My hunting buddy and I have been talking as we hunt and we both agree in our area it seems like turkey hunters have declined in the last 10 years. That is ok with us personally as we have less problems where we hunt, but we also know that the decline of hunting participation is a bad trend for the sport and wildlife. Do any of you feel the same way? I think the NWTF over sold it in their early years and many people just drifted away after trying it. It's a pretty physically intense hunt style. Maybe it's too much for some.....thoughts?
I think probably in overall numbers it has probably grown slightly. However compared to the nonhunting population it has probably decreased. If that makes any sense.
There's a shortage of turkey hunters in the Southeast, but no shortage of people trying to play the part.
I see more here in the Northeast, but I do not like some of the tactics I am seeing. I am seeing more people helping the very young but not those in their teens that are just starting out, wish I had somebody to help me a bit when I first started and I started in my mid 20's
Quote from: guesswho on October 17, 2019, 12:36:10 PM
There's a shortage of turkey hunters in the Southeast, but no shortage of people trying to play the part.
^^^^
A lot of truth in this
Here in N/W Florida we're getting bombarded. Saw more out of state tags last year than Iv'e ever seen. More turkey hunters every year, residence and non residents. Also noticed with this influx of hunters its no longer the normal to drive on to the next place if someones already parked there. This seemed to be a the widely excepted practice for so long but just in the last year or so it doesn't seem to matter who got there first, just pull on up, park next to me and come help hunt that one bird that's gobbling back there.
In my part of the Northeast, I am observing far less hunters in the mountains. Talking to freinds it seems that most hunters are hunting fields. Not sure if the overall number of hunters has changed.
Quote from: bobk on October 17, 2019, 01:53:14 PM
In my part of the Northeast, I am observing far less hunters in the mountains. Talking to freinds it seems that most hunters are hunting fields. Not sure if the overall number of hunters has changed.
I think that is largely due to the fact that we as a Nation are not in as good a shape as we were in previous decades/generations. More people are obese, more smokers that don't have the wind to hike those mountains and also more of the Adirondack Region has become private property or closed to hunting.
I hunt in NY and can tell you I see a third of the turkey hunters I saw 10-15 years ago. I usually hunt for the first 10 days of the season strait through the first 2 weekends. I would assume those would be the busiest times. I rarely run into a turkey hunter anymore.
To my experience, it has become increasingly more popular. In Florida permits to hunt public land are getting increasingly more difficult to be drawn for. Access to private land is becoming more scarce, and the prices are getting ridiculous. In SC, where my hunting camp is, it's hard to find private land to hunt, and the price per acre is increasing. So nothing I can see would make me think turkey hunting is becoming less popular.
Quote from: guesswho on October 17, 2019, 12:36:10 PM
There's a shortage of turkey hunters in the Southeast, but no shortage of people trying to play the part.
:lol: Ain't that the truth!! ::) Lots of bumbling Wally's walking around the woods these days saying they're turkey hunting.
I feel for you guys in Florida. I was down there in 2012, of course to finish my grand slam, and it was getting tougher then. Even in the last 7 years I have noticed prices have sky rocketed for guided hunts and with that I'm sure lease rates have gone up. People have no other option for an Osceola. A buddy of mine winters in Florida and says it's not even worth trying anymore, he just quit hunting down there. I think you can thank all the hunting videos, shows and NWTF for that. It used to be that bad here way back in the day as we had the best part of the state to hunt and there were only birds in a few counties (I'm talking 1970s and 80s). As the flock expanded it lightened up. That is not what I meant however, I know probably half the local hunters have quit turkey hunting or only hunt a few days. No one fall hunts. Deer are the rage here in Ohio and We are getting bombarded by out of state traffic and out of staters buying up leases. Lease prices have tripled from 10-15 years ago. Have I told you I hate leasing!! :character0029: It is too the point I can not even walk out my back door and hunt, 1,000 acres I used to freely hunt is now leased all around me, and all out of state people. Two years ago some of the lease holders tried to run my buddies off my land, said they had it leased. My buddies called me and they said the fools actually took off running when they heard my truck coming through the woods. There is still a group of land owners who have joined me in standing against leasing and don't lease our lands. We have about 2,000 acres the local Joes can still hunt. I think nothing else has hurt hunting participation more than leasing. If people don't have a place to hunt they just give up, because public land is too crowed.
