. predetors & timber companys do the damage where I'm at. Not no man in a blind.


----------



## GA DAWG

If we ain't gonna hunt them out of a blind or use decoys. Need to outlaw ambushing them and sitting on a foodplot just waiting one out. Already had a thread about folks killing them whatever it took and most do. Surprised me really.


----------



## TenPtr

I understand that timber companies aren't helping.....but that is out of our control.   We can only change certain things.


----------



## GTHunter007

It has been mostly in recent years farmers have begun utilizing cover crops in between fall and summer major plantings.  These crops must be killed off and plowed under in May to make room and prep for the summer cash crop....guess what is hiding in that thick cover.  I truly believe farming practices like this have a terrible effect.  A cutting during May is death.


----------



## TenPtr

GTHunter007 said:


> It has been mostly in recent years farmers have begun utilizing cover crops in between fall and summer major plantings.  These crops must be killed off and plowed under in May to make room and prep for the summer cash crop....guess what is hiding in that thick cover.  I truly believe farming practices like this have a terrible effect.  A cutting during May is death.



Another true statement.


----------



## Gut_Pile

GTHunter007 said:


> It has been mostly in recent years farmers have begun utilizing cover crops in between fall and summer major plantings.  These crops must be killed off and plowed under in May to make room and prep for the summer cash crop....guess what is hiding in that thick cover.  I truly believe farming practices like this have a terrible effect.  A cutting during May is death.



Good point that I haven't thought of.


----------



## SwampMoss

Go back to 2 bird limit.


----------



## straightshooter

01Foreman400 said:


> Explain your reasoning on this one for me please.



Glad to.  I am judging by the quickness of your question to my post that you're a TSS guy.  I get it.  Smaller pellets mean lots more of them to count in a target at whatever crazy range some guys want to shoot, and there are lots of guys into pellet count these days.  I don't have anything against TSS, HeviShot or any of the lead alternative loads.  I just want guys to understand that they aren't a cure all for shooting at gobblers at extreme ranges.    

As I said, I'm an old school guy.  I don't believe in shooting at turkeys at 80-100 yards like some suggest here.  And let's face it, if you're shooting a conventional turkey load of 4, 5 or 6, you're not going to put many pellets in a target, much less in the head and neck of a bird at those distances.  Now, you can go to really small pellets like 8s and 9s, and you can get the pellet count up a bit.  The problem is that regardless of the type of shot used, small, lighter weight pellets bleed off speed and energy more quickly than do larger pellets.  I've read all of the TSS stuff and I get where those who push it are coming from.  I'm simply not comfortable shooting a bunch of tiny pellets at a 20 pound bird that far away.

Of course lead pellets are even worse when it comes to performance.  They really bleed of speed and energy once out of the gun, and small lead pellets do have distance limitations for where they are truly lethal to a wild gobbler.  If you shoot birds within the true limit of the gun and ammo, I could care less what pellet size you use.  The problem is that we are convincing ourselves that it's OK to shoot gobblers at long distances just because the "pellet count" says the bird will die instantly.   

When I take the safety off of my turkey gun, I want to kill that bird as cleanly as possible.  I'm not into knocking birds down and having to chase them from behind with the possibility of losing the bird.    

To be honest with you, it is a personal thing with me.  I've killed enough turkeys over the years that killing another one is not as important to me as is convincing him come to me like Mother Nature says he shouldn't.  And when I do decide to shoot him, I want to make sure that he is in range for my gun, load and choke - and I mean really in range.  

I have a customized turkey gun that is absolutely deadly at 70 yards, but I can assure you that I won't shoot one that far.  I did it once a few years back in Kentucky while filming my TV show - last afternoon - in the rain.  I won't make a habit out of doing that.  The hunt to me is getting him close and not hoping for a kill at long range.  

Bottom line is this.  I love the outdoor chess match that is turkey hunting, and I respect this great bird enough that if I am going to take his life, I want to do it one on one and face to face with him.  No blind, no decoys - my woodsmanship and calling skills against his uncanny ability to stay alive when so many would want to kill and eat him.


----------



## Gut_Pile

I've been thinking about this some more and I see some folks here talking about going back to the 2 bird limit. I really don't think that that will make a huge difference either. 

This somewhat contradicts what I said earlier, but while I do feel there are more people in the woods than ever before, and the percentage of people who kill birds is higher than ever, I still think the number of people that consistently kill 3 birds is close to the same. 

In short my beliefs are this...the number of people killing 1 or 2 birds is higher than 10 years ago. The number of people killing 3 is roughly the same. Therefore, lowering the limit to 2 birds would have a very low impact.


----------



## Gut_Pile

And just to be clear...what I typed above is completely an opinion. I have no data backing it up.


----------



## ccleroy

TenPtr said:


> This has been a major topic of conversation amongst my turkey hunting buddies lately.  I believe the three bird limit is ok.  However, I believe there should be some restrictions on hunting tactics.
> 
> The most unfair practice in hunting could very well be hunting turkeys out of popup blinds.  When a turkey has no fair chase method of detecting danger, what is the challenge??  I think popup blinds should be limited to the youth, elderly, and disabled.   I also think the use of full strut decoys and fan decoys such as the Scoot and Shoot have really become bad for the sport.  Watching a video of some bozo crawl up to a gobbler and crush it at point blank range is really disheartening.   I have used real fans to fan birds but I didn't buy my fan at a store...I killed it myself.  There are a lot of folks killing birds with fans these days that wouldn't be able to get their own fan from the woods because they are horrible hunters.....however, now that they can get them at any store or online they are using them to kill turkeys that they could never normally kill.
> There are more and more turkey hunters in the woods and more and more cheap, unethical, pathetic (yet legal) methods for killing turkeys and skill is no longer required.   I have kept notes on turkey numbers my entire turkey hunting career and I hunt all over this state.   I have noticed a SEVERE decline in turkey numbers over the past 5 years.....   Anyone who has managed property for turkeys like I have.... They know just how fragile these populations are and that is before you add in the hunting pressure factor.   Turkeys are not like deer.  They are not resilient and they don't adapt to every form of available habitat.   Turkeys can be eradicated with relative ease.
> I am an old school hunter and I value our resources as much as anyone on this planet.   The turkeys in this state are in trouble and it is the new technology and methods for killing them (not hunting them) that are playing a negative role in the population decline along with habitat loss and natural predation.
> Not all areas are experiencing sharp declines in turkey populations but many are.  Those who hunt these impacted areas know exactly what I am talking about.
> 
> 3 bird limit is not the problem.  It is the unethical, yet legal, means of killing them that is.



Great post Zach!


----------



## Gut_Pile

TenPtr said:


> This has been a major topic of conversation amongst my turkey hunting buddies lately.  I believe the three bird limit is ok.  However, I believe there should be some restrictions on hunting tactics.
> 
> The most unfair practice in hunting could very well be hunting turkeys out of popup blinds.  When a turkey has no fair chase method of detecting danger, what is the challenge??  I think popup blinds should be limited to the youth, elderly, and disabled.   I also think the use of full strut decoys and fan decoys such as the Scoot and Shoot have really become bad for the sport.  Watching a video of some bozo crawl up to a gobbler and crush it at point blank range is really disheartening.   I have used real fans to fan birds but I didn't buy my fan at a store...I killed it myself.  There are a lot of folks killing birds with fans these days that wouldn't be able to get their own fan from the woods because they are horrible hunters.....however, now that they can get them at any store or online they are using them to kill turkeys that they could never normally kill.
> There are more and more turkey hunters in the woods and more and more cheap, unethical, pathetic (yet legal) methods for killing turkeys and skill is no longer required.   I have kept notes on turkey numbers my entire turkey hunting career and I hunt all over this state.   I have noticed a SEVERE decline in turkey numbers over the past 5 years.....   Anyone who has managed property for turkeys like I have.... They know just how fragile these populations are and that is before you add in the hunting pressure factor.   Turkeys are not like deer.  They are not resilient and they don't adapt to every form of available habitat.   Turkeys can be eradicated with relative ease.
> I am an old school hunter and I value our resources as much as anyone on this planet.   The turkeys in this state are in trouble and it is the new technology and methods for killing them (not hunting them) that are playing a negative role in the population decline along with habitat loss and natural predation.
> Not all areas are experiencing sharp declines in turkey populations but many are.  Those who hunt these impacted areas know exactly what I am talking about.
> 
> 3 bird limit is not the problem.  It is the unethical, yet legal, means of killing them that is.



I keep coming back to this thread and I don't think it can be worded any better than this.

