I don't post too much but I have been following this site for a long time. Over the last two years I have heard a lot of people talking about turkey numbers being down and pretty much non existent in certain parts of the state. I'm also not na�ve in thinking that there's nothing going on in certain parts of north Alabama and in Tennessee, because I do believe there is something else in play but not sure what it is. I'm not just hearing this from people on this site but from others as well. However, when I ask these people what all they are doing to improve habitat a lot of them just tell me they don't have time or can't and the numbers are just down.
I know that not everyone has access to private lands and if you hunt public land you are at the mercy of the state agencies to manage habitat, however, if you do have access to private lands whether leased land or privately owned there are all kinds of way to improve habitat for turkeys.
After following this thread over the years I've noticed that several of the people on here who consistently kill turkeys and are also doing a lot of habitat management on their properties. i.e. burning, planting chufa, planting and maintaining perennial clover, strip disking, trapping, not bush hogging during nesting, etc. Those people I talk to seem to have plenty of turkeys. Now they may not gobble every day but they have turkeys. I know with leased lands there are restrictions on what you can do. I have hunted timber land for a long time and I am very familiar with their restrictions. However, if they don't let you burn you can still plant clover and chufa even if in small areas. You can also trap and strip disc. At this time I am very lucky to have access to private property which allows me to manage however I want, and I have chosen to do about every thing I can to make better deer and turkey habitat on the place. I enjoy the work and it is almost a hobby for me. In just two years, I have seen a dramatic increase in the amount of turkeys on the place. I also hunt leased property where we cant burn and are limited on planting, however we have clover planted all over and good nesting cover. I have also trapped nest predators, and we have plenty of turkeys.
I know a lot of things are time consuming and can get in the way of life. However, I have a busy full time job and a family. I still manage to make time to get out there and do what needs to get done and yes it takes a lot of work and is time consuming at times but I can promise you this, the hunting is noticeably better which makes it all worth it.
I know Gobbler and some others on here take heat for their comments, but I also know that gobbler hunts plenty of places slam full of turkeys because of the management practices he puts in place. Now I am sure I am going to get bashed for this and that is ok. I just think that people will have a better overall spring experience if they spend some time in the off season putting in some work and not just show up to hunt. I love this forum and the discussions that go on. Glad to be apart of another great season and look forward to reading everybody's posts every year!