Quote from: eggshell on October 17, 2019, 03:34:34 PM
I feel for you guys in Florida. I was down there in 2012, of course to finish my grand slam, and it was getting tougher then. Even in the last 7 years I have noticed prices have sky rocketed for guided hunts and with that I'm sure lease rates have gone up. People have no other option for an Osceola. A buddy of mine winters in Florida and says it's not even worth trying anymore, he just quit hunting down there. I think you can thank all the hunting videos, shows and NWTF for that. It used to be that bad here way back in the day as we had the best part of the state to hunt and there were only birds in a few counties (I'm talking 1970s and 80s). As the flock expanded it lightened up. That is not what I meant however, I know probably half the local hunters have quit turkey hunting or only hunt a few days. No one fall hunts. Deer are the rage here in Ohio and We are getting bombarded by out of state traffic and out of staters buying up leases. Lease prices have tripled from 10-15 years ago. Have I told you I hate leasing!! :character0029: It is too the point I can not even walk out my back door and hunt, 1,000 acres I used to freely hunt is now leased all around me, and all out of state people. Two years ago some of the lease holders tried to run my buddies off my land, said they had it leased. My buddies called me and they said the fools actually took off running when they heard my truck coming through the woods. There is still a group of land owners who have joined me in standing against leasing and don't lease our lands. We have about 2,000 acres the local Joes can still hunt. I think nothing else has hurt hunting participation more than leasing. If people don't have a place to hunt they just give up, because public land is too crowed.
I was just about to bring up ohio, the out of state deer hunters, and the leasing lol. It's pretty bad right now, and I'm in northeast ohio. My buddy and I had planned on hunting some public that I grew up hunting last weekend and got beat there by some guys from Pennsylvania. I guess that's what happens when ohio is the closest midwest big buck state to guys from the east and has some of the cheapest licenses available considering our trophy animals.
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In my area of Tennessee numbers are still average. Back around 7 years ago the number of turkeys were a lot more and guys were taking up turkey hunting because , they were thinking it's easy to kill a turkey. After numbers leveled off and it became not so easy, a lot of the 3 time a season hunters stop turkey hunting, which i have no problem with these group of hunters not hunting anymore. I had lot's rather be in the woods with a season turkey hunter, if nothing else for safety reasons.. You also can't tell numbers are down if you go to the NWTF convention in Nashville it's packed with people all day from all ages ....
Over the last few years it has become more popular here. I believe social media has a lot to do with it. Gotta have the hero pics.
Less access here in Florida. Everywhere you go farmland is being built on so you have less and less available land. More and more available farmland is being leased for paid hunts.
Doesn't seem like this. I used to have the statistics but our resident hunters have remained fairly constant. Non resident went up something like 500% from the year 2000. As our turkey numbers have plummeted we are seeing a decrease in both resident and non resident. It will be interesting to see what happens if they do in fact go to one spring tag and no fall season here.
