It seems to me like you prefer the chance to pattern a bird and kill him as soon as he hits the ground on the first day you can hunt. Then turkey season is over for you until next year.
For most of us that post on here, its a marathon that can last 6 weeks. Nearly all the turkeys are indeed pressured, and I would suspect they are miles harder to kill than the average turkey in MN. I much prefer the AL way. I get to hunt much more than you do, and turkey hunting is part of my lifestyle. It wouldn't be with a 1 bird limit. And if I do kill a turkey here, I feel like I've accomplished something.
5 turkeys don't have as much meat on them as one deer, so I don't quite follow that line of reasoning. We eat turkey a lot in my house, but of course we could come out cheaper buying it at the store. I suspect you could say that about any kind of hunting anywhere.
To each his own. It seems like the hunters in MN are happy with a heavily regulated system that gives everyone a good chance to kill one turkey. I don't think the majority of AL hunters would vote for that.
A lot of hunters are struggling this year because bad weather is leading to very little gobbling. Other years it seems like everyone is killing a bunch of turkeys. But there is no doubt in my mind that our turkeys are much more difficult to kill than those in most states, and I suspect MN falls into that group.
You do realize that killing mature gobblers after then hens are bred as no effect on the overall population? Once the hens are bred, then the spring gobbler becomes a surplus bird. This 5 bird spring limit with very limited fall hunting and full protection of hens has been in effect since the 60s, and the result is that we still have more turkeys than just about anyone. More than that, turkeys are regarded as a precious resource. In states I've hunted with low limits, I've met many that regarded them as a nuisance. The fact that a landowner knows he can hunt his turkeys gives him a lot of incentive to manage his land for turkeys, resulting in even more turkeys.
Just some random thoughts; hope I answered some of your questions. Good hunting to you!