Excellent post


----------



## GTHunter007

TenPtr said:


> This has been a major topic of conversation amongst my turkey hunting buddies lately.  I believe the three bird limit is ok.  However, I believe there should be some restrictions on hunting tactics.
> 
> The most unfair practice in hunting could very well be hunting turkeys out of popup blinds.  When a turkey has no fair chase method of detecting danger, what is the challenge??  I think popup blinds should be limited to the youth, elderly, and disabled.   I also think the use of full strut decoys and fan decoys such as the Scoot and Shoot have really become bad for the sport.  Watching a video of some bozo crawl up to a gobbler and crush it at point blank range is really disheartening.   I have used real fans to fan birds but I didn't buy my fan at a store...I killed it myself.  There are a lot of folks killing birds with fans these days that wouldn't be able to get their own fan from the woods because they are horrible hunters.....however, now that they can get them at any store or online they are using them to kill turkeys that they could never normally kill.
> There are more and more turkey hunters in the woods and more and more cheap, unethical, pathetic (yet legal) methods for killing turkeys and skill is no longer required.   I have kept notes on turkey numbers my entire turkey hunting career and I hunt all over this state.   I have noticed a SEVERE decline in turkey numbers over the past 5 years.....   Anyone who has managed property for turkeys like I have.... They know just how fragile these populations are and that is before you add in the hunting pressure factor.   Turkeys are not like deer.  They are not resilient and they don't adapt to every form of available habitat.   Turkeys can be eradicated with relative ease.
> I am an old school hunter and I value our resources as much as anyone on this planet.   The turkeys in this state are in trouble and it is the new technology and methods for killing them (not hunting them) that are playing a negative role in the population decline along with habitat loss and natural predation.
> Not all areas are experiencing sharp declines in turkey populations but many are.  Those who hunt these impacted areas know exactly what I am talking about.
> 
> 3 bird limit is not the problem.  It is the unethical, yet legal, means of killing them that is.



I get that you are an old school purist for turkey hunting.  I get it.  For me it is the individual chat and reversal of nature in the heat of battle that makes me love this game.  But let me ask you this question.  If we as hunters only kill the males, the hens then have natural predators and habitat issues only to deal with.   Turkey survival relies on the success of each hen's brood from hatch to maturity.  Hunters do not affect that, not so far as it relates to how we hunt the spring gobbler.  Why then do you feel "method" or "techniques" used to kill a gobbler actually affect our population?  Do you think there are hens out there that do not lay eggs?  Do you think all the gobblers get killed every year?


----------



## Gut_Pile

Not TenPtr but I will answer what I believe.



> If we as hunters only kill the males, the hens then have natural predators and habitat issues only to deal with. Turkey survival relies on the success of each hen's brood from hatch to maturity. Hunters do not affect that, not so far as it relates to how we hunt the spring gobbler



One gobbler can breed several hens per year, several gobblers can breed even more than that. Reducing the gobbler population reduces the number of hens that will lay eggs. Now I do agree, once the hens begin to lay the eggs it is out of the gobblers hands. But the gobblers have to be on the property in the first place



> Why then do you feel "method" or "techniques" used to kill a gobbler actually affect our population?



Pop up blinds essentially take away a gobblers ability to detect movement. If someone can draw a bow on a turkey in the middle of a field from 5 yards away, shoot him, and then hand the bow to their partner to shoot the other one standing there, then it is taking away the number one survival instinct a turkey has. His vision and ability to detect movement and identify it as danger. No other way around that one. It's not fair to a turkey.

Strutter decoys, while not as effective (or detramental) as a pop up blind, bring any deaths to gobblers that would never be killed by the average hunter. Once again a gobblers instincts are taken advantage of and somone with zero woodsmanship, calling ability, or turkey know how can kill a bird. 

Once again, I know there are people that kill birds their first time out and the turkeys run in and you could do anything and everything to try and scare them off and they just wont leave. But typically that is not the case. 

Combine pop up blinds and strutter decoys together, and you have a pathetic, yet deadly, combination.



> Do you think there are hens out there that do not lay eggs?



Of course. And even more that lay eggs and their nests are destroyed by predators.



> Do you think all the gobblers get killed every year?



Of course not. But the amount of hunters killing birds is higher now than it was 10 years ago. Heck even 5 years ago. I don't think there is any doubting that.


----------



## tonyrittenhouse

*Limit*

I have no problem with the 3 turkey limit. I also think you should be able to use decoys if you want. I have used them before and they helped me and I have also used them and they hurt me. I have had turkeys come in after seeing the decoy and I have also had them stand out at 80 yards and refuse to come in because they can see the decoy and want it to come to them. I very rarely use decoys because of the way I usually hunt turkeys. I sure do not want them to limit it to one a day because I only get a limited amount of time to hunt and if I am lucky enough to get more than one in a single day I want to have that option. They should not outlaw killing jakes either. I don't kill jakes anymore but I have in the past and if someone like my wife who is new to hunting wants to kill her first turkey she should be able to kill a jake.


----------



## straightshooter

Gut_Pile said:


> Not TenPtr but I will answer what I believe.
> 
> 
> 
> One gobbler can breed several hens per year, several gobblers can breed even more than that. Reducing the gobbler population reduces the number of hens that will lay eggs. Now I do agree, once the hens begin to lay the eggs it is out of the gobblers hands. But the gobblers have to be on the property in the first place
> 
> Pop up blinds essentially take away a gobbler's ability to detect movement. If someone can draw a bow on a turkey in the middle of a field from 5 yards away, shoot him, and then hand the bow to their partner to shoot the other one standing there, then it is taking away the number one survival instinct a turkey has. His vision and ability to detect movement and identify it as danger. No other way around that one. It's not fair to a turkey.
> 
> Strutter decoys, while not as effective (or detramental) as a pop up blind, bring any deaths to gobblers that would never be killed by the average hunter. Once again a gobblers instincts are taken advantage of and somone with zero woodsmanship, calling ability, or turkey know how can kill a bird.
> 
> Once again, I know there are people that kill birds their first time out and the turkeys run in and you could do anything and everything to try and scare them off and they just wont leave. But typically that is not the case.
> 
> Combine pop up blinds and strutter decoys together, and you have a pathetic, yet deadly, combination.
> 
> 
> 
> Of course. And even more that lay eggs and their nests are destroyed by predators.
> 
> 
> 
> Of course not. But the amount of hunters killing birds is higher now than it was 10 years ago. Heck even 5 years ago. I don't think there is any doubting that.



Gut_Pile is spot on with his commentary.  It really is much easier to kill a gobbler these days than in the past.  Of all of the things being tossed around in this thread, the pop up blind gives me the biggest problem.  Since I do some magazine writing, I had to get some good turkey photos a few years back.  We set up a pop up blind in a good  spot where birds stage to go to roost.  I did a little bit of calling and had a number of gobblers walk within five feet of the blind window while I took pictures, changed cameras and moved my arms around to do that.  The birds never flinched since they couldn't detect the movement.  

The turkey's ability to sense movement is what keeps him alive more than anything else.  They really can't smell very well, and while their hearing is exceptional, they depend on their vision more than any other sense.  

I've watched a few on line videos and DVDs, as well as a number of outdoor TV shows where guys are hunting from blinds.  That's almost all you see on TV these days.  The hunters either don't call or can't call.  They put out a few decoys to attract the birds and just sit around and wait till one shows up.  They shoot the bird(s), yell, scream and slap hands like they've done something.  They haven't...

I can see a child, lady or handicapped person in a blind, but not guys who profess to be great hunters.  

This has been a good season for me so far.  Have seen eight birds shot (5 on camera for TV), three missed by others and two that were called to 20 yards but couldn't be shot because of trees.  Used a decoy on one of those birds and blinds on none of them.  

As a turkey hunter, it makes a difference how you move through the turkey woods and it helps when you choose the right setup.  How you call to and work the bird into shooting range and how and when you move the gun into position for a shot matter too.  The pop up blind and a flock of decoys take all of that out of the hunt.  No thank you.  I want to beat him on his turf and under his terms.  You'll win some, but lose most of the time.  And I'm OK with that.


----------



## kmckinnie

WTG Tony, good speach. You speak for alot of average turkey hunters.


----------



## straightshooter

tonyrittenhouse said:


> I have no problem with the 3 turkey limit. I also think you should be able to use decoys if you want. I have used them before and they helped me and I have also used them and they hurt me. I have had turkeys come in after seeing the decoy and I have also had them stand out at 80 yards and refuse to come in because they can see the decoy and want it to come to them. I very rarely use decoys because of the way I usually hunt turkeys. I sure do not want them to limit it to one a day because I only get a limited amount of time to hunt and if I am lucky enough to get more than one in a single day I want to have that option. They should not outlaw killing jakes either. I don't kill jakes anymore but I have in the past and if someone like my wife who is new to hunting wants to kill her first turkey she should be able to kill a jake.


 
Can't disagree with you Tony.  I would not have a problem if decoys were banned, but I do use them on occasion (mostly in big fields).  Wouldn't have a problem with two birds in a day, but to take your season's limit in one hunt seems a bit much.  There aren't that many gobblers on lots of small tracts of land that guys hunt.  Sometimes those birds are together at certain times of the season.  I'd hate to wipe out my entire gobbler population at one time, especially early in the season.