Quote from: BigSlam51 on October 17, 2019, 04:00:42 PM
Quote from: eggshell on October 17, 2019, 03:34:34 PM
I feel for you guys in Florida. I was down there in 2012, of course to finish my grand slam, and it was getting tougher then. Even in the last 7 years I have noticed prices have sky rocketed for guided hunts and with that I'm sure lease rates have gone up. People have no other option for an Osceola. A buddy of mine winters in Florida and says it's not even worth trying anymore, he just quit hunting down there. I think you can thank all the hunting videos, shows and NWTF for that. It used to be that bad here way back in the day as we had the best part of the state to hunt and there were only birds in a few counties (I'm talking 1970s and 80s). As the flock expanded it lightened up. That is not what I meant however, I know probably half the local hunters have quit turkey hunting or only hunt a few days. No one fall hunts. Deer are the rage here in Ohio and We are getting bombarded by out of state traffic and out of staters buying up leases. Lease prices have tripled from 10-15 years ago. Have I told you I hate leasing!! :character0029: It is too the point I can not even walk out my back door and hunt, 1,000 acres I used to freely hunt is now leased all around me, and all out of state people. Two years ago some of the lease holders tried to run my buddies off my land, said they had it leased. My buddies called me and they said the fools actually took off running when they heard my truck coming through the woods. There is still a group of land owners who have joined me in standing against leasing and don't lease our lands. We have about 2,000 acres the local Joes can still hunt. I think nothing else has hurt hunting participation more than leasing. If people don't have a place to hunt they just give up, because public land is too crowed.
I was just about to bring up ohio, the out of state deer hunters, and the leasing lol. It's pretty bad right now, and I'm in northeast ohio. My buddy and I had planned on hunting some public that I grew up hunting last weekend and got beat there by some guys from Pennsylvania. I guess that's what happens when ohio is the closest midwest big buck state to guys from the east and has some of the cheapest licenses available considering our trophy animals.
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I hate leasing myself, when I started to hunt around 92 my friend and I were allowed to hunt a piece of land that was a mix of wood and fields and by the time it was all over we we pushed out to a small field and a woods that nobody wanted to lease anyway. You add to the the fact the the people that leased the land did not shoot at deer they slung bullets at then in barrages and it got dangerous to be in the fields. Now I can't get on that land any more and all because of leasing. Hate it. Getting to be like it was in England where only the royals could hunt.
Quote from: Southerngobbler on October 17, 2019, 01:50:20 PM
Here in N/W Florida we're getting bombarded. Saw more out of state tags last year than Iv'e ever seen. More turkey hunters every year, residence and non residents. Also noticed with this influx of hunters its no longer the normal to drive on to the next place if someones already parked there. This seemed to be a the widely excepted practice for so long but just in the last year or so it doesn't seem to matter who got there first, just pull on up, park next to me and come help hunt that one bird that's gobbling back there.
Ain't this the truth. We have people everywhere and then the folks that think they get an entire area if they parked half a mile away. Had a guy 2 seasons ago get pissed. I parked on a different road from him and had an easy walk to setup on a roosted bird. After the bird began gobbling the guy walked up behind me yelling I cut him off and he was parked up the road waiting to hear a bird. He wasn't to happy as he decided to spin tires, honk his horn and shoot his gun while driving out. I ran into him bout a week later and he had a different attitude. Usually see the same few trucks and know about where they are hunting. Then the new folks show up and get mad. I've spent many mornings walking roads and talking to the other hunters to gameplan where I can get.
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South ms
Garen dam tee they not less
More and more every year
It's interesting to hear you guys complaining about leasing. I am 49 years old and here in Georgia, leasing is as normal as buying a hunting license. I joined my first club at 18 and have never not been a member of a hunting club. Even my Dad's generation were mainly in leased hunting club dating back to the 60s and 70s.
I have never hunted anywhere where landowners gave free rein to hunters, but I do know how public land hunting can be here in Georgia and I can honestly say that I much prefer a private lease.
The lease that I am in now is a club with 2 of my best friends and their father, we started our 24th year in this lease this fall. We have had other members (friends) from time to time, but us 4 have always remained the core. My Dad (turkey only membership up until his health problems) and myself are the only turkey hunters, so that is a nice part of the lease.
Quote from: guesswho on October 17, 2019, 12:36:10 PM
There's a shortage of turkey hunters in the Southeast, but no shortage of people trying to play the part.
:agreed: I am starting to notice this
Quote from: guesswho on October 17, 2019, 12:36:10 PM
There's a shortage of turkey hunters in the Southeast, but no shortage of people trying to play the part.
