Thoughts on the 4/15 opener?

[TN Larry]

I can't complain with it and a change that I was glad to see when the rules were set last year. My son killed two on juvenile and me one on the opener so it didn't hurt our hunting. Time will tell if it will help with the turkey population but glad to see something trying to be done. It does make sense to me that starting season a few weeks later to allow more hens to be bred prior to a hunter around every corner can't hurt. I am willing to give it a shot. Also, the delayed opener and two bird limit gives more time for fishing as I struggle every year with fishing and turkey hunting.

 

[gobbler32]

I wish the season would have opened like it has in the past but I've worked birds every day and saw numerous gobblers. Yes most of them were with hens but I did get one Saturday and finished this morning. I've had some good hunts no doubt but I'm still in favor of starting around April 1st and ending before May. Hunting close to memorial day is ridiculous

 

[megalomaniac]

I absolutely love it. Called 5 within 30 yards in 2 days on public and they were blowing the doors off of it. This was in southern middle and in west Tennessee.

I would say the baiters and field decoy lovers aren't about it but those that like to cover ground and kill them tight in the timber are having a very memorable season.

I would say your assumption is SPOT ON! Delay really hurts the baiters as birds are more spread out leaving bait for best nesting/brood habitat, while at the same time birds have beat each other senseless making reaping just a tad more difficult now.

 

[deerhunter10]

4/15 opener is dumb.....The only thing dumber is closing on Memorial Day weekend. Who in the hell wants to hunt in 90 degree weather in late May?

With a 2 bird limit very few people that would hunt that, those people won't have a tag left. The rest that can't fill their tags in April aren't hunting in May anyways. In reality even in years past the bulk of hunting in tennessee is the first 2 weeks. It'll be no different this year. The end of the season for turkeys and people getting hung up on that point are looking for something to complain about. Were hunting may 15th or around that date? Most absolutely were not even thinking about hunting then. Tennessee could go to a 2 week season total and the majority of people wouldn't even notice a difference nor will state wide kill number change much at all.

After reading most of this thread by and large most people are ok with the delay.

 

[megalomaniac]

I wish the season would have opened like it has in the past but I've worked birds every day and saw numerous gobblers. Yes most of them were with hens but I did get one Saturday and finished this morning. I've had some good hunts no doubt but I'm still in favor of starting around April 1st and ending before May. Hunting close to memorial day is ridiculous

Yes, there are quite a few birds still henned up with the last 1/3 of females who haven't mated at least once.. but at least instead of you doing battle with a tom and 6 hens, it's a tom with 2 hens... plus the subdominant males are just suicidal. I've been like a kid in a candy store... haven't had this much fun in decades.

 

[deerhunter10]

I don't know how old the posters are but imo we saw the high point 10 -15 years ago and we will never see it like that again. Before it was empty habitat that was there waiting for stocking and it worked, now it's different, we've created a world that isn't friendly for turkeys same as we did to quail and grouse. They may hang on in pockets and we may have a short season with low limits but most hunters will lose interest with that and it won't matter, turkeys, turkey hunters and turkey hunting will fade away just like quail/grouse and quail/grouse hunters/hunting did. It's sad. TWRA isn't at fault here, there is little they can do, they can't magically change the landscape back to what it was for either species. The only thing that can fix it is a time machine and I haven't seen one of those laying around. Enjoy what you have for now and if you're old enough to have gotten in on the good years at least you got to see it at its best.

Love your optimism.. It's no secret that it was better 10-15 years ago. Twra can't control everything but they can control more than they have. Twra isn't all to blame but they most certainly have blame on them. There is still a lot they can do. So what just give up? This may be one of the most ridiculous post I've seen on this page.

 

[deerhunter10]

And if people think hunting is good now they should have experienced it when it opened in March. Good grief it was insane.

I have to disagree. I didn't hardly even start seeing or hearing gobbles til the first week of April. March we always found a way to kill one but it was way worse hunting for us then now. Night and day difference.

 

[chrmayo]

Then we can agree to disagree. But I know a lot of people who would do well to kill a turkey every 3rd year without decoys who are tagged out.

I agree with this 100 percent.

 

[gobbler32]

Yes, there are quite a few birds still henned up with the last 1/3 of females who haven't mated at least once.. but at least instead of you doing battle with a tom and 6 hens, it's a tom with 2 hens... plus the subdominant males are just suicidal. I've been like a kid in a candy store... haven't had this much fun in decades.

And I didn't use any decoys at all or bait. Just put in effort and used my two feet to cover ground

 

[Coker]

I must admit, I like an early opener. I like playing a chess match with henned up gobblers. Trying to figure out which direction they're headed so I can get in front of them and cut them off, while they're gobbling their heads off. I like trying to dominate the hens calling so that the Tom will leave her to investigate me. And when the hens go to nest, I like lonesome midday gobblers that are stupid to any calling. Most of all, I like the overall game that is played throughout the season with many phases within that season.
The late opener wiped out all of those phases and went directly to the end. Which is, a handful of hens that need to be bred, some toms acting stupid, and the majority of the Toms no longer playing the game.