----------



## spydermon

straightshooter said:


> Glad to.  I am judging by the quickness of your question to my post that you're a TSS guy.  I get it.  Smaller pellets mean lots more of them to count in a target at whatever crazy range some guys want to shoot, and there are lots of guys into pellet count these days.  I don't have anything against TSS, HeviShot or any of the lead alternative loads.  I just want guys to understand that they aren't a cure all for shooting at gobblers at extreme ranges.
> 
> As I said, I'm an old school guy.  I don't believe in shooting at turkeys at 80-100 yards like some suggest here.  And let's face it, if you're shooting a conventional turkey load of 4, 5 or 6, you're not going to put many pellets in a target, much less in the head and neck of a bird at those distances.  Now, you can go to really small pellets like 8s and 9s, and you can get the pellet count up a bit.  The problem is that regardless of the type of shot used, small, lighter weight pellets bleed off speed and energy more quickly than do larger pellets.  I've read all of the TSS stuff and I get where those who push it are coming from.  I'm simply not comfortable shooting a bunch of tiny pellets at a 20 pound bird that far away.
> 
> Of course lead pellets are even worse when it comes to performance.  They really bleed of speed and energy once out of the gun, and small lead pellets do have distance limitations for where they are truly lethal to a wild gobbler.  If you shoot birds within the true limit of the gun and ammo, I could care less what pellet size you use.  The problem is that we are convincing ourselves that it's OK to shoot gobblers at long distances just because the "pellet count" says the bird will die instantly.
> 
> When I take the safety off of my turkey gun, I want to kill that bird as cleanly as possible.  I'm not into knocking birds down and having to chase them from behind with the possibility of losing the bird.
> 
> To be honest with you, it is a personal thing with me.  I've killed enough turkeys over the years that killing another one is not as important to me as is convincing him come to me like Mother Nature says he shouldn't.  And when I do decide to shoot him, I want to make sure that he is in range for my gun, load and choke - and I mean really in range.
> 
> I have a customized turkey gun that is absolutely deadly at 70 yards, but I can assure you that I won't shoot one that far.  I did it once a few years back in Kentucky while filming my TV show - last afternoon - in the rain.  I won't make a habit out of doing that.  The hunt to me is getting him close and not hoping for a kill at long range.
> 
> Bottom line is this.  I love the outdoor chess match that is turkey hunting, and I respect this great bird enough that if I am going to take his life, I want to do it one on one and face to face with him.  No blind, no decoys - my woodsmanship and calling skills against his uncanny ability to stay alive when so many would want to kill and eat him.




You are a bit off on your "assumption" of tss.  TSS will make a true 40-50 yard 20 ga  gun.  TSS is primarily used in smaller gauges.  It makes.for a lighter gun with typically less recoil and generally better patterns that anything else....and extremely lethal.  Most that load TSS don't do it just to "count pellet holes". At nearly $70 a pound now, that's a bit expensive just to shoot at paper and count patterns.  Its loaded to make the best Turkey killing gun that you can have..and usually a 20 ga and smaller.  
Its also a new "journey". Its a satisfying journey to load your own shells and set up a gun and then kill with it.  The same for reloading rifle cartridges.  
I will take my little 9s over anything made..and will shoot them legal or not as long as I have shot available

 There are a lot more troubles than shot sizes for turkeys... killing 6, 8, 10 gobblers a spring is one and I'd bet most here know someone that has/does that.  Predators and timber practices are likely top though.  I have also talked to farmers that intentionally destryoy nests in fields and on edges when found.  Those things are out troubles.  Weather is another big factor is this...it affects everything in the ecosystem.. rains aren't good on nests...heat and fair weather bring on more bugs and such..ants kill young poults...rain will drown them as they will look up into it.  Weather is uncontrollable though


----------



## GTHunter007

In 2012, 2013 and 2014, the April, May and June rainfall totals have been substantially higher than the 30 year average.  Across MOST sections of the state.  

NWTF and every other wild turkey biologist will tell you wet weather and lower than normal temperatures adversely effect turkey brood success.  Both from the temperature change to the predation increase in wet weather due to scent.  

A hen turkey only needs to be bred 1 time to lay her entire clutch.  She can also re-nest if she loses them.  A gobbler gobbles to let hens knwo where he is.  As turkey hunters, we are trying to defy the laws of nature.  A hen turkey's instincts are to find a gobbler and breed to reproduce.  She is going to do that.  75-100% hens are going to attempt to nest.  Those who may not will be less than a year old.  

What I am getting at, is I strongly believe, much like whitetails, the females mission during breeding season is to get bred...and she will see to it that happens.  Regardless how far she must go.  

The number of gobblers killed this spring may effect next year's gobbling and noisy spring...but it should have very little effect on how many hens lay how many eggs.  Therefore...the fact that joe newby can hide in his double bull and shoot his Hoyt at a strutter focused on his DSD 20 yards out front matters very little in the grand scheme of why our turkey population is seemingly declining.  

Its a tough world out there for turkeys, from the moment the embryo is formed to the moment they die, everything is trying to kill them.  I always call them the "pringles" of the woods.  The grown male turkeys we hunters harvest barely register on the list of turkey deaths in a given 12 month period.

I just want to add to those against blinds and decoys...please don't climb a tree this fall hunting deer and claim to be good hunters.  That is EXACTLY the same as the argument you are making right now.


----------



## Gut_Pile

GTHunter007 said:


> I just want to add to those against blinds and decoys...please don't climb a tree this fall hunting deer and claim to be good hunters.  That is EXACTLY the same as the argument you are making right now.



No it is not. Hunting from a tree stand decreases the chance of you being detected from a deer. Just like wearing camo from head to toe decreases the chance of you being spotted by a turkey. 

A blind completely eliminates the turkeys ability to detect movement. Hunting from a tree stand does not eliminate a deers ability to smell you or spot you from the tree. 

Hunting from a blind for turkeys would be the equivalent of hunting from something that COMPLETELY eliminates a deers chance to smell you.


----------



## TenPtr

GTHunter007 said:


> In 2012, 2013 and 2014, the April, May and June rainfall totals have been substantially higher than the 30 year average.  Across MOST sections of the state.
> 
> NWTF and every other wild turkey biologist will tell you wet weather and lower than normal temperatures adversely effect turkey brood success.  Both from the temperature change to the predation increase in wet weather due to scent.
> 
> A hen turkey only needs to be bred 1 time to lay her entire clutch.  She can also re-nest if she loses them.  A gobbler gobbles to let hens knwo where he is.  As turkey hunters, we are trying to defy the laws of nature.  A hen turkey's instincts are to find a gobbler and breed to reproduce.  She is going to do that.  75-100% hens are going to attempt to nest.  Those who may not will be less than a year old.
> 
> What I am getting at, is I strongly believe, much like whitetails, the females mission during breeding season is to get bred...and she will see to it that happens.  Regardless how far she must go.
> 
> The number of gobblers killed this spring may effect next year's gobbling and noisy spring...but it should have very little effect on how many hens lay how many eggs.  Therefore...the fact that joe newby can hide in his double bull and shoot his Hoyt at a strutter focused on his DSD 20 yards out front matters very little in the grand scheme of why our turkey population is seemingly declining.
> 
> Its a tough world out there for turkeys, from the moment the embryo is formed to the moment they die, everything is trying to kill them.  I always call them the "pringles" of the woods.  The grown male turkeys we hunters harvest barely register on the list of turkey deaths in a given 12 month period.
> 
> I just want to add to those against blinds and decoys...please don't climb a tree this fall hunting deer and claim to be good hunters.  That is EXACTLY the same as the argument you are making right now.



I'm not here to argue.  Just state a few facts.  A turkey relies on vision and hearing.  When you take away vision ( pop up blind) a turkey literally has nothing.  They are not capable of recognizing a blind as a unnatural obstacle.... Much less what is inside. Why do you think the film industry relies so heavily upon blinds?? Because you can get away with anything inside of them and the birds haven't a clue.    A deer can see, smell, and hear.   A turkeys ability to sense danger from a popup blind is just like a deer's ability to sense danger from a spotlight out a truck window at night.   Turkeys CANT detect danger in a popup.  Deer..... Such a different story.   If you argue this, you clearly don't know what you are talking about.


----------



## GTHunter007

TenPtr said:


> I'm not here to argue.  Just state a few facts.  A turkey relies on vision and hearing.  When you take away vision ( pop up blind) a turkey literally has nothing.  They are not capable of recognizing a blind as a unnatural obstacle.... Much less what is inside. Why do you think the film industry relies so heavily upon blinds?? Because you can get away with anything inside of them and the birds haven't a clue.    A deer can see, smell, and hear.   A turkeys ability to sense danger from a popup blind is just like a deer's ability to sense danger from a spotlight out a truck window at night.   Turkeys CANT detect danger in a popup.  Deer..... Such a different story.   If you argue this, you clearly don't know what you are talking about.