I was in the "playing the part routine" when I first started. Did not have videos, you tube. I remember banging away at an old slate call. Did't sound at all like a turkey. Turned to deer hunting with moderate success. Then a family member listening to my tales of bad luck invited me to hunt his farm. Started killing deer and then he showed me turkey calling and then called in my first turkey.
I was fascinated with both deer and turkey hunting and am still learning today. Love to hunt the eastern bird but also only need one more Florida bird to fill my second slam.
It's unfortunate but those wandering Wallys that are "just playing the part" will not stick with the sport but will wander to another sport which really hurts turkey hunting in the long run. Yes there is a decline in Turkey hunting and many of the other hunting sports. Don't believe me? Just look at the average age of the people on this form. The majority are sporting Gray beards.
I repair game systems for a living along with many other electronics. Outdoor sports cannot compete with a PS4 (Sony Play Station) or X-Box. Obesity due to lack of exercise is rampant. Give it some thought and take a kid hunting!
Fall Turkey Hunting used to be more Popular in New York. I don't see many Fall Huntersnow. Spring Hunting however has exploded. Unfortunately, I see more Sprinting younger Hunters coming to the Gobble. :emoticon-cartoon-012:
I hunt all over the U.S., but my primary stomping grounds are in the southeast. Turkey hunter numbers are not decreasing here, especially on public lands. I believe 'turkey' is the one subset of hunters that may actually be seeing an increase.
I've saw an influx of folks 'joining the game' over the past several years. Mostly deer hunters trying to start turkey hunting. They think it is as simple as throwing up a ground blind on a food plot and plopping out a strutter decoy. Which unfortunately, put in enough time in a spot with birds, and they will be successful. And perhaps even limit out.
QuoteI see more Sprinting younger Hunters coming to the Gobble.
LOL, yeah one of the speedy Gonzalez crowd was on here blowing about how most of the turkeys were killed by his generation. It got pretty intense!
QuoteI have never hunted anywhere where landowners gave free rein to hunters, but I do know how public land hunting can be here in Georgia and I can honestly say that I much prefer a private lease.
Have you ever wondered why public land was like that? Maybe all the people who can't afford a lease are there. Actually, public land is huntable in much of our state. Sure it's more crowded than private land, but it's not so bad you just give up. In most cases it's only super crowed the first weekend of season. However, I see it getting more crowded after leasing came. In my area we don't have but one small block of public land, 90% is private. So if you don't want to travel it's not a choice. I hunt national Forest in a couple other bordering states and have very few conflicts with other hunters. Neither are heavily leased. A local paper company used to allow public hunting on thousands of acres until they hired a new forest manager from Ga. and he quickly told the higher ups they could make a lot of money if they leased hunting rights. That started the onslaught here. When you say you've leased with friends and family, that's great. What grinds my grits is the out of staters from down south came rolling in and paying big prices that locals can't afford. I asked the landowner that joins me if he'd lease to a small group of locals and he said I'd have to match the price the guys from North Carolina was paying, that is $10,000.00 a year....too steep for an old retired government worker!
Quote from: eggshell on October 20, 2019, 07:39:44 AM
QuoteI see more Sprinting younger Hunters coming to the Gobble.
LOL, yeah one of the speedy Gonzalez crowd was on here blowing about how most of the turkeys were killed by his generation. It got pretty intense!
QuoteI have never hunted anywhere where landowners gave free rein to hunters, but I do know how public land hunting can be here in Georgia and I can honestly say that I much prefer a private lease.
Have you ever wondered why public land was like that? Maybe all the people who can't afford a lease are there. Actually, public land is huntable in much of our state. Sure it's more crowded than private land, but it's not so bad you just give up. In most cases it's only super crowed the first weekend of season. However, I see it getting more crowded after leasing came. In my area we don't have but one small block of public land, 90% is private. So if you don't want to travel it's not a choice. I hunt national Forest in a couple other bordering states and have very few conflicts with other hunters. Neither are heavily leased. A local paper company used to allow public hunting on thousands of acres until they hired a new forest manager from Ga. and he quickly told the higher ups they could make a lot of money if they leased hunting rights. That started the onslaught here. When you say you've leased with friends and family, that's great. What grinds my grits is the out of staters from down south came rolling in and paying big prices that locals can't afford. I asked the landowner that joins me if he'd lease to a small group of locals and he said I'd have to match the price the guys from North Carolina was paying, that is $10,000.00 a year....too steep for an old retired government worker!
