4th highest harvest recorded

[Andy S.]

Despite all of the crazy and unusual things many of us witnessed this spring, hunters across the state did pretty good in the turkey woods. Link here tells more.

http://news.tn.gov/node/8865

 

[catman529]

Maury County again was the top county with 1,036 birds harvest up from the 2011 total of 949.

yup..... that's why I love hunting there

 

[Gravey]

 

[REN]

wow and thats not counting the 17 i didnt reports...shhhhhhhh













obviously kidding.

 

[muddyboots]

The article says they are happy with the harvest numbers which i think is sad. Hunting here blows compared to ten years ago. dont get me wrong u can still kill em but man was it fun to hear 15 a morning.

 

[Grizzly Johnson]

2 bird limit and no fall hunting for 5-6 years might help spread em back out and populate better.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

The article says they are happy with the harvest numbers which i think is sad. Hunting here blows compared to ten years ago. dont get me wrong u can still kill em but man was it fun to hear 15 a morning.

Yep

 

[Setterman]

I despise the very idea of fall hunting and shooting hens. However, I don't think enough birds are harvested to make a tinkers dam one way or the other. I tried it once, and thought it was a stretch to even consider it turkey hunting, there was no challenge to me in calling in a bird which has only been alive for a few months, and is desperate to find its friends.

Our turkey population is fine. I drive roughly 1000 miles per week, and see generally the same amount of birds year in and year out. However, some areas in this state should have had their regs adjusted following the freak weather events recently. Leaving the regs the same didn't make much sense to me, but then again I don't know all the details.

We probably don't have the birds that other states do, or have the birds we could if things were tweaked here and there. Overall, hunting in TN is very good on average, and could be a little better maybe with a little tweaking, and a little trigger management on the jakes.

 

[FARMTOFIELD]

Populations might be good elsewhere but lawrence county is desolate of turkeys ive seen more promise this year than the last 5 years but its kind of discouraging when i used to hear 10 or 15 birds a morning.

 

[REN]

The article says they are happy with the harvest numbers which i think is sad. Hunting here blows compared to ten years ago. dont get me wrong u can still kill em but man was it fun to hear 15 a morning.

WOW, an almost all time high for state population and people are still not happy with things.

 

[muddyboots]

The article says they are happy with the harvest numbers which i think is sad. Hunting here blows compared to ten years ago. dont get me wrong u can still kill em but man was it fun to hear 15 a morning.

WOW, an almost all time high for state population and people are still not happy with things.

Yea hard to be happy when on a typical morning 10 years ago hear average of 15 birds any morning. A great morning now would be 4. Im no biologist but something is different. To be honest they maybe easier to kill now but gosh when they are gobbling every direction it sure was fun.

 

[Andy S.]

WOW, an almost all time high for state population and people are still not happy with things.

This is inevitable when an agency has to administer an area of 27 million acres and all of the self righteous hunters that it encompasses (not a slam on you Muddyboots or anyone else here, just a broad based opinion of the general public these days). Not being a horses rear, but REN, you are fortunate enough, based on your geographic location, to hunt some of the best turkey hunting counties in the entire state. I can see why you and other turkey hunters in your immediate area would be happy, regardless of the statewide regs or the statewide harvest. I bet if you were confined to turkey hunt in some of the less fortunate counties, say Tipton county where I live or even worse, Crockett county, your outlook would be much different, most likely much more bleak, and your opinion much more humble when listening/responding to others feedback. Just something to consider when replying to others opinions and observations of their turkey hunting experience while afield. Many of us do not reside in these mecca turkey hunting counties, as much as we wish we did during the spring.

 

[muddyboots]

No worries Andy.

 

[REN]

Andy, i understand what you are saying however there is no perfect world here. No matter who or how was incharge of the turkey population here there will be areas that are not going to support a large population of them. Even IL has places that are not so good for deer hunting.

my point is the state of TN as a whole is at an all time high population and ranked as one of the top states for turkey hunting and yet people still b!tch at the TWRA as if it is there fault Tipton County has had a few down years. Its not direct knock on muddyboots but good gosh we have an awesome state to hunt in and yet people still find a way to complain about it or blame it on TWRA, Coyotes or some other variable they are just guessing at.

 

[Lawrence]

It was a good season for alot of hunters

 

[muddyboots]

I would beleive my area would not support a large population of turkeys if it never had but ten years ago i would have put Hardin County Tennessee up against anywhere in the USA. Not so today. What changed? I dont know. I used to say it was the 4 bird limit but i have since dismissed that as now i see way more gobblers than hens. Ten years ago sitting in a fall bow stand it was a sight to see 150 hens going to roost. Maybe we had too many back then. Im just saying ten years ago there were alot and i mean alot more turkeys in my area than now. Im not complaining because i know regs will not be changed. Heck even our local wardens cant explain it. Ren im gonna guess the hunting in your area is what ours was ten years ago. Enjoy it man because it may not last forever.

 

[REN]

Actually it's not what it was 10 years ago it is much less. However knowing population control and how many my areas can handle says how many I kill each year.

Maybe 10 years ago the population was to high for the habitat they had. As in bad years like this year you will have good years and every so often awesome years.

My point is no matter what it was or is some people will find something to cOmplain about. Your original post said it was "sad" for the TWRA to be happy with 4th best. Heck why shouldn't they be happy with that in an odd year like this year was.

 

[Andy S.]

No worries Andy.

That comment was not directed at you at all, just wanted to make that clear for a second time. To better explain, I have a few buds I grew up with who slam TWRA every chance they get because turkey hunting in our parts is poor at best, or better yet, it is sub par from their personal expectations. They are some of the basis for my opinion and they are lifelong friends who just will not see the BIG picture. The BIG picture is the fact TWRA has to manage the State's wildlife on a macro scale, not my bud's 100 acres or my 22 acres, on a micro scale.

 

[Andy S.]

It was a good season for alot of hunters

Yes it was; a strange one for some, but a good one for many.

 

[muddyboots]

Yea i didnt word it very well. I just have a problem when someone is satisfied with a result when it could be much better. I could be completely off base here. I guess its sad too me because i remember the good ole days of turkey hunting around my home.