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man i hope lawrence county...

I know our farm in haywood county has gone way down in the past five years. Up until that season we had jakes and longbeards everywhere and would see groups of 30+ hens in the winter. Last year I saw 2 hens cross the road on the farm and not a single bird while hunting. It is in the river bottoms so im thinking spring flooding has wiped them out. pretty sad
 
I hunt in southern Giles county, almost on the state line. Our place used to be covered up with turkeys but starting about 2007, the population on our farm has decreased drastically. I don't even seen the numbers of birds riding around in this area that I used too 5-6 years ago. There's still birds around but they aren't there in the numbers that they used to be.
 
GobbleFever said:
I hunt in southern Giles county, almost on the state line. Our place used to be covered up with turkeys but starting about 2007, the population on our farm has decreased drastically. I don't even seen the numbers of birds riding around in this area that I used too 5-6 years ago. There's still birds around but they aren't there in the numbers that they used to be.
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They just aint here anymore like the used to be. And everybody I talk to in this area notices the same things. I hunt in North Alabama alot too, and I know for sure the population isn't like it was 8-10 years ago. They have only had a turkey season since I think 1997 or 1996. There were more birds those years all the way until about 2005 or 2006 than there are now. I have no idea what has happened in North Al or southern TN, but it sure has me worried.
I would think it could have been the very wet springs we had during those time frames. I don't keep records of the rainfall but my memory tells me that these were very wet times during April/May. This past April/May was a major drought, and I know droughts are no good for anything, but maybe just maybe we had a monster hatch in this region. Maybe a monster hatch will lead to a few more big hatches in the next two or three springs to get us back the way it used to be.
 
I hear ya. I know a few places in North AL (madison and limestone counties) that has quite a few birds, but have had no luck getting permision to hunt. I'm hoping southern Tn rebounds before too long.
 
gobble fever, here in southern wayne co, our numbers went way down also in 07. I dont know if it was the freeze or what. Prior to 07 turkeys where everywhere . Its like they vanished. Game wardens here seem to think hogs and armidilos are the two main factors. Because north of here population has not decreased as bad.
 
I'm with all of you. Sometime around 2006/7 it got plum sorry around here. I did kill three in 2010 but that was spread out on two different properties. I worked my butt off that year.

Last two years I've hunted 5 times combined. Not even worth getting up to go hear one bird gobble 10 times then shut up. :(

Seems numbers may be up a little from last year but not much.


I grew up on a lease in Alabama that was 4000 acres that had turkeys, lots of them, even in the 1980's. Around 1998 the entire population vanished. When I left the club in 2001, there wasn't a single gobble heard on the whole place. Still 2000 acres of big timber back then there.

I hear they are seeing a few now but nothing like in the 80's and early 90's.
 
turkeyhunter said:
gobble fever, here in southern wayne co, our numbers went way down also in 07. I dont know if it was the freeze or what. Prior to 07 turkeys where everywhere . Its like they vanished. Game wardens here seem to think hogs and armidilos are the two main factors. Because north of here population has not decreased as bad.
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They probably have a point there about the wild hogs and armidillos. I have some places I hunt in North AL, Limestone Co. and since wild hogs got there the turkey hunting has been terrible. I don't think I have heard or seen a turkey on the place since. I am sure armidillos are bad nest getters as well. Those are two animals that I have very little respect for.
I am so glad that my own personal property in Giles Co. TN hasn't had any hogs yet.
 
Yeah, I didn't think about the armadillos. Fortunately, we don't have any hogs on our Giles county property, yet. I live in Limestone county AL and I know I've seen hogs around the house, which is only about 10 minutes from our property in Giles county.
 
I used to think the armadillos also but they haven't decimated the flocks in south Bama or MS and they've been there a lot longer than up here.

Hogs don't seem to bother them either down there. So, I'm kinda thinking that isn't the problem either.

May just be population swings like any other animal. Then again, I'd hate what happened on the lease in Colbet Co to happen anywhere. That goes for more than just the 4k acres we had. There were thousands and thousands of acres that lost whole populations down there for some reason.
 
It seems like if it was something major we would here some biological science on why it happened or what happened. I am not a biologist but I do know that something is bad wrong with the lands I hunt and some of you others hunt in the south mid TN and North AL.

It seems that once you get north of Pulaski, there is still birds everywhere. I do not have any places up there but I normally see turkeys and have a friend that kills several in that area every year.
 
woodsman87 said:
It seems like if it was something major we would here some biological science on why it happened or what happened. I am not a biologist but I do know that something is bad wrong with the lands I hunt and some of you others hunt in the south mid TN and North AL.

It seems that once you get north of Pulaski, there is still birds everywhere. I do not have any places up there but I normally see turkeys and have a friend that kills several in that area every year.
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Its the same way in Lawrence co. No one can figure it out at this point
 

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