Eggshell, where are you at in ohio?
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I don't think it has. Here, in WV where I primarily hunt it takes cycles. When I started hunting spring turkey in 1989 there were very few turkey hunters. The ones that did hunt, were Turkey Hunters. I feel that I was very fortunate to have been mentored by some of them! There were a few new people to try it every year. I will say this, 20 and 30 years ago there was a lot more respect from hunters to hunters. Not that way today, some, but not like it was. There are reasons for this as well. (See Below)
Now fast forward to present. The social media, hunting shows on T.V. are promoting hunting (Turkey Hunting) nearly every day. As many of you reading this have seen, the people on T.V. typically make it look easy. This gets the new guys in the woods every year. Now, these new guys are usually a pain in a turkey hunters butt, as they run through the woods. Beat around, over call, spook every critter within a mile of them and typically just annoy anyone that comes into contact with them. We need these people in the woods. Even know they annoy me, I need them, We need them. Without them the turkey hunting population will decrease until one day someone will take my "Our" turkey hunting passion from us. Some yahoo from California will say "Why do we allow the senseless killing of Turkeys." We have them here in town, look at them, they don't hurt anyone. Why do we allow people to kill them, they are so pretty. We need a turkey hunter population in every state to support this, so it does not happen.
State Land, National Forests, Private Land and Leases are not so different. As many of these new guys are just starting out they may not have a place to hunt? Pubic lands get hounded by the newbies, which in turn annoy us turkey hunters, Its part of it. I hunt Private, public, leased land, it really is all the same. Just maybe with less of a presence of annoyance on some of the lands. I hunted on a lease in Florida this spring as a guest, it was good. There were turkeys, and a few hunters also. After the first day the presence of others hunters dropped considerable.
I did hunt the Green Swamp Fl. one day, did some recon the evening before. I found a spot that I liked and was at the (GATE) before it opened. I think I was 5th or 6th in the line. A guy in front of me was from Penn. and I talked a little with him as we were waiting in line. He had hunted the Swamp several times. His success rate was not what I would say to be good. Nothing against him, I think it was much more to do with the competition and the Turkeys themselves.
It was comparable to a Nascar race when the gate opened. Here is how it worked, The gate opened, The attendee would issue you a permit and you were off. Next guy up, and off. Like green flag racing. From the beginning of the gate the system was promoting running around like an idiot. Making people be in a hurry. Pushing people to get to they're spot first. Green Flag Racing! I have never seen anything like it. Remember above about the RESPECT part?
On a different note. There are turkey in the Green Swamp and you can hunt it. I tracked turkeys in the road where the road would allow. Seen turkey sign in the woods. I didn't hear any turkey, but they are there, Along with a bunch of other hunters, and alligators. Take a GPS if you are not from the swamp regions, it will get it back to the truck. Tall boots or waders as well. I entered at the West gate and I think there had been two turkeys killed by Thursday the first week? Kind of sad!
As usual I have gotten squirrelled again and off of topic. But to get back where I should be, I don't think hunter numbers are down. New 20 something year olds are hunting every year. The teen agers are not hunting as they were 30 years ago but they are starting a little later in life it appears. Promote it yourself, take a kid hunting. Heck, take one of the annoying 20 something's along, teach them the respect you would want shown to you.
BTW, I typically hunt alone. A few youth hunts ever year, but basically I hunt alone. Everyone annoys me, I even annoy myself on occasion.