You need to be careful...you are gonna have everyone on this site out buying a double bull tomorrow.


----------



## GTHunter007

spydermon said:


> You are a bit off on your "assumption" of tss.  TSS will make a true 40-50 yard 20 ga  gun.  TSS is primarily used in smaller gauges.  It makes.for a lighter gun with typically less recoil and generally better patterns that anything else....and extremely lethal.  Most that load TSS don't do it just to "count pellet holes". At nearly $70 a pound now, that's a bit expensive just to shoot at paper and count patterns.  Its loaded to make the best Turkey killing gun that you can have..and usually a 20 ga and smaller.
> Its also a new "journey". Its a satisfying journey to load your own shells and set up a gun and then kill with it.  The same for reloading rifle cartridges.
> I will take my little 9s over anything made..and will shoot them legal or not as long as I have shot available
> 
> There are a lot more troubles than shot sizes for turkeys... killing 6, 8, 10 gobblers a spring is one and I'd bet most here know someone that has/does that.  Predators and timber practices are likely top though.  I have also talked to farmers that intentionally destryoy nests in fields and on edges when found.  Those things are out troubles.  Weather is another big factor is this...it affects everything in the ecosystem.. rains aren't good on nests...heat and fair weather bring on more bugs and such..ants kill young poults...rain will drown them as they will look up into it.  Weather is uncontrollable though



This is simply not true...a long told myth.


----------



## rhbama3




----------



## GLS

Any ill effects rain has on poults would be caused by hypothermia and not drowning.  However, spydermon is spot on with everything else he says.  95% accuracy ain't bad.   Gil


----------



## MKW

Except that it don't take no TSS to make a 20ga a true 40-50yrd turkey gun. Heck, I've had a true 40-50yrd 20ga since 2005...long before Turkey Sniping Shot.


----------



## kmckinnie

rhbama3 said:


>



The turkey pro's just can't help themselfs Bammer Hey nice turkey & photo. Great Advey!


----------



## GTHunter007

TenPtr said:


> I'm not here to argue.  Just state a few facts.  A turkey relies on vision and hearing.  When you take away vision ( pop up blind) a turkey literally has nothing.  They are not capable of recognizing a blind as a unnatural obstacle.... Much less what is inside. Why do you think the film industry relies so heavily upon blinds?? Because you can get away with anything inside of them and the birds haven't a clue.    A deer can see, smell, and hear.   A turkeys ability to sense danger from a popup blind is just like a deer's ability to sense danger from a spotlight out a truck window at night.   Turkeys CANT detect danger in a popup.  Deer..... Such a different story.   If you argue this, you clearly don't know what you are talking about.



You never answered my main question.  



GTHunter007 said:


> But let me ask you this question.  If we as hunters only kill the males, the hens then have natural predators and habitat issues only to deal with.   Turkey survival relies on the success of each hen's brood from hatch to maturity.  Hunters do not affect that, not so far as it relates to how we hunt the spring gobbler.  Why then do you feel "method" or "techniques" used to kill a gobbler actually affect our population?  Do you think there are hens out there that do not lay eggs?  Do you think all the gobblers get killed every year?


----------



## Gut_Pile

Are you saying that the killing of gobblers does not effect the turkey population?


----------



## GTHunter007

Gut_Pile said:


> Are you saying that the killing of gobblers does not effect the turkey population?



Of course a dead animal taken from the whole is an effect.  What I am getting at really is that our spring pursuit of male turkeys is NOT affecting our cyclical fluctuation of turkey numbers.  Nor the cited reduction of turkey numbers across the state.  

The habits of wild turkeys is to be polygamist.  One gobbler will court and breed a large number of local hens.  Hierarchy is of great importance in the turkey world.  Both in the male and female corners of it.  The vast majority of males out there are unsuccessful at breeding, especially on a large scale.  Most every female is going to get bred regardless of what we as hunters do in their woods.  She can carry the sperm for up to 50 days as she lays eggs.  It only takes once and some jakes are successful at breeding.  Hens will find a way.  You will be hard pressed to find a publication citing hunter's pursuits of spring male turkeys for a decline in populations.  

Drawing the conclusion hunters chasing spring male turkeys is not to blame for turkey population ebbs and flows,  the argument against the use of any technique to kill said male turkey is mute and irrelevant as it pertains to protecting the resource.  

In Pennsylvania the fall turkey season has been proven to dictate the population trends, and they allow hens to be killed.  Their spring hunters/success rates are above ours and spring harvest is shown to not affect the following season's hunting.  However the fall season does.  
_*"Modern research has shown that spring gobbler hunting can provide maximum recreational opportunity to hunters with little impact on the turkey population."*_
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=596781&mode=2

What can be drawn as a conclusion of hunters being in the spring woods is that any given individual hunter's hunting experience/satisfaction can be affected by hunter numbers and success.  With easy explanations being pressure, bird education and the harvest of the local stud.  Concluding that since this bird is now dead the local hens will not nest is completely unfounded.


----------



## MKW

OK, I get it, but what happens if, over a 5 year period, 10 times as many gobblers get killed? That's what is happening now. I don't know if killing gobblers has any effect or not, but kill totals have certainly gone up exponentially and I wonder.


----------



## GTHunter007

MKW said:


> OK, I get it, but what happens if, over a 5 year period, 10 times as many gobblers get killed? That's what is happening now. I don't know if killing gobblers has any effect or not, but kill totals have certainly gone up exponentially and I wonder.



HUGE what if... and have they really?  
http://georgiawildlife.com/sites/de.../hunting/pdf/hunter_resources/Turkey data.pdf

2005
Licensed Resident Turkey Hunters 76,288
Total Turkey Harvest 42,777
Average Days Hunted (per hunter) 10.67

2006
Licensed Resident Turkey Hunters 56,939
Total Turkey Harvest 35,879
Average Days Hunted (per hunter) 10.22

2007
Licensed Resident Hunters 48,459
Total Harvest 21,577
Average days hunted/hunter 15.59

2008
Licensed Resident Hunters 49,327
Total Harvest 24,297
Average days hunted/hunter 10.06

2009
Licensed Resident Hunters 56,118
Total Harvest 27,323
Average days hunted/hunter 10.64

2010
Licensed Resident Hunters 47,275
Total Harvest 34,001
Average days hunted/hunter 11.46

2011
Licensed Resident Hunters 44,013
Total Harvest 26,516
Average days hunted/hunter 9.83

2012
Licensed Resident Hunters 56,736
Total Harvest 33,049
Average days hunted/hunter 10.61

2013
Licensed Resident Hunters 60,936
Total Harvest 35,000
Average days hunted/hunter 15.77

2014
Licensed Resident Hunters 52,982,
Total Harvest  33,000
Average days hunted/hunter 10.8


----------



## MKW

I really don't trust ANY government numbers, especially harvest numbers. They will NEVER get accurate harvest numbers. Surely you realize that??


----------



## GTHunter007

MKW said:


> I really don't trust ANY government numbers, especially harvest numbers. They will NEVER get accurate harvest numbers. Surely you realize that??



Fine, you don't like the science of surveys (most around here don't and I won't go into why these are okay for our management practices) but if we are losing our turkeys...how do we keep killing large numbers of birds?  Wouldn't it stand to reason if we were shooting off our birds the total numbers of kills would go down?  Not increase "exponentially" as you have put it?


----------



## kmckinnie

I realize that with out a serious turkey hunters imput he has no rights to say, just like voting. I got a card this year & filling it out.
I have a feeling this thread life has pasted its use & will have a lock before long.
There are 2 sides debating & ya'll have done great tellin your points. I have read most of it.
Good luck to yall huntin, be safe.
I'm done killed my 3 in about 3 or 4 weekends of hunting.
Will be with my wife this weekend & we will be R&G huntin. settin up in natures blinds at strut zones & funnel points where they walk, tring to call a ol biggen in.

TTYL my fellow turkey hunters. k


----------



## GTHunter007

kmckinnie said:


> I realize that with out a serious turkey hunters imput he has no rights to say, just like voting. I got a card this year & filling it out.
> I have a feeling this thread life has pasted its use & will have a lock before long.
> There are 2 sides debating & ya'll have done great tellin your points. I have read most of it.
> Good luck to yall huntin, be safe.
> I'm done killed my 3 in about 3 or 4 weekends of hunting.
> Will be with my wife this weekend & we will be R&G huntin. settin up in natures blinds at strut zones & funnel points where they walk, tring to call a ol biggen in.
> 
> TTYL my fellow turkey hunters. k



No reason to lock it...we have had a good clean discussion.  

