It would appear that turkey numbers are all over the place throughout the state. Every year we see guys that limit out in the first two weeks (or less) while guys like me struggle to kill a bird or two. I’m not the best turkey hunter in the world, but I generally find a way to kill turkeys when I have turkeys. There has been a marked decrease in the turkey numbers where I am AND the turkeys that are there don’t seem to gobble like they used to. My guess is that this is due to predation that only gets real pressure during the open hunting seasons.
I do think 5 birds a year is too liberal across the state, but if you’re consistently killing 5, you probably have the populations that can sustain it. IMO, 3 birds a year should be plenty for anyone...yeah I know, it’s been 5 for all this time, but it also used to be a buck a day every day. I’m not aware of any state that is as liberal even those with higher turkey densities (and probably more hunters, I get it).
As for the opening date, I’ve always loved it when the 15th fell during the week because I have been blessed to have a job that allows me some freedom in taking days off. That said, I would expect that the state will be looking to reduce the number of days altogether with a reduction in the bag limit. If this is beneficial to our turkey population, I think we could all agree that it is a good thing. The problem is that it will take a while to see the effects, if any.
I do not like big government in any way. However, an individual’s perspective is shaped by their experience...If you are blessed to have a thriving turkey population, this all seems like BS. If you are in the same boat as me, you will have a different opinion. A “one size fits all” set of regulations is a tricky thing at best.
There is no longer another state that allows 5 spring gobblers based on a regular license. SC did, but they cut it to 3 a few years back. There are states that allow you to kill more than 5 by buying additional permits, and others where you can do it by killing some in the fall. Some states even let hunters kill hens in the fall, which has always seemed insane to me. A dead turkey is a dead turkey, and a dead hen raises no poults.
AL has used a system of a generous spring season and very limited fall season at least since the 50s. Since gobblers don't assist with raising poults, removing some of them has no effect on the overall flock. We have seen the argument that "3 should be enough for anyone" many times on here before. It would be game management based on feelings instead of fact, so I hope it doesn't come to that. There are no doubt career state employees at the dcnr who agree with you and want to increase regulations. I have lately been encouraged by some things I've heard that lead me to believe that the CAB might not be willing to go along with this.
I'm not sure it's fair to say we have a one size fits all system, but the system we do have allows the landowners to determine how to manage their game. Most put far greater restrictions on their land than the state anyway. Deer are a great example; nobody ever killed a buck a day; it was just a mechanism to let the landowner control his land. I don't know about you, but my experience is that deer hunting has gotten worse since they implemented the buck limit.
Our experience may shape our views on many levels, but I'm pretty sure that I will never retreat from my view that it's a better system to let landowners manage their land instead of a guy in Montgomery. If I lose all my places to turkey hunt the way that you have, I will look for new places, or maybe just retire and be thankful I got to hunt most of my life in the AL system. I hereby pledge that I will not respond by wanting the state to stop 257 from shooting his turkeys.