 

[Levee Jumper]

I must admit, I like an early opener. I like playing a chess match with henned up gobblers. Trying to figure out which direction they're headed so I can get in front of them and cut them off, while they're gobbling their heads off. I like trying to dominate the hens calling so that the Tom will leave her to investigate me. And when the hens go to nest, I like lonesome midday gobblers that are stupid to any calling. Most of all, I like the overall game that is played throughout the season with many phases within that season.
The late opener wiped out all of those phases and went directly to the end. Which is, a handful of hens that need to be bred, some toms acting stupid, and the majority of the Toms no longer playing the game.

There are absolutely zero Toms in Tennessee that are still alive not playing the game. This stupidity is what makes me never want to engage with randoms on this site. I feel like Matt Walsh trying to tell Lefty's that men aren't women.

If it were last year it's only the 3rd weekend of season! It always opens in Kentucky this time of year and everybody that knows what a Turkey sounds like and can be still for 20 minutes limits out every single year.

 

[Levee Jumper]

There are absolutely zero Toms in Tennessee that are still alive not playing the game. This stupidity is what makes me never want to engage with randoms on this site. I feel like Matt Walsh trying to tell Lefty's that men aren't women.

If it were last year it's only the 3rd weekend of season! It always opens in Kentucky this time of year and everybody that knows what a Turkey sounds like and can be still for 20 minutes limits out every single year.

On a side note I started today on a group of hens with a lone gobbler at daylight. They led him away even though he sold me on that he was buying what I was selling. While circling around I struck a Turkey that I thought was by himself but after closing on him it was clear he had hens. I decided to leave him and wait until 11 or so to see if his hens would leave him. While doing so I ran into a pair of 2 year olds that were suicidal. At no time did I see/find a gobbler that didn't want to play the game.

 

[Levee Jumper]

On a side note I started today on a group of hens with a lone gobbler at daylight. They led him away even though he sold me on that he was buying what I was selling. While circling around I struck a Turkey that I thought was by himself but after closing on him it was clear he had hens. I decided to leave him and wait until 11 or so to see if his hens would leave him. While doing so I ran into a pair of 2 year olds that were suicidal. At no time did I see/find a gobbler that didn't want to play the game.

We are legit like the 2nd week of November for those that "Deer Hunt" Turkeys.

 

[megalomaniac]

I must admit, I like an early opener. I like playing a chess match with henned up gobblers. Trying to figure out which direction they're headed so I can get in front of them and cut them off, while they're gobbling their heads off. I like trying to dominate the hens calling so that the Tom will leave her to investigate me. And when the hens go to nest, I like lonesome midday gobblers that are stupid to any calling. Most of all, I like the overall game that is played throughout the season with many phases within that season.
The late opener wiped out all of those phases and went directly to the end. Which is, a handful of hens that need to be bred, some toms acting stupid, and the majority of the Toms no longer playing the game.

Interesting you say this... ive been knee deep in turkeys the past 4 days, but I haven't yet encountered a 'boss hen' who is both frustrating as heck when she leads the flock away from you early season, but can still result in one of the most satisfying hunts when you piss her off so much she pulls the whole group to you with tom in tow. I suppose most of the 'boss hens' are the first to breed and have done so last week and left the flock searching for the best nesting sites.

All the hen talk I've heard on the roost has been very timid.

But the flip side is you can convince a roosted gobbler you are way more sexy then the timid hen 50y away from him in the tree.

I suppose there are positives and negatives with the 2 week delay... but the past 4 days in my mind proves without a shadow of a doubt the delay is a win-win... win- letting most hens breed before the opening weekend slaughter. And win- starting to hunt gobblers who are at their most vulnerable point in the season who have not been pressured at all.

Juvie weekend and opening weekend numbers compared to years prior are proof... im not sure TN has EVER killed so many birds in so few days. Even with the limits were 4 birds!!!

 

[megalomaniac]

We are legit like the 2nd week of November for those that "Deer Hunt" Turkeys.

Amen... nail on the head.

