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A checking station observation

scn said:
Maybe not, but, it is at least better to try something than continuing to do nothing like the TWRA biologists had done the past decade as the population cratered.

Keeping the season the same along with a four bird limit while the population went off the cliff shows you how much the agency biologists cared about the turkey flock.
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So sad. I don't understand what they were thinking. Maybe because the had never experienced zero turkeys across most of the state?
 
Huntaholic said:
I stopped by and got my license this morning at one of the few places left that still check animals in and while there I noticed that there were some really older age class birds being checked in. Every bird I saw come in was 3+ yrs old and the guys manning the station said every bird that came in all morning was the same, older age class birds. PERHAPS delaying the opener for the rest of us MIGHT end up being more beneficial than we are willing to admit!
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I hate to hijack your thread, but I wonder how Catoosa turkeys are doing now.
I planned my vacations around hunting there in the 90's. Toughest to kill birds on the planet too.
 
recurve60# said:
I wouldn't mind going to Catoosa again to see if I still got it.😉
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Come on up when you want to get humbled :D ! There's a few still on the 80k acres. But as is the case on any public land, if one of the normally tight-lipped birds cuts loose, he is soon surrounded by hunters from all sides.

It should be the perfect case study in how a delayed opening day can affect populations, since it has always opened a week later than the statewide opener. But, it has not resulted in a growing population and has remained relatively steady, although there has been a dip in recent years.
 
recurve60# said:
I wouldn't mind going to Catoosa again to see if I still got it.😉
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I havent been to Catoosa since they changed the limits around, allowing us to kill all our birds on the statewide season. Prior to that, if you wanted to kill a limit, 2 of them had to be WMA birds. I agree with you 100%, if you THINK you can kill turkeys, go to Catoosa and prove it! Thats where I started turkey hunting in 1984. At that time there wasnt a turkey within 50 miles of me at home.
 
Huntaholic said:
I havent been to Catoosa since they changed the limits around, allowing us to kill all our birds on the statewide season. Prior to that, if you wanted to kill a limit, 2 of them had to be WMA birds. I agree with you 100%, if you THINK you can kill turkeys, go to Catoosa and prove it! Thats where I started turkey hunting in 1984. At that time there wasnt a turkey within 50 miles of me at home.
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Yep. Thats how I ended up hunting there. Id kill 2 statewide birds then go there.
If people think turkeys are dumb and easy, they've never hunted Catoosa birds!
 
Huntaholic said:
I stopped by and got my license this morning at one of the few places left that still check animals in and while there I noticed that there were some really older age class birds being checked in. Every bird I saw come in was 3+ yrs old and the guys manning the station said every bird that came in all morning was the same, older age class birds. PERHAPS delaying the opener for the rest of us MIGHT end up being more beneficial than we are willing to admit!
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Were decoys used to take these birds? If so, this thread is irrelevant.
 
recurve60# said:
Yep. Thats how I ended up hunting there. Id kill 2 statewide birds then go there.
If people think turkeys are dumb and easy, they've never hunted Catoosa birds!
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Killed my share of catoosa birds, its not that their any smarter or "harder" they are just typical rough terrain public land birds, give me the ridge and mountain birds anytime!
 
I've spent a grand total of 3 days on catoosa. Back in the day I went like others for extra birds, same with Royal Blue. My 3rd day on catoosa I found a bird gobbling a couple hundred yards from my truck when I opened the door and got out to gear up and start walking. Called him straight in off the limb. Never went back lol, figured I got lucky and called it good.
 
You kill any animal, you have one of 3 options.

1. Put a transportation tag on it and then go to a check in station if open to check it in within 24hrs

2. Put a transportation tag on it and check in on phone within 24hrs

3. No transportation tag and check it in on phone before touching it(even without service) all you need to see on app is conformation number.

I have done all 3 multiple times since transportation tags started. Now I always check it in on my phone before I touch it then once I start moving it a transportation tag goes in a bag down is throat turkey or deer.

I almost lost my truck and gun over this the first year they came out with transportation tags. One GW said don't worry your all good just a warning its the first year of these the other wanted my truck and gun, all ended up going well.
 
Madbowh said:
You kill any animal, you have one of 3 options.

1. Put a transportation tag on it and then go to a check in station if open to check it in within 24hrs

2. Put a transportation tag on it and check in on phone within 24hrs

3. No transportation tag and check it in on phone before touching it(even without service) all you need to see on app is conformation number.

I have done all 3 multiple times since transportation tags started. Now I always check it in on my phone before I touch it then once I start moving it a transportation tag goes in a bag down is throat turkey or deer.

I almost lost my truck and gun over this the first year they came out with transportation tags. One GW said don't worry your all good just a warning its the first year of these the other wanted my truck and gun, all ended up going well.
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If tag it on your phone why are you still putting a transportation tag down their throat
 
So you can't just chek the birds AARP card? Lol... Seriously though, I killed a bird last season that I thought to be an old bird. Literally he just looked old. Flock was in field and had 4 strutters, dozen or so hens and a few jakes. He was not allowed to be a part of the flock (got run off by a jake, chased him about 200 yds to the woods). When he came back to the field a while later, he kept his distance from the flock and went the opposite direction from them. 3 hens peeled off from the flock at that point so I thought maybe he was an OG past his prime but still a player. He just walked to me and I shot him. When I picked him up, he was skinny. His coloration was much different than the other birds. His spurs were over an inch and pointed. Beard was long but looked old. Anyone else seen such?
 
themanpcl said:
So you can't just chek the birds AARP card? Lol... Seriously though, I killed a bird last season that I thought to be an old bird. Literally he just looked old. Flock was in field and had 4 strutters, dozen or so hens and a few jakes. He was not allowed to be a part of the flock (got run off by a jake, chased him about 200 yds to the woods). When he came back to the field a while later, he kept his distance from the flock and went the opposite direction from them. 3 hens peeled off from the flock at that point so I thought maybe he was an OG past his prime but still a player. He just walked to me and I shot him. When I picked him up, he was skinny. His coloration was much different than the other birds. His spurs were over an inch and pointed. Beard was long but looked old. Anyone else seen such?
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Arpund 20 years ago, it took me 3 weeks to finally kill a bird I was hunting. The problem I had was a gang of 7 jakes had taken over the property and had beaten him into submission. I'd set up on him, but the jakes would always intercept him, chase him off, the the jakes would come in.

I got lucky finding him midday in field with the jakes 200y away. I belly crawled to 100y from him and got down in a creek. I called just loud enough for him to hear me, but way too quiet for the jakes 300y away to hear. He would look in my direction, then look back at the jakes. Not seeing them react, he would take a few steps toward me. We repeated that until he worked in and got shot. Just over 1in spurs, but RAZOR sharp... literally as sharp as a pin.

Longest spurred bird I ever killed was a subordinate in a group of 3 toms. Worked in to within 75y of the trio, and soft clucked the group in. All I had was my son's 20g before TSS, so I needed them to be 25y. I was going to shoot the biggest bird until I saw the spurs on the smallest bird and chose him instead. Only 19lbs (the other 2 were at least 23lbers), but he had 2in and 1 7/8in spurs. Old bird, just small and subordinate. Didn't fight so he never wore his spurs down.
 
knightrider said:
If tag it on your phone why are you still putting a transportation tag down their throat
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Just in case, there's an error/ glitch in technology , jerk of a GW. I like to follow rules and regs and do what's right in general in life but my luck is I will get that 1 bad GW. Anything in life that is that simple to do I just do it to avoid any possible issues. CYA in every way , above and beyond.
 

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