Quote from: quavers59 on October 20, 2019, 03:31:16 AM
Fall Turkey Hunting used to be more Popular in New York. I don't see many Fall Huntersnow. Spring Hunting however has exploded. Unfortunately, I see more Sprinting younger Hunters coming to the Gobble. :emoticon-cartoon-012:
Its too bad the fall season is 12 days and 1 bird, a lot of other hunting opportunities going on in the fall for more time restricted hunters. I do however enjoy bumrushing a flock in the fall while grouse hunting, putting the dog up and calling one in, although it is completely incidental though.
I hear ya on the sprinting, instagraming , tide-pod eaters. Barrel stickers, hash-tags and prostaffing will not make a turkey hunter! NJ has it made and does not allow roost shooting, stalking (sprinting) or the silly concept known as "reaping". Gobblers in the spring are not that hard to kill with a little scouting and know how.
I would say fall turkey hunting is in decline but Spring hunting is holding its own. I kill fall birds with a crossbow when they present but generally (not always) these are young birds. It appears that with all the hype Spring hunting is where all the attention is focused. Online videos are doing turkey hunting an injustice.
Several individuals have commented on the free for all on public land. It is not really that bad in Va. There may be a lot of hunters in the first week but after that the crowd thins out. On many of the big national forests you can walk for miles and never see anyone after 30 minutes. I usually go for a hike and randomly call, no hurry no rush. It is surprising what shows up. I just keep my expectations in check but then the private land I hunt skunks me at times too and this land is very turkey rich.
Incredible what opportunities are available for the persistent hunter. I am enjoying the comments, stories and opinions in this post.
silly concept known as "reaping"?
Don't think I've heard of this.
Quote from: Crghss on October 21, 2019, 07:43:37 PM
silly concept known as "reaping"?
Don't think I've heard of this.
Some fool hiding behind a fanned out turkey fan and advancing toward a field gobbler. They are surprisingly vulnerable to this tactic and it takes all the normal skill set out of the equation. sometimes they come running in. Hopefully states will outlaw this process as its too effective and doesn't encompass any of the traditional methods of hunting a spring time gobbler.
I have calls and decoys that friends have given me because they dropped the sport. I think some have the mindset that their gonna go in the woods and shoot a turkey quickly. Fun at first then they realize that they really have to work for a bird. Also in cny the population of birds has dropped the last few years. Seems like fewer hunters in my area. That said we have also lost a lot of farms.
Quote from: Old Timer on October 21, 2019, 09:47:02 PM
I have calls and decoys that friends have given me because they dropped the sport. I think some have the mindset that their gonna go in the woods and shoot a turkey quickly. Fun at first then they realize that they really have to work for a bird. Also in cny the population of birds has dropped the last few years. Seems like fewer hunters in my area. That said we have also lost a lot of farms.
You're not to far from me, do you have the Mennonites coming in and raping the land the way I see here? They wipe out every tree and hedgerow in site, plant right up to the edge of the road making it hard to navigate many roads safely due to lack of visibility on curves and corners, thus causing whiteouts and drifting across the roads. They will not let you hunt their land at all or even cross over to get a downed animal but have absolutely no problem crossing onto your land trespassing after they have made it impossible for game to live on their wasteland and shoot up all your animals and then cop you an attitude when they get caught. Then they get crop management permits out the wazoo and again start shooting deer throughout the Summer making the deer go nocturnal and none existent of very very hard to kill because the have become so weary because of the practices of the Mennonite farmers. I know a guy (Mennonite no less, the one that I drive for) that they sometimes call to have him come over to get the deer off the land and he said 9 times out of 10 it is not even deer that are doing the damage, it is raccoon doing the damage.
Oh and then they will not frequent the businesses of the English, (Just as little that is needed so that they will still be able to buy from them if they can't get from somebody of the own kind) (That is what they call us) they will open shops and buy from no one but their own kind putting the normal Joe English in hot water and what makes it worse is the tourists come in here and think oh it's going to be so cool to go to the Mennonite shop instead of the Joe the Englishman and that makes it even harder for the English to survive.
Not all are like this, but a very large amount of them are. One of the reasons I get along with the guy I work for is he is against that attitude. He and I will sit there and drive by a pace and he will be just as upset as I am when we see a bunch of Mennonites wiping out a stand of trees. He also has respect in the way he takes an animal and is passing those attitudes onto his children.
