I have read a lot of the research about the season timing. Basically using averages for hen nest start dates they have determined most of the Gobblers were being killed before the breeding season had finished and hens started their nest. And yes everyone knows one Gobbler can breed multiple hens, but hunting pressure during the breeding season and fewer Gobblers to do the breeding can leave hens unbred. As for as Lovett Williams...I have read everyone of his books and don’t recall him saying a later season would be detrimental. The “theory” that hens will abandon nests if disturbed is redicoulous I’ve flushed hens from their nest and the next day they were right back on them. There is a difference in repeatedly spooking a hen off the first 3 or 4 eggs and flushing one after incubation begins. Once they have a full clutch and have started the incubation they will return they have too much invested. If they get flushed several times off the first few eggs they will usually abandon that partial nest because it is obviously in a poor location, they will try again in another spot. How many of those complaining about the season change regularly kill a 5 Gobbler limit? And of those how many kill all 5 in the first two weeks? If you are one of the majority that never kills 5 and usually 2or 3 in a good year, you probably have been hunting them in the later part of the season anyway and a week or two either way will not make a difference. I will not go into details but anyone that hunts everyday of the season, which I have done for years, will already know about the peaks of gobbling activity, the Gobbling Lull and the difference in Gobbler behavior before during and after the breeding season. If you are a part timer that has been hunting turkeys for 30 years but only have maybe 5 seasons total worth of days in the woods I can see why you would think a week or two will ruin your season.
Would everyone prefer they do nothing and let the turkeys slide off into oblivion. If you have real documented researched facts of why this won’t work and what your research has proven to be better, let’s hear it otherwise you’ll have to adapt your hunting tactics. Missing the early season will affect the strutter decoy crowd the most because the pecking order will be established before the season opens and the fighting will be mostly over. The chufa patch “hunters” will probably not notice a difference as turkeys will still be eating, but then again chufa patch sitters don’t notice much anyway sitting in a tent all day staring at a bait field. As for those that made the remarks about season dates only being a suggestion you have proven you don’t care about what’s best for the Wild Turkey you just want to say you killed one.....sad.
Lighten up Francis, it was a joke........ Sort of