 

[deerfever]

There is going to be varying opinions on the new opener because TN is so diverse but that doesn't make anyone against what's best for turkeys either way. Seems to be lots people are absolutely covered up with them this season. Maybe some areas that have been down rebounded nicely. That is actually great news for all of us! When you read things about all the birds being killed , heard , seen , Numerous birds called in and even passed up to save the last tag it seems they are thriving in areas. There have been great hatches the last couple of years with no delay that is evident. Will the delay make it better? Time will tell but as of now all we have is the 2 year TN turkey study that showed no reproductive benefits at all between delayed and non delayed areas( 450 something hens studied.if i remember correctly). You could also look at Arkansas, LBL, Catoosa they also have had delayed seasons for years . Has it made any positive difference? The one thing that I did worry about was the fact that has been pointed out it gets easier as it moves forward as the hens go to nest , the old school guys new that and hunted the season out . Most guys had hung it up by this point in seasons past and a man could actually hunt public land mid/late April. I was afraid more Toms would be killed this first weekend than normal but it looks about on pace with 2018 through 20 seasons with the old opener as you can see by the numbers I posted earlier in the thread. Again time will tell but until it's proven that the dominant gobbler theory is actually fact and helps in some way, Give me early April to hunt as opposed to late May any day. How did we get all these turkeys being reported this year under the old opener? Seems to me most hens are being bred with the old opener, we also had great weather at hatch time, no two week delay required. Just an opinion and I do very much respect those that feel differently. If they had stayed with the commissioners first proposal to move season 1 week, I think most on each side of the discussion would have been fine with it.

 

[deerfever]

Interesting you say this... ive been knee deep in turkeys the past 4 days, but I haven't yet encountered a 'boss hen' who is both frustrating as heck when she leads the flock away from you early season, but can still result in one of the most satisfying hunts when you piss her off so much she pulls the whole group to you with tom in tow. I suppose most of the 'boss hens' are the first to breed and have done so last week and left the flock searching for the best nesting sites.

All the hen talk I've heard on the roost has been very timid.

But the flip side is you can convince a roosted gobbler you are way more sexy then the timid hen 50y away from him in the tree.

I suppose there are positives and negatives with the 2 week delay... but the past 4 days in my mind proves without a shadow of a doubt the delay is a win-win... win- letting most hens breed before the opening weekend slaughter. And win- starting to hunt gobblers who are at their most vulnerable point in the season who have not been pressured at all.

Juvie weekend and opening weekend numbers compared to years prior are proof... im not sure TN has EVER killed so many birds in so few days. Even with the limits were 4 birds!!!

We killed more in 2019 13770, 2023 12,451. Numbers are very similar in 2018 and 2020. That is juvenile plus opening weekend, I had posted this previously. Personally I hope we don't kill more than normal. If there turns out to be no reproductive benefits then all we have done is kill more turkeys than normal out of the flock with nothing to gain from it.

 

[TITANSFAN2104]

I think it's intentionally vague and impossible to define. In "a lot of cases" decoys may not bring a turkey in. But they kill thousands of turkeys that would't die if decoys weren't used. Do you disagree?

Yep , I disagree because if I dont kill him in the middle of that field over decoys. He will die in the woods a few minutes later!!

 

[Setterman]

I must admit, I like an early opener. I like playing a chess match with henned up gobblers. Trying to figure out which direction they're headed so I can get in front of them and cut them off, while they're gobbling their heads off. I like trying to dominate the hens calling so that the Tom will leave her to investigate me. And when the hens go to nest, I like lonesome midday gobblers that are stupid to any calling. Most of all, I like the overall game that is played throughout the season with many phases within that season.
The late opener wiped out all of those phases and went directly to the end. Which is, a handful of hens that need to be bred, some toms acting stupid, and the majority of the Toms no longer playing the game.

I was with you until the end. Stating that the majority of toms don't want to play the game in mid April is just grossly wrong.

 

[Iglow]

Love your optimism.. It's no secret that it was better 10-15 years ago. Twra can't control everything but they can control more than they have. Twra isn't all to blame but they most certainly have blame on them. There is still a lot they can do. So what just give up? This may be one of the most ridiculous post I've seen on this page.

I don't believe in optimism or pessimism,situations are what they are and believing they will be better or fearing they are worse doesn't change a single thing. When the house catches on fire the optimist believes is will go out on it's own and everything will be as it was,the pessimists thinks it's a total loss at the first whiff of smoke. The fact is that if you are in you fifties or sixties you happened (were lucky) to live in the age of abundance with turkeys, when conditions and the effort to reestablish the turkey population came together at just the right time but the firebell is ringing now,things may not burn to the ground but to expect everything to be as it was is foolish.
There are probably young guys on here that have never known anything but abundance, they have never seen 30 day seasons and one bird limits, they have never seen counties closed to hunting or only partial areas of counties open. They have never seen the time when turkey hunting was not even on the hunters radar at all because there were no turkeys anywhere to speak of.
The point of all this is we should recognize and accept the fact that the turkeys are unable now to reproduce at a level that even keeps their population stable, it's falling. We should also be thankful for what we do have and realize that early opening days,3 or 4 bird limits,and endless opportunities are behind us now,we have to deal with things as they are,not as we wish they were.