Bleak Outlook For These Counties!!

[megalomaniac]

from what I've seen we've had good hatches in several counties I've hunted over the past couple years. Some of the most insane hunting pressure I've ever seen in 2020, yet birds still hatch and raise lots of poults. And there are raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, and birds of prey everywhere. That's why it's a mystery why populations decline in some areas that have seemingly good habitat, but thrive in other areas with tons of predators and hunting pressure.

Trapping I think is very important if there has been a decline and you're trying to help the turkeys repopulate. But I don't think predators are always the cause for a decline. Too many factors and guesses and not enough solid answers...

It's not explicate by me... but in general, looking at long term harvest trends (20y tine span), very high kill years are succeeded by 2 or 3 years of decreased kills. Then another spike in statewide kills, followed by decreased kills... rinse and repeat. Of course that still occurs despite increased man days afield (from more hunters)... which translates to more hours spent hunting to kill a turkey.

I've accepted the fact that I will never experience again what hunting was like back in the mid to late 90s on my farms (hearing 15 to 20 gobblers sounding off on the roost) and have adapted to what I hope is the 'new normal'... hearing 1 or 2 gobblers on the roost on my farms. (I say 'new normal' because I have the very real fear that they will disappear altogether eventually)

It's all about perspective.. hearing 1 or 2 in a morn in TN is still WAY better than hearing 1 or 2 in a month in south MS. I've also accepted the fact that there is no chance we will ever get back to the heyday of the late 90s... too many factors going against it. And I no longer care about an 'easy' kill (well... maybe it's nice once a year to get a freebie). I'd much rather EARN each bird I kill...

The downside... Im WAY more bloodthirsty now than I was back in the late 90s. Going a few weeks without a gobble and then finally hearing one makes me go into kill mode... im not leaving him till he's dead or the sun is setting. Back in the 90s, I'd pass on 10 birds in a season just to not end my season early or they weren't old enough for my personal standards.

In the meantime, I'm doing whatever it takes to make their life better between springs... trapping predators, planting summer and fall plots, improving nesting and brood habitat. If turkeys disappear altogether on the places I hunt, it won't be my fault.

 

[poorhunter]

It's not explicate by me... but in general, looking at long term harvest trends (20y tine span), very high kill years are succeeded by 2 or 3 years of decreased kills. Then another spike in statewide kills, followed by decreased kills... rinse and repeat. Of course that still occurs despite increased man days afield (from more hunters)... which translates to more hours spent hunting to kill a turkey.

I've accepted the fact that I will never experience again what hunting was like back in the mid to late 90s on my farms (hearing 15 to 20 gobblers sounding off on the roost) and have adapted to what I hope is the 'new normal'... hearing 1 or 2 gobblers on the roost on my farms. (I say 'new normal' because I have the very real fear that they will disappear altogether eventually)

It's all about perspective.. hearing 1 or 2 in a morn in TN is still WAY better than hearing 1 or 2 in a month in south MS. I've also accepted the fact that there is no chance we will ever get back to the heyday of the late 90s... too many factors going against it. And I no longer care about an 'easy' kill (well... maybe it's nice once a year to get a freebie). I'd much rather EARN each bird I kill...

The downside... Im WAY more bloodthirsty now than I was back in the late 90s. Going a few weeks without a gobble and then finally hearing one makes me go into kill mode... im not leaving him till he's dead or the sun is setting. Back in the 90s, I'd pass on 10 birds in a season just to not end my season early or they weren't old enough for my personal standards.

In the meantime, I'm doing whatever it takes to make their life better between springs... trapping predators, planting summer and fall plots, improving nesting and brood habitat. If turkeys disappear altogether on the places I hunt, it won't be my fault.

I'm not near so dedicated as you, but your description of what it was like 10 years ago compared to the way it is now is what I see now. This past year was way way better than the last 5, but still only maybe 75% of what it was 6 years ago. I did see quite a few jakes this year too, and I've seen two hens already with a whole herd of chicks each. Haven't seen that in years either. All the guys that hunt the leases around me didn't hunt for the first two weeks of the season, not sure if that was on purpose or not, but I think it will help the population a lot.