Low Turkey Numbers

Anecdotally bird numbers are way down in SEKS and SWMO. Driving 65 miles if backroads I’d used to see birds every few miles. And lots of them. It just isn’t that way. Seems like 2000-2010 or so were the golden age around here. There are definitely still birds. Just not the huge numbers anymore.

If you like podcasts, “The Bear Grease Podcast” has had several episodes about the decline in the south. Kind of everything they say has reaffirmed what I was feeling.

Clay Newcomb is the host, his granddad was a hardcore Arkansas quail hunter. He told him, “Clay, never put your heart in a ground nesting bird” (talking about quail). But it now applies to turkeys. Everything is out to kill them. Predators. Habitat loss. Mother Nature/weather. One is bad enough, but throw a few years where they get the triple whammy, and boom, the numbers plummet.
 
cheesy said:
Anecdotally bird numbers are way down in SEKS and SWMO. Driving 65 miles if backroads I’d used to see birds every few miles. And lots of them. It just isn’t that way. Seems like 2000-2010 or so were the golden age around here. There are definitely still birds. Just not the huge numbers anymore.

If you like podcasts, “The Bear Grease Podcast” has had several episodes about the decline in the south. Kind of everything they say has reaffirmed what I was feeling.

Clay Newcomb is the host, his granddad was a hardcore Arkansas quail hunter. He told him, “Clay, never put your heart in a ground nesting bird” (talking about quail). But it now applies to turkeys. Everything is out to kill them. Predators. Habitat loss. Mother Nature/weather. One is bad enough, but throw a few years where they get the triple whammy, and boom, the numbers plummet.
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Which is exactly what baiting does. It draws every predator into a very small area where feeding animals congregate. Especially young chicks. Under your philosophy they have had over 10 years to recover and they haven't. And we had more habitat and more predators in the 60's when they reintroduced turkeys. 2005 or so is when NR deer hunting in Kansas really exploded and the leasing/baiting of deer properties took off. Aflatoxin is a very real thing. It takes only a few days for that to happen on a pile clean corn.
 
westksbowhunter said:
Which is exactly what baiting does. It draws every predator into a very small area where feeding animals congregate. Especially young chicks. Under your philosophy they have had over 10 years to recover and they haven't. And we had more habitat and more predators in the 60's when they reintroduced turkeys. 2005 or so is when NR deer hunting in Kansas really exploded and the leasing/baiting of deer properties took off. Aflatoxin is a very real thing. It takes only a few days for that to happen on a pile clean corn.
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Not disagreeing at all, because your hypothesis coukd very well be one of the 1000 cuts decimating the turkey population.

But….Missouri doesn’t allow baiting of deer/turkey. Arkansas generally is same way (except deer in special circumstances). Numbers still aren’t what they were 15-20 years ago.
 
I talked with a guy from Georgia over the weekend and he said their numbers of eastern turkeys are way down. As in a significant trending decline.
 
Munster927 said:
The only time I like the option of a second bird is when I take out of state trips to Nebraska, Kansas, etc. There's been times I've made the trip there, got lucky my first day, and can keep hunting. It would kind of suck if I drove 9 hours, hunted one morning and then I was done.
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Big game hunters do that almost every time they go. The bag limit on non-resident big game is almost always one and they probably pay a lot more than a turkey hunter does. If you filled your tag the first morning, that just means your successful. Even if you drove 9 hours to do it. I mean it could be worse. You could drive 9 hours one way, hunt for a week, and NOT fill your tag too.
 
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cheesy said:
Not disagreeing at all, because your hypothesis coukd very well be one of the 1000 cuts decimating the turkey population.

But….Missouri doesn’t allow baiting of deer/turkey. Arkansas generally is same way (except deer in special circumstances). Numbers still aren’t what they were 15-20 years ago.
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Missouri harvested 34,595 inn 2022. Kansas harvested 13,488 in 2022. Kansas used to harvest around 35,000 each year. Missouri used to harvest around 50,000. Kansas will have a hard time reaching 10,000 this year.
 
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And for giggles, 2006 Arkansas was around 20k birds, last year was 8k.

So for the 3 states I’m close to we are seeing half the harvest we had 15 years earlier. Population has dropped like a rock.
 
westksbowhunter said:
Missouri harvested 34,595 inn 2022. Kansas harvested 13,488 in 2022. Kansas used to harvest around 35,000 each year. Missouri used to harvest around 50,000. Kansas will have a hard time reaching 10,000 this year.
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That's pretty solid evidence right there. No refuting that kind of data. I imagine the number of turkey hunters has stayed relatively level too. Its time for these states to drop bag limits right away.
 
gimruis said:
That's pretty solid evidence right there. No refuting that kind of data. I imagine the number of turkey hunters has stayed relatively level too. Its time for these states to drop bag limits right away.
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If anything the hunter numbers may have increased. I feel like turkey hunting has gotten a lot more popular in the last 5-10 years. But I could be wrong. General hunting numbers have dropped but it seems turkey hunting is talked about more now than 5-10 years ago.
 
Munster927 said:
If anything the hunter numbers may have increased. I feel like turkey hunting has gotten a lot more popular in the last 5-10 years. But I could be wrong. General hunting numbers have dropped but it seems turkey hunting is talked about more now than 5-10 years ago.
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Could probably find those numbers somewhere but it would require some digging.
 
gimruis said:
Big game hunters do that almost every time they go. The bag limit on non-resident big game is almost always one and they probably pay a lot more than a turkey hunter does. If you filled your tag the first morning, that just means your successful. Even if you drove 9 hours to do it. I mean it could be worse. You could drive 9 hours one way, hunt for a week, and NOT fill your tag too.
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You can usually get several tags.
 
Bob Peters said:
I can tell you in MN the turkey numbers seem to get larger every year. The DNR has kicked around upping the limit because turkeys are becoming nuisance birds in some areas. The turkey spot I've hunted the last two years the birds love to investigate calls and check out decoys. One turkey I messed up two days in a row, actually ran him off getting to my hunting spot one day and missed him the next. He still came into the decoy spread on day three. Hey I'm not complaining, I'll take the dumb ones any day! And this was at least a 3-year old dominant tom.
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As a former MN resident, who turkey hunts multiple states including MN as a NR now. I would strongly suggest opposing an increased turkey limit in MN. If you hunt nothing but private land probably will make no difference. But the public land is already under max pressure and increasing the bag limit will only decrease the hunting experience. In fact, I would love to see it go back to zones with tag quotas per zone/week. Lottery again if needed or first come first served until the cap is hit. Make the last 2 weeks OTC with no quotas. Removing the different weekly seasons would be horrible. The amount of pressure on public land would be insane. Above all NEVER EVER allow crossbows into archery season except for the medical exclusion allowed currently!

If there are areas where turkeys are considered a nuisance in MN (I would assume select private farms) that is an easy fix. Offer hunting access to those properties. There would be no shortage of hunters willing to help decrease the population, myself included lol.

Chase
 
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