Oh I almost forgot about the way they rip the roads apart with those steel tires. if a new road gets laid they do not even have the courtesy to let the firm up a bit, they just go drive down the road right after the road crew has left making large grooves in the road and making it bumpy to ride on, a brand new road bumpy!
I hear ya Sir diealot, we have a huge mennonite community here. They moved here from Pennsylvania about 25 years ago. We have a lot that are very social and active in the community, they do a lot of local business. For the most part they are an asset. I don't see them destroying the habitat like your area. I think it matters what leadership group they are aligned with. On the hunting side ......yeah if you let one in he shows up with all the friends and family, they will take over an area and harvest everything they can.
Don't get me started on the amish lol. I'm right beside Holmes county. I caught them on my property 5 years ago, they poached a doe. I made him tag it, and I took it. Had to go to work or i would of called the game warden.
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Quote from: eggshell on October 22, 2019, 07:55:59 AM
I hear ya Sir diealot, we have a huge mennonite community here. They moved here from Pennsylvania about 25 years ago. We have a lot that are very social and active in the community, they do a lot of local business. For the most part they are an asset. I don't see them destroying the habitat like your area. I think it matters what leadership group they are aligned with. On the hunting side ......yeah if you let one in he shows up with all the friends and family, they will take over an area and harvest everything they can.
Quote from: BigSlam51 on October 22, 2019, 09:37:27 AM
Don't get me started on the amish lol. I'm right beside Holmes county. I caught them on my property 5 years ago, they poached a doe. I made him tag it, and I took it. Had to go to work or i would of called the game warden.
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I have a Friend that married a Mennonite woman, she was shunned for marrying an Englishman. He tells me that in Lancaster County PA it is hard to find a tree, or at least a large woods. I was at Hershey Park PA which I THINK is in Lancaster County but I remember trees. I do think some of it has to do with leadership, but I think in many there is a superiority complex in them that makes them think they above the English, again, not all. I have a friend who's house was very badly flooded and they came and helped them rebuild, they do help in the community at times.
@Bigslam51 I do not know if you know, some don't but Mennonite and Amish are not the same.
It's like compounding interest rates!
There's way less kids into hunting than there use to be as a %, however with a growing population it don't take the same % to equal the hunter numbers.
Population growing, taking up more land for development and farming to supply food, eliminating land mass while simultaneously adding hunters to that smaller parcel of land mass.
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I am surrounded by public land here in Georgia where I live. I don't see the numbers of hunters decreasing but the numbers of birds have dropped precipitously. That in turn makes more people running toward any gobbler they hear causing conflicts with other hunters. Even have had people bust up a hunt claiming they heard bird first. How in the heck can anyone think they heard a bird before someone else.
Quote from: Greg Massey on October 17, 2019, 04:51:38 PM
In my area of Tennessee numbers are still average. Back around 7 years ago the number of turkeys were a lot more and guys were taking up turkey hunting because , they were thinking it's easy to kill a turkey. After numbers leveled off and it became not so easy, a lot of the 3 time a season hunters stop turkey hunting, which i have no problem with these group of hunters not hunting anymore. I had lot's rather be in the woods with a season turkey hunter, if nothing else for safety reasons.. You also can't tell numbers are down if you go to the NWTF convention in Nashville it's packed with people all day from all ages ....
I don't know what part of TN you are in but in West TN the number of turkeys is way down & that in turn makes the number of turkey hunters less it seems. I don't see as many in the spring as I have in the past. I personally think West TN should have a reduced limit instead of the 4 bird limit like middle & east TN. I'm no biologist but I do have a friend that is/was with the state & he feels the same way about West TN as I do. Too much pressure in the past with too liberal limits & bad hatches make it a lot tougher on the population. The honor system of tagging is a joke too! But I do believe that the number of hunters coorelates with the amount and/or ease of taking birds. As it gets more difficult the number of hunters drops.
