You’re correct those days are long gone and I doubt ever will be seen again around here
I hate rules. I learned that running a QDM style deer club. The absurdity is real and rules never achieve the desired goals. The simplest are the best. It’s why I’ve always advocated for a 3 bird rule. I’d hated me back in the day for saying that. But not now
I’m only here because I’m not understanding how a hunter killing and or harassing turkeys daily doesn’t have an effect. I don’t get it
I’ve watched rule changes change bird behaviors. I won’t go in in further than that but will pm you
The stress of hunting does have an effect. I’ve watched the birds at the farm get hunted for one week in us yet get hunted moderately hard around us. I went from driving up on them in the truck 30 yards away to watching a few hens take out running and take flight from a 1/4 mile away while I was on the tractor
I’m pretty sure that is negative impact in some way.
I think you and I have much different histories with turkeys.
I thought that hens taking flight from 1/4 mile away was just normal turkey behavior. The turkeys on our place in Perry county have never tolerated a vehicle being in sight at any distance. Let them see your truck and they will fly far away. This mystical place where you can hear 25 in a morning and turkeys aren't afraid of a truck is a place I would like to visit.
Maybe it's a good thing that I haven't experienced that, or I would want it to be that way all the time. I don't doubt your experience, and I have seen turkeys not show fear of moving vehicles when they are in fields beside a road. Places where they aren't used to seeing them means they will usually spook when they do see one.
This sentence is one I would address:
>>>’I’m only here because I’m not understanding how a hunter killing and or harassing turkeys daily doesn’t have an effect. I don’t get it<<<
An effect on what? Pressure surely affects the turkeys, and I have advised hunters for decades to follow Rule #1 - don't scare the turkey. If you scare the gobbler away you lose the opportunity to kill him. I wouldn't think that any experienced hunter would think that hunting pressure doesn't affect turkeys. It surely does, but the question I think we are discussing now is whether that hunting pressure results in a lower poult production.
My opinion, and that's all it is, would be that in most cases it doesn't. Much of my public land experience was on the Coosa WMA in the 70s and 80s. Some folks regard those as the good ole days, but I thought it was a zoo. I couldn't believe the amount of pressure put on those turkeys, but every season there seemed to be just as many gobbling as it was the year before. I continued to hunt it through around 2015 when most of the land was taken out, and never saw any population drop.
But if hunting pressure really can reduce the poult recruitment, it seems reasonable it would happen on the hard hunted WMAs. There is no way that my land is ever going to have anywhere close to that sort of pressure. So if there is real proof that hunting is hurting the 4% of public land, then by all means, do whatever is necessary. Just limit the cure to the places that might have a problem.
Well, I am headed to the farm to spend the next 2 days working on turkey habitat. A good day to all!