Good luck to your wife.  Hope you finish her limit out.


----------



## GLS

MKW said:


> Except that it don't take no TSS to make a 20ga a true 40-50yrd turkey gun. Heck, I've had a true 40-50yrd 20ga since 2005...long before Turkey Sniping Shot.


That you have!  If memory serves, I believe you were once a disciple of Nitro Ray and shot his 1 7/16 oz. load of #7 before jumping on the Federal Hog Wash #7 load, neither of which are lead. : We all look for an "edge".  Some want just a little more "edge".  Unless one's hunting clothes, lead shells, gun and calls look like what the man in the below photo is wearing he is not truly "old school",  but more like “Reform School”.


----------



## kmckinnie

GTHunter007 said:


> No reason to lock it...we have had a good clean discussion.
> 
> Good luck to your wife.  Hope you finish her limit out.



I hope she gets one also, this is one of my honey do list things for her, then she is goin to make me take her fresh water fishen in the local rivers.


----------



## MKW

Yes sir...I went to Nitros when Environmetal messed up the Hevi 13 #6 shell in 2006. Before that though, I broke 150 with the Hevi 6s and would probably still be shooting them if they hadn't messed with them. 150 is more than enough to consistently kill turkeys.


----------



## MKW

All I'm saying is that the commercialization of turkey hunting and all the "kill with no skill" gadgets have made it much easier to kill turkeys. Meanwhile, turkeys have no way to increase their numbers to keep up with all the threats against them. In fact, with all the factors against the turkeys, it's a wonder that there are any left to hunt. 

I'm out........


----------



## GLS

MKW said:


> All I'm saying is that the commercialization of turkey hunting and all the "kill with no skill" gadgets have made it much easier to kill turkeys. Meanwhile, turkeys have no way to increase their numbers to keep up with all the threats against them. In fact, with all the factors against the turkeys, it's a wonder that there are any left to hunt.
> 
> I'm out........



Lot of truth in that, but they are still turkeys and have a way of foiling the best of plans and devices.


----------



## humdandy

GTHunter007 said:


> It has been mostly in recent years farmers have begun utilizing cover crops in between fall and summer major plantings.  These crops must be killed off and plowed under in May to make room and prep for the summer cash crop....guess what is hiding in that thick cover.  I truly believe farming practices like this have a terrible effect.  A cutting during May is death.



In our area this is not true, a large portion of our land is currently being fenced and cows put in to feed during the springtime.  I have no idea what this does on nesting, but I don't think it would be a good thing for eggs.

In the past year or two I have seen hundreds, maybe thousands of ac. being turned over to cattle farmers.  They pay higher prices per ac than farmers.

Many local farmers (who are not farming cattle) have also turned to no-plow, this time of the year they are spraying the weeds not mowing or harrowing.  Now this is NOT all the farmers, but I have seen more and more turn to this practice.

The turkey decline can't be attributed to one practice or another, I would believe more rain than anything else.  This is my .02.

Again, keep it 3 birds or drop it to 2.......makes no difference to me.


----------



## spydermon

Mkw is right with the hunter/harvest deal.  There now way possible to get an "accurate guess".  Many people won't slow down at #3.  

Blinds aren't the sole problem, technology isn't either...I'm going on a limb to say its a culmination of a little bit of all of it.  More hunters than ever, weather, and predators.  Our management practices for deer somewhat need to roll over to the turkey world.  We need to do all we can for the turkey population, like we do deer.  I know we can't necessarily judge the gobbler as we can a buck with a rack, but we cantell a mature bird from an immature one and can work the land to help all we can as well as predator control.


----------



## humdandy

I might add, it looks like more rain for Georgia this spring and summer!


----------



## GTHunter007

humdandy said:


> In our area this is not true, a large portion of our land is currently being fenced and cows put in to feed during the springtime.  I have no idea what this does on nesting, but I don't think it would be a good thing for eggs.
> 
> In the past year or two I have seen hundreds, maybe thousands of ac. being turned over to cattle farmers.  They pay higher prices per ac than farmers.
> 
> Many local farmers (who are not farming cattle) have also turned to no-plow, this time of the year they are spraying the weeds not mowing or harrowing.  Now this is NOT all the farmers, but I have seen more and more turn to this practice.
> 
> The turkey decline can't be attributed to one practice or another, I would believe more rain than anything else.  This is my .02.
> 
> Again, keep it 3 birds or drop it to 2.......makes no difference to me.



I would tend to think turkeys would be better off having cows on the same land then farmers changing the crops every so often.  

This no plow method is exactly the change and problem in new farming practices though.  If there is a cover crop between cash crops(which is what finely tuned no plow farming says do), you grow a grassy plant in winter right into late spring.  Some time in April or May, depending on the summer cash crop going in, this growth is laid down, cut or crimped to build the soil.  You provide turkeys a green spot to do their business, lay their eggs and bug their poults...only to snatch it from them when it is needed most.  Or run a machine over it while they are hiding in it.  Not good.  NWTF says do not mow, cut or spray from March 1st thru middle of June to avoid harming and killing nests and broods...new farming practices do not line up with this recommendation.  

I am with you though, I believe the problem is rain 10 fold versus any other issue.


----------



## spydermon

Numbers seem to be considerably down in the turkey challenge this year as well.  30 for week one and then a steady decline since.  Maybe its because some are hunting as hard as opening week or something.. I don't know that.  But the entry numbers seem low this year.


----------



## GTHunter007

spydermon said:


> Numbers seem to be considerably down in the turkey challenge this year as well.  30 for week one and then a steady decline since.  Maybe its because some are hunting as hard as opening week or something.. I don't know that.  But the entry numbers seem low this year.



Any flux in quality of hunting this spring is a result of the hatch from 2013 and beyond.  What we as hunters are looking for is the highest number of mature male turkeys in the population.  With bad hatches in 2012, 2013, 2014 and quite likely this season due to all the rain, our earliest opportunity for smoking hot spring woods will likely not even be here in the 2017 season.  But make no mistake about it...the weather has been and always will be the largest manipulator of our turkey numbers.  

So long as we keep the hens off the docket, turkey hunting in GA will be just fine.


----------



## humdandy

GTHunter007 said:


> I would tend to think turkeys would be better off having cows on the same land then farmers changing the crops every so often.
> 
> This no plow method is exactly the change and problem in new farming practices though.  If there is a cover crop between cash crops(which is what finely tuned no plow farming says do), you grow a grassy plant in winter right into late spring.  Some time in April or May, depending on the summer cash crop going in, this growth is laid down, cut or crimped to build the soil.  You provide turkeys a green spot to do their business, lay their eggs and bug their poults...only to snatch it from them when it is needed most.  Or run a machine over it while they are hiding in it.  Not good.  NWTF says do not mow, cut or spray from March 1st thru middle of June to avoid harming and killing nests and broods...new farming practices do not line up with this recommendation.
> 
> I am with you though, I believe the problem is rain 10 fold versus any other issue.



I know in the past 2-3 years most of the property bordering our club (1800 ac) has been fenced, some of it cleared, and cows put out to pasture........I bet they have fenced 800-1000 ac all around the club..........that and the rain the past 2 years have been the biggest change our club has seen.

Dogs, coyotes, coons and other predators have been present for ages...........don't think they can be blamed for the decrease in population.


----------



## NCHillbilly

humdandy said:


> In our area this is not true, a large portion of our land is currently being fenced and cows put in to feed during the springtime.  I have no idea what this does on nesting, but I don't think it would be a good thing for eggs.
> 
> In the past year or two I have seen hundreds, maybe thousands of ac. being turned over to cattle farmers.  They pay higher prices per ac than farmers.
> 
> Many local farmers (who are not farming cattle) have also turned to no-plow, this time of the year they are spraying the weeds not mowing or harrowing.  Now this is NOT all the farmers, but I have seen more and more turn to this practice.
> 
> The turkey decline can't be attributed to one practice or another, I would believe more rain than anything else.  This is my .02.
> 
> Again, keep it 3 birds or drop it to 2.......makes no difference to me.


Almost every acre of land in my county that isn't National forest, national park, or has a house sitting on it; is fenced in with cattle on it. There are turkeys everywhere, more and more every year. I see flocks of 20-30 or more from my porch several times a year. Hardly a week that I don't see turkeys when I'm just sitting there. Hear them gobbling every morning. Probably saw over a hundred from deer stands last year. They're starving everything else out. I think we need a fall season and a five-bird limit here.


----------



## GA DAWG

I think we need to shorten season here. Make it April 1st through May 1st.


