Are turkeys getting harder to kill?

[Jack321]

20 years ago in our part of Illinois there were NO turkeys. I didn't see or hear a turkey for a decade. Now we've got a robust population and we consistently have success. This isn't a highly pressured area though. So I don't think they're being called to a whole lot. I've seen no change in their behavior over the past decade of hunting them hard. Some days they cooperate and some days they don't.

Not sure what part of IL your from. But I can't remember the last time I called in a hot gobbler that would gobble back to me as I called it in!

Two weeks ago for youth season I "called in a hen" for my son, hoping a Tom was right behind her. Nope.

But they gobble their heads off in the roost but once they hit the ground they shut up.

Now I feel like I have to hunt them like deer, just sit and wait. I'll blind call every 15-30 min. Every bird we've gotten shots off of has come in silent lately.

Frustrating.

 

[deerhunt1988]

Don’t even get me started on the amount of people you have to contend with now. Thanks THP and the pinhead guy that pets dead turkeys.

They have definitely helped to ruin quality public land turkey hunting. I hunted a TN WMA this past weekend (opening weekend) and it was a region THP had spotlighted in the past. I'm willing to be there were 250+ hunters there opening morning. Absolutely unsafe and ridiculous. It was NOTHING like that before this social media/YouTube era. But, but, we need more turkey hunters! Bullsh*t. The industry and influencers want more turkey hunters so they can $$$$$

 

[Sandhills]

I grew up huntin mountain birds where the hardest part was generally locating them and once located slipping in where they wouldn't see you. They did pull some fast ones now and then but we killed at least a couple beach between Grandpa and me every spring.

Then I tried hunting birds along the Sacramento river, where you can fit another vehicle in the parking lot and the rattlesnakes and poison oak will eat you alive. I couldn't for the life of me kill one of them birds, due to pressure.

Kansas and Nebraska birds, they're maybe a little more cagey than the mountain turkeys I grew up with but I kill em just fine.

 

[MallardSX2]

The turkeys where I hunt in GA are becoming VERY difficult to kill in the last 5 years .

We used to average killing 1 bird about every 4 outings.

In the past 5 years it is taking up on average 11 outings to kill a bird now. It's actually getting rather frustrating and to be honest, it's hardly worth it anymore. It's not really from a lack of birds where I hunt either. In my opinion it is a change in the way birds respond to calls overall. My wife and I have had lots of discussions about this. We think it's because of the increased numbers of predators (Coyotes and bobcats) overall but hawks and owls have proven to be a huge contributing factor to the birds shutting down early. They are EVERYWHERE and so very overpopulated in the south. As soon as those damn chicken hawks start firing off in the morning, the turkeys shut down completely. It's so obvious what's going on actually.

The government needs to remove the federal protections on hawks and owls and we need to kill about half of them.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

No problems on the ground I hunt, but I also trap for predators. Watched two Jake's incept a nice gobbler about 65yd from the decoys and run him off last night..you can no longer kill Jake's in SC.

 

[MallardSX2]

I wish we could legally kill bobcats during turkey season in GA. Unfortunately, we cannot.

 

[Poser]

They have definitely helped to ruin quality public land turkey hunting. I hunted a TN WMA this past weekend (opening weekend) and it was a region THP had spotlighted in the past. I'm willing to be there were 250+ hunters there opening morning. Absolutely unsafe and ridiculous. It was NOTHING like that before this social media/YouTube era. But, but, we need more turkey hunters! Bullsh*t. The industry and influencers want more turkey hunters so they can $$$$$

Pretty certain I know which WMA you are talking about in Middle TN. I have some friends who used to hunt there and complained about THP blowing it completely some years back.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I wish we could legally kill bobcats during turkey season in GA. Unfortunately, we cannot.

We can't either in SC without a depredeation permit or they have to be within 100 yds of your residence, season ends 3/1...
Thats all from trapping over the winter...took about 2 dozen yotes and 4 Bobcats off the farm I hunt..you can literally see and hear the difference in the turkey hunting this year.

 

[satchamo]

Around here if you aren’t scouting and locating birds before the season on public, you’re gonna get your ass kicked by someone that did. Too many guys and too few birds now - they aren’t any less vocal. But when you remove 50% of the huntable population you’re gonna think they gobble less…

 

[Skerhunter]

Fewer birds definitely makes it more challenging that is about it in my experience. I don’t give them a whole lot of credit though, when it comes to being “smart”.

I think it has more to do with calling to the right bird at the right time. A decline in population in an area makes it seem impossible, until it works then it’s like why didn’t that happen yesterday!?!?

I’m sure others have experienced the same thing before where you set up on a bird and it ignores you, but then you reposition and it comes strutting in a few hours later. Or you hunt the same group for a few days with no luck, then all of a sudden you can’t do anything wrong!

 

[Amos Keeto]

As I understand it, some turkey "experts" claim that since the most vocal birds are called in and killed. The quieter, satellite birds seldom get shot and breed successfully.
Therefore, quieter, less vocal gobblers are becoming the norm rather than exception.

 

[Chase0109]

On public land, most definitely yes!

