Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk ALTurkey Talk -- Beards and Spurs April only - 3 bird proposal

Maybe they’re gonna extend deer season even longer and don’t want turkey hunters in the way? This is some crap I could see em doing 🤦🏻‍♂️

Maybe I will actually be able to limit out now.

Some of the new research available to us surrounding the breeding, nesting and brooding process is applicable to these type discussions in today's environment....

https://tv.nwtf.org/2020/05/14/cocktails-and-conservation-nesting-brooding/

Sykes is an idiot and needs to go!! They’re biting the hand that feeds them by crap like this. Those geniuses wonder why license sales suck, this is why. May say the hell with hunting AL this year!!

After talking to a few folks about the situation, I don't think that these proposed changes are a done deal at all. I'm gonna write another letter and send it out to every CAB member, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. I think there is a good chance we can defeat this, and keep our AL system of turkey management in place. It's worked well for over 60 years; no reason it can't work 60 more.

There are more deer hunter than turkey hinders. 🙄🙄🙄

If I translated that correctly, I'm glad to have fewer turkey hunters and hopefully several thousand more will give it up soon.

I've quit on three birds for the last 25 years...and I disagree with Sykes trying to lower the limit without biological reasons to do so.

I've been curious about this all along, but why jump from 5 to 3 bird limit? What happened to 4?

Also, I believe most on here agree a decoy ban would solve alot of these 'problems'. Why not ban decoys for adults, but allow them for youth weekend or if a youth hunter is present? Easily enforceable, allows kids to get hooked on it by having success, takes away an adult crutch. Just a thought.

If there really is a problem with dominant birds being killed too early in the season and it actually resulting in lowered poult production, then I agree with you that a decoy ban would do far more to solving the problem than any other action. Now, let me say first, that I am more convinced than ever that there is absolutely zero evidence that gobbler harvest is affecting poult production. You can be sure that if they had such evidence they would be walloping us over the head with it every day. They don't have it, and in fact all attempts so far to find such evidence have gone the wrong way for them - it just shows that hunting doesn't make any difference.

They say that the research shows that the dominant gobblers are being killed early in the season, and I would think that they must have genuine evidence for repeating that so often. It is not my experience as a turkey hunter. Given the choice of hunting a dominant bird that has 10 hens with him, or hunting one who is all alone, I will hunt the lone gobbler every time. A gobbler that is henned up like that is extremely difficult to call. If those turkeys are really being killed, I suspect that decoys and fans are the way it's being accomplished. Eliminate the decoys, and the dominant gobbler is far more likely to live until later in the season; that's when he becomes vulnerable to calling.

It would be fine with me to just eliminate decoys altogether, but maybe not allowing them until April 1 would be a more acceptable compromise.

I agree and was having this same conversation with another member here earlier. As we have mentioned, there are far too many other courses of action rather than drastically altering Alabama's turkey season by way of a 3 bird limit and a blanket April starting date, with decoys being a prime candidate for restriction or removal if they insist on their reasoning of 'too many dominant gobblers being killed early in the season'. It's a no-brainer for most turkey hunters who have been at it awhile. I also believe they do not have the scientific facts to back up their claims.

They want birds to breed? Shut off hunting at noon everyday and let the birds have the evenings to breed and settle back down. Too many folks sit of food plots and bush wack them. Leave the season and limits alone.

Now this makes more sense than anything else that I have heard. They do it on the WMAs might as well make it state wide.

I'm no biologist. Just a turkey hunter. Some of my best hunting buddies are biologists, however.,been some interesting late night conversations around the campfires. The decline is obviously multi faceted...
No way to blame any one factor. I realize there are some private lands that are yet to be affected, but most public lands are down in numbers, to some degree. In this modern age of cyber scouters & video professionals, public turkeys get absolutely hammered these days. I can remember when guys would say I was crazy for chasing a bird around in spring. Today, EVERYone is a turkey hunter. I certainly miss the days of yore...

I'd be ok with losing some 'crutches', like tent blinds & decoys.

Not a bad idee, makes sense. Chuck and Co. will never go for it.

I still contend that I have not seen any ACTUAL scientific data showing the following:

(1) turkey populations have decreased;
(2) that these decreases are due, in part, to human harvest;
(3) this dominant bird theory is supported.

Does anyone have anything? I've heard talk of fewer turkeys, and believe myself that a few years ago, it seemed like there were fewer, but last year was good, and this spring/summer, I've seen more poults than in a long, long time. Is it possible, there are cycles? Weather? Or is it possible we never had a "problem" to begin with? I'd love to see the real numbers.

Personally, I don’t like that idea at all. I never saw a mass abundance of population growth on the WMAs that do that.

I don't need a watch or a calendar.

I agree with this statement. Wish people could leave chit alone. We saw a big decline in the population 10-15 yrs ago but the last 5 years the birds are making a strong come back. Everything comes in cycles. BTW best year of poults I’ve ever seen.

Me too with the crutches...

Ask your biologist buddies if we need to limit harvest on 95% of our lands to fix a problem on “most public lands”, the other 5%. Seems like they should address it locally.