cowhunter71
Well-Known Member
Would love to know in what part of the state of Tn. Wild Turkeys have been done breeding for 3 weeks now.
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Help Support TNDeer:
The case for banning the fan. Outdoor life
- Thread starter Bgoodman30
- Start date
They should pin white handkerchiefs on their back and ditch orange during deer season.
Bgoodman30
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I am sure
Un hunted suburban flocks that I watch strut, gobble, breed etc almost daily. Just making the point that healthy flocks are done nesting much sooner.
Speedwell-Hunter
Well-Known Member
I am surprised that in fall you can take toms, i thought only hens:
from TWRA:
Fall Turkey Bag Limit:
One (1) bearded turkey, per county, except that Bledsoe, Bradley, Crockett, Dyer, Giles, Haywood, Lake, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lincoln, Loudon, McMinn, Monroe, Polk, Shelby, Tipton, Unicoi, and Wayne counties are closed to all fall turkey hunting.
Speedwell-Hunter
Well-Known Member
yep, if you willing get behind a gobbler decoy that is full fanned and someone shoots you, the burden is on you as the idiot behind the decoy.
Speedwell-Hunter
Well-Known Member
let night time coyote hunting happen in TN and we will see some turkey numbers go back up
Flintlocksforme
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Very informative article it really makes you think. Maybe shooting the dominant gobbler that is unkillable over bait hurts the flock in the same way. Turkeys need all the help they can get in some areas. WMAs can be regulated
prstide
Well-Known Member
You're missing the point. The tactic is screwing with their social structure by allowing the most dominant(aka "breeder") tom to be taken out too early which screws up the breeding of up to 20 hens. You multiply this by many surrounding properties using the same tactics in your local area and you're going to start having some serious issues.
Nobody is necessarily saying "ban all turkey decoys!!"; most of us would happily compromise with not allowing the use of tail fans or male turkey decoys.
This needs to be shared proudly by all turkey hunters concerned about the decline. Call your commissioner to vote to make reaping illegal in TN so as to spare dominant gobblers longer into the season thus equaling more hens being breed and making a good bet on more turkeys each year.
Coming from a 1 weekend a year turkey hunter, Fanning, Reaping, Run And Gun, IS NOT the reason for the decline of turkeys. Its actually the loss of habitat. Logging. Years ago, when a farm was logged, the undergrowth was burned. Now It is not. Machinery now doesn't require the burning of undergrowth. Now, the problem with this is, a turkey needs 4-5 steps to begin flight. They cant get that in thick undergrowth. The predator doesn't need a clear path, he can slip in and ambush the turkey before it can take flight.
I don't care either way for banning fanning or not. It is just as ethical as deer hunting in a ground blind sitting on a food plot IMO.
Now, Everyone argue amongst yourselves but chew on the fact that reaping is NOT the cause of the declining population.
disclaimer*** I have never taken a turkey by this method and probably never will, but it because of safety and not because YOU think it's unethical.
I don't care either way for banning fanning or not. It is just as ethical as deer hunting in a ground blind sitting on a food plot IMO.
Now, Everyone argue amongst yourselves but chew on the fact that reaping is NOT the cause of the declining population.
disclaimer*** I have never taken a turkey by this method and probably never will, but it because of safety and not because YOU think it's unethical.
Bgoodman30
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Yeah that's NOT the reason either but good point.. There are many reasons...
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
I agree with you about this.
IMO, at least 10 times more "dominant" longbeards are killed (poached) over illegal bait than are killed by any "reaping" or "fanning".
So I keep coming back to what can we do that actually makes the most difference with the least controversy? Frame the answer in the context any regulation is only as good as its enforcement.
We have a huge problem with birds being killed illegally over bait.
Why?
Other than too many people don't believe the law applies to them,
enforcing the law is very difficult.
But that enforcement becomes much easier "out of season",
as it's just much easier to catch anyone hunting out of season,
than someone hunting over a bait pile.
While I think fanning/reaping should be illegal from a safety perspective,
it will be near impossible to enforce on private property, even harder
than finding those bait piles.
Just open the season a couple weeks later, when baiting has become much less effective,
as winter flocks disperse, and spring green-up provides much more widespread and abundant turkey food. And we will save a lot more dominant longbeards compared to anything else we might ponder doing.
