MN Spring Proposal Changes

What does everyone think of the possible changes from the DNR for the Spring Turkey seasons?

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/turkey/index.html?tab=2#detailTabs

I’m excited about the opportunity to have a second chance on a bird if the first season doesn’t yield a Tom. I also like the extra 2 days of the 7 day long season.

Last year was my first year so my mind may be warped by having a tough hunt and no Tom.

Love it all. The current regs are ridiculously restrictive with way too much hoop jumping.

First off, it’s about time we got rid of the stupid “no weekend” or “partial weekend” seasons. That was just freaking dumb.

Second, given the variable nature of the weather especially in the first two weeks, it’s terrific to have a “second chance” season later. I got totally hosed 2 years ago when it rained for 4 solid days of my spring hunt and most guys don’t have the ability to hunt the entire length of their season draw.

It’s all good in my view. Thanks for posting.

Grouse

My first thought is I like it. I just read it and haven’t had much time to absorb and think about it, but as of right now I like it.

Now I have to decide if I should hunt at home all season long, or hunt at the farm for one week with the chance of going back to the farm…decisions decsions

Think we can still fix a few things. Change it to 5 days still for all the season’s Wednesday through Sunday.

The rest will get some getting used to but think we are getting better with the Turkey hunting.

Not sure about the second chance idea but will give it time to settle. There will be a lot of hunters will lose or not get permission because of that change but we still have to see how that affects those hunters. Could be for the best just not sure yet.

Has anyone heard anything about these rule changes and were the adopted?

It’s now December 1 and permit apps are generally due in January, so we’re getting down to crunch time here. From what I see on the DNR’s site, there is no 2016 application info or way to apply online yet.

Grouse

I want MN to remain a high quality hunting state, first and foremost.

Nationwide, populations are in a leveling off phase, meaning a decline. This was expected by many biologists as aggressive stocking and re-population programs have been for the most part discontinued. We’re now wiggling closer and closer to equilibrium with the natural environment’s carrying capacity for turkeys, given the fact that they’re hunted, and have variable mortality based on hatch success, winter severity, predation, and a whole list of other factors.

I feel that turkey access in terms of hunting, seasons, and tags has gone far enough, only because we’re at a state of unprecedented access. When I started, a turkey tag wasn’t a guarantee from year to year. If you wanted a premium hunt during an A or B season, you were hunting every 3rd year. Now, all are allowed a tag one way or another, youth tags offer nearly unlimited flexibility (the way it should be), and it appears like people will be getting multiple cracks at birds that don’t cooperate or are otherwise difficult to kill given season, weather, and a whole host of reasons. I know we walk a fine line in between participation/recruitment and apathy, but it appears to my eyes at least that regs are now being changed to not necessarily increase hunter involvement, but to increase hunter convenience.

My concern is that convenience leads to higher kill rates, and large block management (which we’ve gone to in recent history) leads to hotspots (and coldspots) on the map. I’ve hunted a good number of states with “open” type seasons, and invariably what’s found is pockets of bird activity. Often, this is irrespective to the quality of the habitat, it’s a response to the quantity of hunting pressure.

We were spoiled in the late 90s and early 2000s with populations which simply weren’t sustainable, at least in my opinion. This coincided with the incredible increase in MN Turkey Hunting participation. Now, turkeys ain’t so stupid, and we have less of them. I just hope that MN continues to be “better” than the other states in terms of quality of the hunt, number of birds contacted, AND reasonable opportunity to hunt.

Joel