----------



## turk2di

GTHunter007 said:


> Gotta love this forum for entertainment value when a real biological based question is asked.  You find out all you need to know about a man by their recommendations.  From the outlawing of decoys and blinds to the outlawing of killing jakes...speechless.  Over a turkey.  An animal that besides the grasshoppers they eat, is at the bottom of our food chain.
> 
> You try to take my old man's ability to kill a turkey away and him and you may fight...just sayin.  Taking away blinds and decoys so people are less successful in the woods    Why not just say what you mean...I don't want anybody killing turkeys until I got mine.  Even then they better leave me plenty for next year.
> 
> ITS NOT JUST ABOUT YOU!!!!!  GET OVER YOURSELF YOU GREEDY lshgdljkghsjkgsafjkg!
> 
> I practice QTM...8" beards are required to shoot.


Amen that's all their worried about, their hunting!


----------



## birddog52

Yes we can thank those info commercial hunting shows for alot of the baiting plus folks just lazy never took the time to learn how to really hunt just want to kill something and be quick about it too


----------



## GLS

turk2di said:


> Amen that's all their worried about, their hunting!



Too bad about the passenger pigeon.  If folks worried a little more and showed concern about how they were hunted back when, places like Pigeon Fork, Pigeon Mountain, Pigeon Island, etc., might have a little more context in their names.  There are at least 16 places in Georgia named after the bird that was hunted into extinction.
Am I worried about my hunting?  Anyone who doesn't has a short memory about the state of the wild turkey 50 years ago in 90 percent of the country.


----------



## 01Foreman400

GTHunter007 said:


> Gotta love this forum for entertainment value when a real biological based question is asked.  You find out all you need to know about a man by their recommendations.  From the outlawing of decoys and blinds to the outlawing of killing jakes...speechless.  Over a turkey.  An animal that besides the grasshoppers they eat, is at the bottom of our food chain.
> 
> You try to take my old man's ability to kill a turkey away and him and you may fight...just sayin.  Taking away blinds and decoys so people are less successful in the woods    Why not just say what you mean...I don't want anybody killing turkeys until I got mine.  Even then they better leave me plenty for next year.
> 
> ITS NOT JUST ABOUT YOU!!!!!  GET OVER YOURSELF YOU GREEDY lshgdljkghsjkgsafjkg!



Nailed it!


----------



## GTHunter007

GLS said:


> Too bad about the passenger pigeon.  If folks worried a little more and showed concern about how they were hunted back when, places like Pigeon Fork, Pigeon Mountain, Pigeon Island, etc., might have a little more context in their names.  There are at least 16 places in Georgia named after the bird that was hunted into extinction.
> Am I worried about my hunting?  Anyone who doesn't has a short memory about the state of the wild turkey 50 years ago in 90 percent of the country.



We can't kill hens...stop making a mountain out of flat dirt...


----------



## GLS

GTHunter007 said:


> We can't kill hens...stop making a mountain out of flat dirt...



It doesn’t take a PhD in The Obvious that hunting impacts turkey populations.  To limit the kill and insure stable flock sizes, rules and regulations control season time and length, number of birds killed per hunter and methods of hunting.  While it is true that “we don’t kill hens”, it is more of The Obvious that males are integral to the population and there exists a known ratio of hens to gobblers needed to insure stable flock sizes.   It is not wise to allow “every man for himself”  kill as many mature gobblers as possible in a spring season under the notion that hens are still impregnated or rely on this year’s jakes to impregnate next years hens.   Literature suggests that a gobbler services up to 10 hens.  Not every egg-laying hen successfully raises a brood.  Among those hens will be jennys which can be notoriously bad nesters. Season limits aren’t set with the goal of insuring every turkey hunter a three bird limit.  If Georgia populations are decreasing and causing concern, and I leave it to the biologists to decide that and why, we can either limit the season length and when it begins, hunter limits or methods of hunting apart from political concerns.  Disregarding ethics, if methods of hunting are sacred, i.e., pop up blinds, decoys, then what is wrong with baiting if all ensures a successful “hunt”?   Historic experience.  It’s too easy.  Too many birds would be killed.  Hunters can be concerned with matters other than personal greed when it comes to concern over individual limits, season lengths and methods of hunting.  It’s not making a mountain out of flat dirt to be concerned about the future based upon what has happened in the past.  Ignoring the past is sticking one’s head into the flat dirt.


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## kmckinnie

Those leafy suits are better thana pop-up blind, maybe we should band them also.Shotguns with scopes & red dots don't help either. How bout can't hunt WMAs except Fri. Sat. & Sunday.
Maybe a lotto system for the whole state allowing only a numbered amount. 
Hope I didn't sound silly.


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## GLS

SC doesn't allow wma hunting on Sunday, never has,  and if what I've read is correct, they are going from a 5 bird limit to a 3 bird limit next year.  If wearing a leafy suit is better than a pop up blind, wear one, get up and stretch and scratch what needs scratching while working a bird and let us know how you did.   How about resident hunting only? I don't need no stinkin' Osceola.


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## kmckinnie

That sounds silly, the osceola bird is from fla,about wma's closed there (S.C.) thats there We talkin ga 3 bird limit. I believe u tried to get under my skin on some of the remarks  I believe if u scratch an he sees it even in the blind hes gone. Try an move the blind an all over the hill when he takes that route or cut him off thru the woods with that blind. lols
The leafy suit has great advantages....


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## GLS

kmckinnie said:


> That sounds silly, the osceola bird is from fla,about wma's closed there (S.C.) thats there We talkin ga 3 bird limit. I believe u tried to get under my skin on some of the remarks  I believe if u scratch an he sees it even in the blind hes gone. Try an move the blind an all over the hill when he takes that route or cut him off thru the woods with that blind. lols
> The leafy suit has great advantages....



I know where the Osceola is and I know where Tallahassee is. You missed my point about helping out Georgia birds.  Stay home.   As for the pop-ups, I've seen the videos and see folks walking around and still killing birds.  Handing each other the bow after one kills a bird and the other killing one, too. I also hear a lot of music playing in the videos.  I don't know how they get that many musicians inside those tents, but apparently they do.  And the turkeys don't seem to mind the music, either.  It still amazes me how they get the birds to get into slow motion when they shoot a bow.  Most turkeys I see are herky-jerky and do the haul abacus when it gets close to fan hitting time.  Some of these pop-ups must have garages based on the  tent erectors/hunters arriving to the Big Top erecting location on ATV's.   Just try and get that many folks inside one ghillie suit.


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## GTHunter007

GLS said:


> It doesn’t take a PhD in The Obvious that hunting impacts turkey populations.  To limit the kill and insure stable flock sizes, rules and regulations control season time and length, number of birds killed per hunter and methods of hunting.  While it is true that “we don’t kill hens”, it is more of The Obvious that males are integral to the population and there exists a known ratio of hens to gobblers needed to insure stable flock sizes.   It is not wise to allow “every man for himself”  kill as many mature gobblers as possible in a spring season under the notion that hens are still impregnated or rely on this year’s jakes to impregnate next years hens.   Literature suggests that a gobbler services up to 10 hens.  Not every egg-laying hen successfully raises a brood.  Among those hens will be jennys which can be notoriously bad nesters. Season limits aren’t set with the goal of insuring every turkey hunter a three bird limit.  If Georgia populations are decreasing and causing concern, and I leave it to the biologists to decide that and why, we can either limit the season length and when it begins, hunter limits or methods of hunting apart from political concerns.  Disregarding ethics, if methods of hunting are sacred, i.e., pop up blinds, decoys, then what is wrong with baiting if all ensures a successful “hunt”?   Historic experience.  It’s too easy.  Too many birds would be killed.  Hunters can be concerned with matters other than personal greed when it comes to concern over individual limits, season lengths and methods of hunting.  It’s not making a mountain out of flat dirt to be concerned about the future based upon what has happened in the past.  Ignoring the past is sticking one’s head into the flat dirt.



First off, I don't disagree the biologists should and could limit season dates or limits...IF they are concerned.  But please quote me a GA biologist who is concerned a limit/date change is needed to preserve us having turkeys to hunt?  Maybe he exists...I have not read it yet.  

Right now the only thing I hear are the same individual spikes of hunters used to hearing turkeys gobble every morning blame their lack of "hunting experience in 2015" on other people killing too many birds.  Completely overlooking the fact that weather the past 3 years has been EXACTLY that which NWFT considers the biggest threat to successful turkey hatches...rain and temps.  Turkey numbers are cyclical...nation wide.  

What has happened in the past, you know, the reason turkeys had to be trapped and reintroduced to the state, was entire destruction of flocks utilizing various tactics that are/were no where near sportsman like.  These birds were pillaged in groups from 10-25 at a single moment.  No sex or age group was off limits.  Those days are gone and we as hunters now have them under our care.  Please cite me one modern example in North America where a DNR regulated and monitored species hunted for sport has been jeopardized?  You say we must recognize what has happened in the past...I say we have 2 months to kill 3 male gobblers, not over bait and with shotguns/bows and hens are off limits...I'd say the past has been recognized.  