Rakkin6
Well-Known Member
Okay I will not talk about deer hunting then, in my opinion drop the limit to 2 birds and your second one has to be a week apart from your first one. Then we can outlaw decoys, fanning whatever. If you really care about the population you should support this.
kentuckylakebuck1
Well-Known Member
then start the season later? i just dont understand why anyone would down another hunter for his tactics? oh and no im personally NOT a fanner, im old school and proud of it! most of todays generations will never enjoy the same kind of hunts and woodsmanship skills as i do or past generations? That being said why should i tell my nephew that he cant enjoy what he grew up learning to hunt turkeys with? i dont vote democrat either but who am i to tell you that you cant?
Bgoodman30
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No disrespect but I am not sure where you get your data about birds being killed over bait? I honestly have never heard of a tom being killed over bait? I even know people that do it on their farm but didn't make a hill a beans come spring season. I get its a good attractant before and after season but every gobbler I have ever killed could care less about a pile of corn during the spring they barely even eat at all?
A limit of 2 birds would still account for approximately 87% of the birds killed. We would have to lower the limit to one to drastically reduce overall harvest.
It can take 2 weeks or more to reestablish dominance after one is killed so I wonder if separating them would offer much of an advantage.
Seems like it comes down to; 1.) reduce season/opportunity 2.) remove a method used to increase chances of killing one. Assuming we even needs to change .
TheLBLman
Well-Known Member
Another aspect hardly mentioned . . . . . . . .
Dead is dead.
But delaying those deaths only a week or two
could significantly improve nesting success?
To what extent does it matter just which hunters and by which tactics they kill "x" number of birds,
assuming those birds end up dead regardless?
Just noting that most of the hunters wanting to outlaw decoys, well, they themselves limit out with 3 birds every year? And because they themselves haven't dragged around decoys a few times, they fail to understand how the liabilities of decoys about cancel out the assets of decoys.
Avid, accomplished turkey hunters can kill the limit every year,
regardless whatever current tactics we make illegal?
IMO, TIMING of the season opening date has more to do with the price of beans
than the killing tactics or just which of the hunters do the most killing. By opening later, fewer birds would be lost to baiting, and more breeding would get completed with more hens, providing improved nesting success, regardless how many longbeards get killed.
Dead is dead.
But delaying those deaths only a week or two
could significantly improve nesting success?
To what extent does it matter just which hunters and by which tactics they kill "x" number of birds,
assuming those birds end up dead regardless?
Just noting that most of the hunters wanting to outlaw decoys, well, they themselves limit out with 3 birds every year? And because they themselves haven't dragged around decoys a few times, they fail to understand how the liabilities of decoys about cancel out the assets of decoys.
Avid, accomplished turkey hunters can kill the limit every year,
regardless whatever current tactics we make illegal?
IMO, TIMING of the season opening date has more to do with the price of beans
than the killing tactics or just which of the hunters do the most killing. By opening later, fewer birds would be lost to baiting, and more breeding would get completed with more hens, providing improved nesting success, regardless how many longbeards get killed.
Setterman
Well-Known Member
I think lowering the limit won't really alter the dominant birds being taken earlier. I'm down for whatever needs to be done to turn this around
My 13 year old son was with me in the truck when we seen the crew with the gobbler on a stick walking down the road at the most crowded WMA I have ever seen At 13 he looked at me and I quote"dad couldn't they get shot" I knew the boy makes straight A's for a reason! Lol. What party you vote for , hunting over bait( which is already illegal) ,shooting a deer in a food plot( unless you are crawling behind a buck decoy), wearing camo, what shells you shoot, using a call, wearing rubber boots, using duck decoys, using a sight ,have nothing at all to do with the tactic of crawling behind a fake gobbler to make it charge and attack you in order to kill it. Wether your for or against the tactic itself is totally up to you it's that simple. I don't care when they open the season I am against the tactic, it's way too dangerous. At least ban it on public land. If I knew of someone doing it and I cared about there well being then I would definitely go over the dangers of crawling behind something legal to shoot by others. Again just my thoughts if yours are different that's fine with me.
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