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Select cut and turkeys

Bgoodman30

Bgoodman30

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How long before they come back? This property was being cut last year during turkey season and I never heard a bird on it.. Listened this morning and still nothing. Should be loaded its a prime area of Williamson county.. There are still plenty of trees its wasn't over done.
 
How many acres? The definition of "select cut" can vary widely. If it was high-graded and there's little mast and poor roosting sites they may have relocated to more favorable ground. I've had neighbors both select cut and clearcut over the years...those turkeys relocated. But I'd say if it's a smallish cut, they're probably still nearby.
 
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In my experience with this depending on how much was cut. The sun light gets into the woods more and causes more under brush growth. Turkeys do not typically like the thick stuff. On the other hand the deer love it. When trees start growing and blocking sunlight. The undergrowth will be choked out and the woods will open back up. The turkeys will then return.
 
we have a lot of select and clear cut where I hunt and when they clear cut it, it takes several years for them to return... unless they clean it up which most don't.
some of the ones around us re-seed with pine and once that starts growing that's another obstacle for the turkeys.
IMO clear cuts and even select cuts are just bad for turkey hunting and pretty good for the deer. Select cuts will let that sunlight in and that will start the thick undergrowth.
A farm I have permission to hunt had 250 acres of old hardwoods and they came in and clear cut it 3 years ago, it's a wasteland, hurts just to look at it.
Now with all that said I have been surprise over the years at some of the thick stuff turkeys will travel through, they don't hang out in it but will still travel through it.
 
They should have never left. I have killed them back when I was logging after we shut the saws down for the day. Many times be greaseing the equipment and hear one start gobbling where we had just finished logging. If I had permission to hunt I always carried my gun and vest and some camo in the truck.
 
There are going to be a LOT of places this year that don't have birds. When the population decreases, the remaining birds will migrate to the very best habitat, leaving the less than ideal habitat without. If you used to have a ton of birds on that property, I feel sure at some point in the season a lonely tom will wander through. But may be some quiet mornings until that happens.
 
Depends on when it was cut. Some of those areas will hold a few nesting hens, at least that's what we've seen on our property.....especially if cut in the dormant season before green up. The grasses and weeds take off faster than anything creating some cover for turkeys. It all depends on the layout the loggers designed for cutting and timing. I have seen quite a few turkeys bugging in these areas. Though, all of our areas that have been logged in the past are sporadically spaced with hardwoods and fields. We've had several opportunities to kill toms in these areas
 
megalomaniac said:
There are going to be a LOT of places this year that don't have birds. When the population decreases, the remaining birds will migrate to the very best habitat, leaving the less than ideal habitat without. If you used to have a ton of birds on that property, I feel sure at some point in the season a lonely tom will wander through. But may be some quiet mornings until that happens.
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I just obtained permission last year before season while cut was ongoing. Its a prime area think they might have just moved to the neighbors for the time being...
 
We had our place clear cut a few years ago (250 out of 350 acres). Turkey hunting was terrible for three years after. It is just now starting to get back to ok hunting. However, the only place I am consistently seeing birds are in the areas we did not clear cut. I would assume that is because there is really no where to roost on the previously clear cut areas. I pretty much have to call most of the birds across the property lines and they never seem to cross the fence where I want them to.
 
timberjack86 said:
They should have never left. I have killed them back when I was logging after we shut the saws down for the day. Many times be greaseing the equipment and hear one start gobbling where we had just finished logging. If I had permission to hunt I always carried my gun and vest and some camo in the truck.
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THIS! If its done right, they wont leave. I remember several years ago hunting on a job we were working, I had to wait until he cleared my loader sitting on the landing yard to shoot him! Just yesterday morning as I was checking the fluids on my equipment before starting it up there was a bird gobbling his head off right under the hill from my logyard, this is on a job Ive been working for about a month btw.
 
Huntaholic said:
THIS! If its done right, they wont leave. I remember several years ago hunting on a job we were working, I had to wait until he cleared my loader sitting on the landing yard to shoot him! Just yesterday morning as I was checking the fluids on my equipment before starting it up there was a bird gobbling his head off right under the hill from my logyard, this is on a job Ive been working for about a month btw.
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One time we shut down for a thunderstorm and one cranked up gobbling his head off, this was about 4 pm. Killed him almost right where we eat lunch about 4 hrs earlier.
 

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