Fact is...with the crazy wet spring we had, this years hatch could be in jeopardy as well.  It could very easily be 2018 season before we have crazy smoking hot turkey woods across the state again.


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## kmckinnie

GLS said:


> I know where the Osceola is and I know where Tallahassee is. You missed my point about helping out Georgia birds.  Stay home.   As for the pop-ups, I've seen the videos and see folks walking around and still killing birds.  Handing each other the bow after one kills a bird and the other killing one, too. I also hear a lot of music playing in the videos.  I don't know how they get that many musicians inside those tents, but apparently they do.  And the turkeys don't seem to mind the music, either.  It still amazes me how they get the birds to get into slow motion when they shoot a bow.  Most turkeys I see are herky-jerky and do the haul abacus when it gets close to fan hitting time.  Some of these pop-ups must have garages based on the  tent erectors/hunters arriving to the Big Top erecting location on ATV's.   Just try and get that many folks inside one ghillie suit.



I didn't miss your point about birds staying home. I was just thinkin which house to move into in Ga. that I own & rent out. Tallahassee is 30ty miles from Ga. I work in Tally town. TTYL k


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## GLS

If you will re-read my post, I didn't say that there was a decrease.  I said leave it up to the biologists to decide "that and why".   As for any dnr regulated species being in jeopardy, look at the plight of the wild bobwhite quail.  Their numbers have plummeted in most of their natural range and there is no single causation.   South Carolina eliminated fall hunting for turkeys because of numerous concerns all of them related to over harvesting.  Yes, the killing of hens was a factor, but not the sole reason.
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/fallseason.html


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## GLS

kmckinnie said:


> I didn't miss your point about birds staying home. I was just thinkin which house to move into in Ga. that I own & rent out. Tallahassee is 30ty miles from Ga. I work in Tally town. TTYL k


I don't think you want to move 30 miles to Georgia and pay Georgia state income taxes. I wouldn't if I were you.   Gil


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## kmckinnie

GLS said:


> I don't think you want to move 30 miles to Georgia and pay Georgia state income taxes. I wouldn't if I were you.   Gil



That is why I hang my hat 2 miles from the Ga. line for now.


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## 01Foreman400

If everyone would stay in their own state we'd have more birds.


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## kmckinnie

You think that would help some of the folks kill one, having more birds. LOLs


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## 01Foreman400

kmckinnie said:


> You think that would help some of the folks kill one, having more birds. LOLs


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## GLS

kmckinnie said:


> That is why I hang my hat 2 miles from the Ga. line for now.


You live in the prettiest part of Florida as far as I'm concerned.  Quincy, Havana, Miccosukee & Monticello are where time stood still.  Gil


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## Nicodemus

GLS said:


> You live in the prettiest part of Florida as far as I'm concerned.  Quincy, Havana, Miccosukee & Monticello are where time stood still.  Gil





Those places and also The Forgotten Coast. I spend a good bit of time there.


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## Killdee

straightshooter said:


> Glad to.  I am judging by the quickness of your question to my post that you're a TSS guy.  I get it.  Smaller pellets mean lots more of them to count in a target at whatever crazy range some guys want to shoot, and there are lots of guys into pellet count these days.  I don't have anything against TSS, HeviShot or any of the lead alternative loads.  I just want guys to understand that they aren't a cure all for shooting at gobblers at extreme ranges.
> 
> As I said, I'm an old school guy.  I don't believe in shooting at turkeys at 80-100 yards like some suggest here.  And let's face it, if you're shooting a conventional turkey load of 4, 5 or 6, you're not going to put many pellets in a target, much less in the head and neck of a bird at those distances.  Now, you can go to really small pellets like 8s and 9s, and you can get the pellet count up a bit.  The problem is that regardless of the type of shot used, small, lighter weight pellets bleed off speed and energy more quickly than do larger pellets.  I've read all of the TSS stuff and I get where those who push it are coming from.  I'm simply not comfortable shooting a bunch of tiny pellets at a 20 pound bird that far away.
> 
> Of course lead pellets are even worse when it comes to performance.  They really bleed of speed and energy once out of the gun, and small lead pellets do have distance limitations for where they are truly lethal to a wild gobbler.  If you shoot birds within the true limit of the gun and ammo, I could care less what pellet size you use.  The problem is that we are convincing ourselves that it's OK to shoot gobblers at long distances just because the "pellet count" says the bird will die instantly.
> 
> When I take the safety off of my turkey gun, I want to kill that bird as cleanly as possible.  I'm not into knocking birds down and having to chase them from behind with the possibility of losing the bird.
> 
> To be honest with you, it is a personal thing with me.  I've killed enough turkeys over the years that killing another one is not as important to me as is convincing him come to me like Mother Nature says he shouldn't.  And when I do decide to shoot him, I want to make sure that he is in range for my gun, load and choke - and I mean really in range.
> 
> I have a customized turkey gun that is absolutely deadly at 70 yards, but I can assure you that I won't shoot one that far.  I did it once a few years back in Kentucky while filming my TV show - last afternoon - in the rain.  I won't make a habit out of doing that.  The hunt to me is getting him close and not hoping for a kill at long range.
> 
> Bottom line is this.  I love the outdoor chess match that is turkey hunting, and I respect this great bird enough that if I am going to take his life, I want to do it one on one and face to face with him.  No blind, no decoys - my woodsmanship and calling skills against his uncanny ability to stay alive when so many would want to kill and eat him.




I have a customized turkey gun that is absolutely deadly at 70 yards, but I can assure you that I won't shoot one that far.  I did it once a few years back in Kentucky while filming my TV show - last afternoon - in the rain.  I won't make a habit out of doing that.  The hunt to me is getting him close and not hoping for a kill at long range.  

Let me get this straight, your gun will kill at 70yards,you can assure us that you wont shoot 1 that far, yet you did because it was on a TV show. 
This is the very reason I never watch hunting shows anymore.

Like someone else mentioned, the majority of TSS shooters are shooting this superior shot because we want to still be able to cleanly kill a Tom at normal ranges,(40) and carry a much lighter lower recoil shotgun and still have more margin of error for a slight misjudggement in range.  Also I now have a consistantly patterning shell without worring about what Hevi or Federal will change next year.I have never even considered shooting at a Tom over 40 but have misjudged a couple that were slightly more. Every Tom I have killed with TSS have all been quite a bit under 40 and I have never had a bird not flop a bit till I started using TSS.
I also think most folks who go to the trouble of loading their own shells are less likely to shoot outlandish distances and wound turkeys than a guy who reads 70 yards on a box of shells and thinks he actually can.

Leave the season as is, no good reason to change bag limit or make additional restrictions.


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## straightshooter

Killdee said:


> I have a customized turkey gun that is absolutely deadly at 70 yards, but I can assure you that I won't shoot one that far.  I did it once a few years back in Kentucky while filming my TV show - last afternoon - in the rain.  I won't make a habit out of doing that.  The hunt to me is getting him close and not hoping for a kill at long range.
> 
> Let me get this straight, your gun will kill at 70yards,you can assure us that you wont shoot 1 that far, yet you did because it was on a TV show.
> This is the very reason I never watch hunting shows anymore.
> 
> Like someone else mentioned, the majority of TSS shooters are shooting this superior shot because we want to still be able to cleanly kill a Tom at normal ranges,(40) and carry a much lighter lower recoil shotgun and still have more margin of error for a slight misjudggement in range.  Also I now have a consistantly patterning shell without worring about what Hevi or Federal will change next year.I have never even considered shooting at a Tom over 40 but have misjudged a couple that were slightly more. Every Tom I have killed with TSS have all been quite a bit under 40 and I have never had a bird not flop a bit till I started using TSS.
> I also think most folks who go to the trouble of loading their own shells are less likely to shoot outlandish distances and wound turkeys than a guy who reads 70 yards on a box of shells and thinks he actually can.
> 
> Leave the season as is, no good reason to change bag limit or make additional restrictions.



As I mentioned, I totally misread the distance in the rain.  This was an open field with nothing to judge distance by.  This was a 24+ pound bird.  When I first saw him, he was about 45 yards away.  Took too long to get the camera on him and he was walking to the left and toward the edge of the food plot.  Was my mistake.  I'll admit that.  Fortunately the gun made a very clean kill.  I know the limits of my turkey gun, and I was certain that I would kill the bird, but I was very surprised at the distance when we stepped it off.  Never shot one that far before or since that one time, and have no interest in doing so.  Passed up a huge Osceola gobbler at that same distance last season on camera.  Knew I could kill him, but elected not to because of the distance.