Unfortunately, influencers, social media, YouTube hunting shows, etc. have really killed public land turkey hunting. Sad as it’s all in the name of profit.

You almost can’t even enjoy working a hot bird on public land anymore. You really have to hope he shows up quickly so you can seal the deal before some other Hunter Blows it up.

I would love to see every state get far more restrictive on turkey quotas, and availability, at least on public land. Kansas and Nebraska took a step in the right direction by putting caps on non resident tags. I wish Nebraska would cut their cap in half of what it currently is.

I’d much rather hunt less often, and have a better experience. rather than the combat turkey hunting we have on most public land these days.

Shifting seasons a little later to let birds get more breeding done would be helpful as well. Along with solid predator management. Probably the best thing that could happen there would be for raccoon, skunk, and coyote fur prices to skyrocket. I know not going to happen.

Unfortunately, without some drastic limits going into place turkey hunting on public is never going to be like it was 15 years ago.

Chase

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I would love to see every state get far more restrictive on turkey quotas, and availability, at least on public land. Kansas and Nebraska took a step in the right direction by putting caps on non resident tags. I wish Nebraska would cut their cap in half of what it currently is.

SC is good...used to get 5 tags, that was cut to 3, this year the cut the R tags to 2 and didn't cut NR tags...

Not to mention we can't shoot Jake's, and you can only kill on bird the 1st 10 days of season...We are good, no more restrictions needed.

If you want to see meaningful change..no turkey tags unless you get a trapping license and actually reduced predators. IMO whole bunch of folks want to hunt Turkeys but don't wanna put in the work it takes to keep the population stable.

 

[Will_m]

As I understand it, some turkey "experts" claim that since the most vocal birds are called in and killed. The quieter, satellite birds seldom get shot and breed successfully.
Therefore, quieter, less vocal gobblers are becoming the norm rather than exception.

This is what I was thinking. Certainly makes sense to me, if you’re an evolutionary type that is.

 

[Dos Perros]

In Kansas I have been hunting public since the early 2000's and I kinda always thought things were tough. Then a couple years ago we got access to a property that wasn't hunted for turkeys and holy crap it was like a Primos video. We easily called in every male bird on the property.

 

[Skydog]

SC is good...used to get 5 tags, that was cut to 3, this year the cut the R tags to 2 and didn't cut NR tags...

Not to mention we can't shoot Jake's, and you can only kill on bird the 1st 10 days of season...We are good, no more restrictions needed.

If you want to see meaningful change..no turkey tags unless you get a trapping license and actually reduced predators. IMO whole bunch of folks want to hunt Turkeys but don't wanna put in the work it takes to keep the population stable.

SC also extended the ban on fanning/reaping to apply to private land.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

SC also extended the ban on fanning/reaping to apply to private land.

Like they can enforce that on private land, just more nonsense. I have never tried it..rather call them in anyways.

 

[Skydog]

Like they can enforce that on private land, just more nonsense. I have never tried it..rather call them in anyways.

I agree. I've never tried it either. In fact, I had never even heard of it until I heard that it had been banned. I had to google it to understand what it was. I don't know anyone that uses that tactic, but from some of the Youtube footage I've seen it seems to be effective.

 

[Amos Keeto]

SC is good...used to get 5 tags, that was cut to 3, this year the cut the R tags to 2 and didn't cut NR tags...

Not to mention we can't shoot Jake's, and you can only kill on bird the 1st 10 days of season...We are good, no more restrictions needed.

If you want to see meaningful change..no turkey tags unless you get a trapping license and actually reduced predators. IMO whole bunch of folks want to hunt Turkeys but don't wanna put in the work it takes to keep the population stable.

Here in OK, we had an exceptional turkey population.
The seasons opened at the best time and a spring bag limit of 3 was satisfactory.
Last bird I killed was a fall 2019 bird.

In 2019 i had shoulder surgery and a avian pox came through.
I couldn't hunt, besides, that pox REALLY decimated the population! Where I used to see birds often, I couldn't even find a track.
Where turkeys used to roost had been vacated!
It was (is?) awful. The state reduced us to one spring bird and one fall bird. Then they moved the season opening date ten days later! Just to the last 3 or 4 days of the peak "rut"!
....but numbers are FINALLY coming back. I'm beginning to see birds where I hadn't seen them in a while.

 

[FLS]

I don’t think they’re “harder” to kill or any smarter. I think hunters have gotten less patient and have unrealistic expectations. Too many 15 minute hunting infomercials have warped our view of reality. I’ve hunted twice and killed two birds. One was vocal and one was not. Both took most of a day and some patience to kill. Here in SC we had a mid March opener and 5 bird limit. Those early birds were aggressive and easy to kill. Too easy, any idiot could kill a turkey, that’s the reason numbers are down. A lay down hen and half strut jake decoy made for a lot of quick kills and turkey hunting gurus. Now the season is two weeks later in the breeding cycle and the birds don’t come running in to die. They haven’t gotten magically gotten smarter… it’s still the same turkey as it always was. Its just not as easy in mid April as it is in mid March.