• Help Support TNDeer:

They are just gone.

Iglow

Iglow

Well-Known Member
TNDeer Supporter
Joined
Nov 6, 2021
Messages
3,681
Location
Occupied Tennessee
I put in about 3 miles in the woods yesterday and found 1 set of tracks, 1 feather, no scratchings new or old, no poop, heard nothing and saw nothing in a place 5 years ago had a turkey behind every tree. 1 friend said his place is empty where it once was covered up. Another 50 miles away said he's got as many as ever. I was thinking that if it started getting better and they started coming back today , at 60, I might not live long enough to see the good days again, or be too old to really get after them. Some say turkey numbers are down but what I'm seeing is a population collapse. It reminds me of quail in the 80,s where over a 10 year period they just completely disappeared.
 
Last edited:
I went to my place to put a few cameras out yesterday, and I didn't see much sign at all. I didn't get far off the roads so they could be hanging out somewhere else, but I'm a little discouraged. I have 2 food plots the turkeys always frequent and no sign at either.
 
Some of the areas I prefer to hunt have some of the better spring foraging & turkey nesting habitat for miles around. Yet these areas are often void of turkeys in March and when the season opens. But it's rare a few don't show up by @ mid-April.

Have even had years where days on end, no roost gobbling was heard simply because none were close enough to hear. Yet come mid-April, there would normally be two or three or more gobblers roosting daily in the area.

In many areas right now, believe it or not, I'm finding big winter flocks still feeding mostly on red oak acorns.
 
I feel your pain. The last 2 years, I've heard 2 gobbles on our property…we're talking several hundred acres. We've been doing a lot of work on our place the last few years to improve habitat. Saw close to 45 turkeys yesterday on the property with at least a dozen gobblers. Will they be there come season, who knows?
 
What you described is exactly what has been going on the past 15 years. Some areas experience slow steady declines, while other areas have had a complete population collapse. It's too early to make that call in TN where you are at... but in 2 more weeks if there is no sign, start looking elsewhere. Don't get suckered into spending half the season in an area that USED to be good. Find birds late March, then stay on them.

Birds as far south as I am have already busted up and are in breeding flocks. Most aren't ready, but the tom bachelor groups are split up. I was very discouraged yesterday on natl forest where I spent 3 miles hiking and only found 1 set of hen tracks. I may check those spots again early April, and last weekend of season, but no need to waste time there near term.
 
Spurhunter said:
I went to my place to put a few cameras out yesterday, and I didn't see much sign at all. I didn't get far off the roads so they could be hanging out somewhere else, but I'm a little discouraged. I have 2 food plots the turkeys always frequent and no sign at either.
Click to expand...
I'm assuming your place is in NE/ East central...

Used to be the largest population of birds there in the state.... 5 years in a row of terrible hatches have really hurt.

South MS experienced a total population collapse around 2005. We are nowhere near what past populations were, but at least they haven't been completely eliminated.

www.mdwfp.com

MDWFP - 2022 Spring Turkey Season Forecast

www.mdwfp.com www.mdwfp.com
 
megalomaniac said:
I'm assuming your place is in NE/ East central...

Used to be the largest population of birds there in the state.... 5 years in a row of terrible hatches have really hurt.

South MS experienced a total population collapse around 2005. We are nowhere near what past populations were, but at least they haven't been completely eliminated.

www.mdwfp.com

MDWFP - 2022 Spring Turkey Season Forecast

www.mdwfp.com www.mdwfp.com
Click to expand...
No sir. I was referring to my place in Henderson county, TN. I'm not going to hunt MS this year. I'm just not going to have time before TN opens.
 
I'm pretty sure it's not just flocked up birds elsewhere, I don't see them anymore anywhere around the house driving here and there where I used to see them somewhere just about every time I got in the truck. We were talking that with the turkeys gone and if cwd gets in here ( we ain't eating any deer where you have to wear gloves handling it) I guess we'll just hunt squirrels like when we were kids. Back then there were no turkeys or deer, squirrels were it.
 
Happened to my area some 5 years ago or so. Killed my four birds every year at my leisure over the several farms I have permission to hunt on for the previous 4 years. Turnkeys were plentiful, would see winter flocks of over 100 hens and poults, and flocks of toms on the 30-40 number. Thanksgiving morning of 2016 I listened to what sounded like 50 toms gobble for 20-30 minutes on the roost while deer hunting, but spring of 2017 came and I heard almost no birds and saw very few while driving around. Killed one bird in 2019 and zero the last two years, last year I only heard one gobble on the roost during season. This winters flocks have been a little better so we'll see, but the population in my area went from awesome to virtually nothing in one winter.
 
deerfever said:
Turkeys come and go this time of year, they are some where around a food source like Roost said. Probably not much gobbling going on yet. I would check back a week or so before season. Good luck!
Click to expand...
I was fishing a local river around Nashville last week, several turkeys w were gobbling their heads off for most of the mid day... Kinda got annoying 😂
 

Latest posts

Back
Top