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## Gaswamp

Killdee said:


> I have a customized turkey gun that is absolutely deadly at 70 yards, but I can assure you that I won't shoot one that far.  I did it once a few years back in Kentucky while filming my TV show - last afternoon - in the rain.  I won't make a habit out of doing that.  The hunt to me is getting him close and not hoping for a kill at long range.
> 
> Let me get this straight, your gun will kill at 70yards,you can assure us that you wont shoot 1 that far, yet you did because it was on a TV show.
> This is the very reason I never watch hunting shows anymore.
> 
> Like someone else mentioned, the majority of TSS shooters are shooting this superior shot because we want to still be able to cleanly kill a Tom at normal ranges,(40) and carry a much lighter lower recoil shotgun and still have more margin of error for a slight misjudggement in range.  Also I now have a consistantly patterning shell without worring about what Hevi or Federal will change next year.I have never even considered shooting at a Tom over 40 but have misjudged a couple that were slightly more. Every Tom I have killed with TSS have all been quite a bit under 40 and I have never had a bird not flop a bit till I started using TSS.
> I also think most folks who go to the trouble of loading their own shells are less likely to shoot outlandish distances and wound turkeys than a guy who reads 70 yards on a box of shells and thinks he actually can.
> 
> Leave the season as is, no good reason to change bag limit or make additional restrictions.



granted there are more misses with lead, but I do read about more misses with TSS on a couple of other forums than expected


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## humdandy

Hammer Spank said:


> What do you think?  Should it be raised?  Lowered?
> 
> I know that killing gobblers doesn't have a whole lot of affect on the total population but there are a LOT more turkey hunters than there were ten years ago and the use of blinds and realistic decoys is adding some gobblers to the frying pan.  There has obviously been a decline in turkeys in the last ten years that we cannot contribute to hunting (I believe it's probably just spring weather and nothing more) but how many Longbeards are really surviving through the year these days?  I know that on my local club (800 or so acres), me and another guy pretty well kill the majority of gobblers on the club every season.
> 
> What ya think?



If you say killing gobblers does not have an effect on the population, then set the limit at one per day for the season.


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## goblr77

Son said:


> I vote, leave things alone. Don't make turkey hunting so restrictive that we lose hunters, we need the numbers. Don't know about others hunting areas, but in mine we police our own. Three gobblers is the limit. I limit myself to one per day, just a way of making my season last longer.
> The only thing i see that's having a negative effect on our turkey population is predators. Getting hens on the nest at night, and catching gobblers while strutting. I often find feathers and turkey bones in the woods, and we didn't throw em there. My beef is Georgia has a season on Racoons, Bobcats and possums. Those three help coyotes keep the turkey population down. A wet nesting season does damage also.  Noticed some post go from the extreme to not. Lets all get together and realize there is an average that is best for everyone who hunts turkeys without shoving a personal agenda.




Son, I'll have to disagree with you. We don't need more hunters. I hunt the same counties as you and the number of people hunting turkeys has increased tenfold since I started in the mid 90's. I had several farms to myself for years and now it's like hunting public land. The farmers' sons, nephews, cousins, daughter's boyfriends, etc. are all trying to hunt turkeys. Most of them can't make a decent note on a call but they're killing birds through the use of blinds and full strut decoys. I think the only predator that's really putting a big dent in the turkey population is the wild hog. We've always had coons, coyotes, & cats but the hogs just got out of control the past several years or so.


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## Gaswamp

01Foreman400 said:


> If everyone would stay in their own state we'd have more birds.



I am hoping I get to go out of state more in the future


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## antharper

Gaswamp said:


> I am hoping I get to go out of state more in the future



Me to !!!


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## cumberland

*limit*

I would like a 1 bird limit. You would hear a lot of gobbling.


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## JWT

I hate turkeys, they've cost me a lot of $!!


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## kiltman

I would support a lower limit.  I also think some of the WMA's should have a limit set up depending on the number of hunters and the turkey population.


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## Toddmann

I think I am gonna stick with the 3 bird limit. You can always lower your own personal limit, you don't have to wait on the government to tell you to do it.


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## elfiii

Toddmann said:


> I think I am gonna stick with the 3 bird limit. You can always lower your own personal limit, you don't have to wait on the government to tell you to do it.



That sounds a lot like reasonable common sense. I'm not sure if it's allowed.

I'm 0 fer for the last 3 years so it doesn't matter what you set the limit at. I have called in some birds for others though.


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## M Sharpe

Personally, I'd like to see it go back to 2. Whether it be 2 or 3 bird limit, it is those that kill 5,6,7 and think nothing about it. One of the flaws with the reporting system is they give you 72 hours to turn him in. Game warden stops you coming out...not big deal, you've got 3 days to turn him in. Usually the guy that kills over the limit is the same guy that's not going to report them to begin with. I would definitely like to see a tag attached, dates punched out, no matter what the limit is!! Guy get stopped and tag not punched, take the turkey and issue a stiff fine!!
I know a guy that was hunting on a government facility and killed a bird. Game warden hears the shot and comes looking. Pulls up while the guy is loading him in the truck. He checks the bird out then he notices two other beards on the guys dashboard. He proceeds to tell him he'd better not see him back down there anymore that season. The guy calls me asked me what he should do. HUH???? Well, the limit is 3, so what do you think???


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## kmckinnie

U have to fill the spot on your lic. Right away. 
I guess if there is a way. There is a will.


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## M Sharpe

You still have to have a confirmation number after the 72 hours. "Oh, I was supposed to fill that out in ink??" Kinda like the guy that told me a lot of people didn't know anything about it!! Really!! What did they think all that was down on the bottom of the license and all that writing.....?? They could still issue the tags on the bottom of the license. It's not like it is costing them anything to print them.


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## Nicodemus

M Sharpe said:


> You still have to have a confirmation number after the 72 hours. "Oh, I was supposed to fill that out in ink??" They could still issue the tags on the bottom of the license. It's not like it is costing them anything to print them.





If I kill a weekend bird, I have to wait till Monday to call in and get my confirmation number. I don`t have a smart phone and wouldn`t know how to use one if I did. 

I`m not saying it`s a good or bad thing with these new regulations, but down in this part of the country, there`s still some of old timers who don`t use smart phones or have computers at home.


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## kmckinnie

Well I guess we need every hunt to have a gw with us. No gw to hunt with U no hunting. 
It's the best system we got as of now. The poacher will always be there.


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## kmckinnie

Nicodemus said:


> If I kill a weekend bird, I have to wait till Monday to call in and get my confirmation number. I don`t have a smart phone and wouldn`t know how to use one if I did.
> 
> I`m not saying it`s a good or bad thing with these new regulations, but down in this part of the country, there`s still some of old timers who don`t use smart phones or have computers at home.



True about that. It's all about honest hunters.


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## wvdawg

Toddmann said:


> I think I am gonna stick with the 3 bird limit. You can always lower your own personal limit, you don't have to wait on the government to tell you to do it.



Have to agree with Todd.  If my local conditions dictate fewer harvests then I need to regulate myself.


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## M Sharpe

Nicodemus said:


> If I kill a weekend bird, I have to wait till Monday to call in and get my confirmation number. I don`t have a smart phone and wouldn`t know how to use one if I did.
> 
> I`m not saying it`s a good or bad thing with these new regulations, but down in this part of the country, there`s still some of old timers who don`t use smart phones or have computers at home.



That is the reason for the tag....mandate turning them in at the end of the season.....Even if you have a smart phone, you don't always have cell service......

kmckinnie, that's what I've said all along! They won't ever catch all of the criminals!! What ever they do it will be on the honor system!


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## Gaswamp

ryanwhit said:


> I hate - absolutely hate - the one bird a day rule in AL.  I have never killed 2 turkeys from the same setup, but I have killed 2 in one day a couple of times.  When I go hunting these days, I tend to dedicate the whole day to it.  I've made plans to be away from work, family, etc, and spent time and money like water to get to wherever I am.  I don't want to have to quit if I shoot one early.  I want to take him to the truck and go back to the woods.



good point...hopefully one of your youngins tags along with u one day.


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## ryanwhit

Gaswamp said:


> good point...hopefully one of your youngins tags along with u one day.



Hopefully both of them!


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## Miguel Cervantes

To the topic question. I'd rather have a 3 bird limit, but have a split season. 2 birds in the spring and a fall season with a 1 bird limit.


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## Timber1

There's a 3 bird limit?
Who made up that crazy rule?


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## antharper

I think it's just right !


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## Timber1

antharper said:


> I think it's just right !



Yeah, 3 is good. Getting a limit is a lotta work. I was just messing around on my post.


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## DRBugman85

hoppie said:


> keep the 3 but put a 1 bird per day limit.


this


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## HalOutdoors

what good does a  1 bird a day limit matter if 3 die in the end any way,not everybody has the chance to step out most mornings and kill one,if you get the chance take it and if you get another a few hours later take it too.same number dies in the especially stupid if your just visiting or its your only chance of the season to hunt


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## antharper

I will kill 2 together and not think twice about it , and have done it several times, and still get to hunt all season , there's plenty of turkey hunters and friends and kids that can't kill a turkey and need some help !


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