we have turned turkey camp into a deer camp vibe. Their is close to 10 of us that hunt and hang out around the farm. Lots of free time to get projects done and fix deer stands. we were 9/10 last year. we hunt alot of property we get permission on. Have to give my brother in law credit he started hunting with no on else and the group really expanded during covid. Its a fun time to get together.
I think some of those rumors could be based on when people used to raise pheasants and turkeys together in large pens. My uncle did this and all he did was b*tch about the turkeys killing the young pheasants or whiping out the eggs. He later got rid of them altogether and just raised pheasants. That is more anecdotal evidence, and not based in “wild” birds for sure.
Truthfully I couldn’t care less about turkes. Except my 12 year old has gotten into hunting them so I take him out. He’s been owl hooking in the backyard for 2 weeks now before school. I do know I’m not a big fan when I plant my deer food plot and the next day I have 30+ turkeys scratching the seed back out of the ground. And most farmers with plastic covered feed pile’s would rather see them all dead. They like to sit on top of the piles tearing holes in the plastic and causing spoilage. When the boy asks permission he gets, “ya you can hunt but you gotta shoot 5 of them dam things.”
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fins wrote:</div>
So there is data and studies saying they don’t?Yes,
I would consider that far from scientific data. I’m pretty sure someone’s theory from a special interest group doesn’t count. Nice try though. Everyone knows turkeys will eat anything they can find and eggs just happen to be one of their favorites
“ya you can hunt but you gotta shoot 5 of them dam things.”
With the number of turkey hunters being low comparatively to other wild game, I have often wondered the limits too. When you compare turkeys to pheasants, the turkeys are FAR more resilient than pheasants. Surely seem to handle poor winters better. Why not allow more than one bird per season?
Is the University of Tennessee a “special interest” group ? asking before I bother posting their findings… because, your scientific study is so much more evident.
My friend has got a tom in his pasture and he is gobbling like crazy, and spitting. At leaast that is what it sounds like. The hens were with him the other day.
Is the University of Tennessee a “special interest” group ? asking before I bother posting their findings… because, your scientific study is so much more evident.
You won’t be able to convince him. He’s hell bent on making the wild turkey and their story of conservation success a farse.
Thank you for posting the link above.
Turkeys appear susceptible to over harvest (albeit there may be other reasons for population declines in key states).
Many states that once had higher limits, long seasons, and over the counter nonresident tags are now decreasing limits and hunting pressure.
Eliminating time periods and increasing bag limits would result in higher pressure on the bird population and could induce more leasing, etc…
Turkeys appear susceptible to over harvest (albeit there may be other reasons for population declines in key states).
Many states that once had higher limits, long seasons, and over the counter nonresident tags are now decreasing limits and hunting pressure.
Eliminating time periods and increasing bag limits would result in higher pressure on the bird population and could induce more leasing, etc…
This has happened in Kansas and Nebraska recently. They’ve dropped bag limits, no more harvesting of hens, and limited non resident tags.
Best to keep a thriving population thriving. Over harvest and pressure is real.
I think a big part of it has been severe drought in recent years.
There is definitely a hatred for turkeys, like wolves in some of the forested areas of the state. Specifically among people I’ve met in Aitkin County and St Louis County. Mainly because they’re allegedly hard on the grouse. I have no first hand experience, I’ve never seen a turkey kill a grouse chick or eat an egg. Turkeys are omnivores though and will eat just about anything they can fit in their mouths. It’s definitely possible that they prey on grouse and/ or woodcock chicks or eggs.
Turkeys showed up at our place in Aitkin County about 10-12 years ago. We’ve seen their population fluctuate quite a bit since then. Deep snow (especially this time of year) is definitely hard on them. So far we haven’t noticed any concerning changes in grouse numbers or any other changes at all.
Some of my favorite turkey spots also are my favorite grouse spots.
They are generally not competing for the same habitat, turkeys prefer high open mature areas and grouse prefer young low thick areas. The common area where they may overlap is trails and roads. All animals utilize the trails in the big woods.
Maybe time will tell a different story but at this point I’m not too concerned about their impact, though they definitely have far surpassed their original range in the state.
I haven’t been out scouting much yet but I expect a good season following yet another light winter in the snow department. Especially in the northern counties.
I have talked to tons of landowners over the years asking to get permission to hunt this or that. Not a single one of them said shoot every pheasant you see but nearly all of them said shoot every turkey you see. At least the farmers I’ve talked with absolutely hate them for one reason or another not entirely sure. I just laughed. One farmer said he was sick and tired of chasing him out of his machine shed. I asked him if he had a door. He said yes. I asked have you tried closing it? He looked at me funny LOL
I will say they are an interesting bird and I’d love to hunt them some time just things haven’t worked out for me but 2 of my boys have gotten one. Fun time.
Black Hills has also gone to a limited draw on NR turkey licenses. Big change for many Minnesotans to head there.
I have talked to tons of landowners over the years asking to get permission to hunt this or that. Not a single one of them said shoot every pheasant you see but nearly all of them said shoot every turkey you see. At least the farmers I’ve talked with absolutely hate them for one reason or another not entirely sure. I just laughed. One farmer said he was sick and tired of chasing him out of his machine shed. I asked him if he had a door. He said yes. I asked have you tried closing it? He looked at me funny LOL
I will say they are an interesting bird and I’d love to hunt them some time just things haven’t worked out for me but 2 of my boys have gotten one. Fun time.
This exactly. No different than the feral hogs down south. There should be no season or limit on them. It’s obvious their population is out of control and they are having a huge impact on not only things in nature but also farming and agriculture.
No different than the feral hogs down south. There should be no season or limit on them. It’s obvious their population is out of control and they are having a huge impact on not only things in nature but also farming and agriculture.
I wouldnt go that far, but I do think many dont like them and they could use more hunting pressure. Turkeys were here once but were killed off. Feral hogs are not native and should be eradicated. Big difference I think.
This exactly. No different than the feral hogs down south. There should be no season or limit on them. It’s obvious their population is out of control and they are having a huge impact on not only things in nature but also farming and agriculture.
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That’s a stretch. Your a kind of drama queen aren’t you? Over react much? I bet you’re fun to be around.
Their population seems high in the northern regions but it has more to do with suitable habitat. The best habitat for turkeys in the northern forested areas is yards, ditches, roads and trails. Therfore they are very visible and your likely seeing all the turkeys in that general area at one time. If you get far from any of those there are very few turkeys. If you know anything about the north woods, you know there’s a lot of area that isn’t ideal turkey habitat.
As for agriculture. They’re aren’t many species of wildlife that farmers don’t have distain for. The landscape most of them create on their farms shows that. No wildlife is good wildlife to a lot of them.
The farmers I know are much more concerned about deer and goose numbers than turkeys. Turkeys eat a lot of things other than grain.
I do find it hypocritical how the dnr is so concerned about some invasive species, some native ranges, but not others. With their concern for other species you’d think they would at least attempt to study their impact on new areas that they’ve expanded to.
I do find it hypocritical how the dnr is so concerned about some invasive species, some native ranges, but not others. With their concern for other species you’d think they would at least attempt to study their impact on new areas that they’ve expanded to.
We should get a posse together to hunt those Super Pigs coming in from Canada. I have heard there have been some sightings already in NW MN, but I havent heard of any getting killed. Honestly, I dont even know what the DNRs stance on them is if we were to run across them?
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