Couldn't have said it better..spot on.
Quote from: sasquatch1 on October 22, 2019, 05:45:28 PM
It's like compounding interest rates!
There's way less kids into hunting than there use to be as a %, however with a growing population it don't take the same % to equal the hunter numbers.
Population growing, taking up more land for development and farming to supply food, eliminating land mass while simultaneously adding hunters to that smaller parcel of land mass.
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I don't know. I'm in S.C., and it seems like there are more people "turkey hunting," but I'm getting older and grumpier and tend to complain more than I used to. There's definitely less birds, so that doesn't help with the equation.
In NC I see more every single year many without a clue hunting public ground but luckily I can out walk most of them lot them guys don't venture far from truck in mtns
I dealt with a lot of "hunters" the last 13 years and honestly,Turkey hunting is one of the least popular to the "weekend" warriors in my parts,I believe it is because you need to get up extremely early,and have the skill and patience to call.
I am glad that there are less hunters,less poachers and headaches to deal with in general. I hunt only private land and don't need to worry about anything but hearing a gobble.
I have had to call the mnr on multiple occasions a decade ago on poachers shooting birds from their vehicle from the road,they caught the guy and It cost him a lot of money as he was a known poacher in area for years,that was my best "hunt".
I don't see 1/4 of the hunters in general in my area as there used to be a lot of rifle gangs for whitetail,now they are gone or stump sitters,the less "gang"hunting, the better imo...
It doesn't seem like kids around here want to hunt anymore and I know several guys who are aging out of the sport.
Quote from: Kylongspur88 on October 26, 2019, 10:44:50 PM
It doesn't seem like kids around here want to hunt anymore and I know several guys who are aging out of the sport.
I concur.
Quote from: guesswho on October 17, 2019, 12:36:10 PM
There's a shortage of turkey hunters in the Southeast, but no shortage of people trying to play the part.
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Quote from: ccleroy on October 27, 2019, 12:47:24 PM
Quote from: guesswho on October 17, 2019, 12:36:10 PM
There's a shortage of turkey hunters in the Southeast, but no shortage of people trying to play the part.
.
From what I see we are all playing the part. A few decades down the road there will be little if any turkey hunting for multiple reasons. Like it or not Turkey hunting is a dying sport. The instant gratification crowd is part of the reason. Turkey hunting is not easy.
Quote from: guesswho on October 17, 2019, 12:36:10 PM
There's a shortage of turkey hunters in the Southeast, but no shortage of people trying to play the part.
Definitely...
There wasn't much competition for turkeys when I started back in the 80's. Public gamelands were open to anyone with a permit. These days, they run draw hunts for turkeys on the public land near this area, because if they didn't limit hunting pressure, the resource would suffer.. The human population has grown exponentially more recently around here too. Where I used to be able to get permission to hunt some properties, now, that land is either being developed or has been leased.
I also hear more shots around the farms I hunt than I used to. I believe pop up blinds and decoys have made it easier to be successful without having to learn how to hunt old school, like everyone did.
Jim
seems like less hunters atleast for spring season may be a few more for fall archery though.
I feel like overall there has been an increase in turkey hunting popularity over the last 10-15 years. I do think with struggling turkey populations in some areas I hunt, most don't hunt as many days per season..... very little scouting and with a few days of tough hunting, they quit for the year. Hunters travel to destination states, such as Kansas in the Midwest, much more now than previously. It amazes me how many don't / won't turkey hunt their home state here, but will travel out of state to hunt. I think a lot of that is driven by the need for success over the experience of the hunt.
Not where I hunt In Missouri and Pa. More and more hunters every year. Last year I was up at 3 am to make the 5 min ride to a ridge where I wanted to hunt. When I arrived there was a rig from Arkansas parked there in the center of the road.
Idk guys, around here I believe there's more guys. In most areas there's more guys but it's still easy enough to climb higher, walk further or otherwise distance yourself.
Low hanging fruit and fields get lots of attn.
Here's my take ... Started Turkey hunting in 93 in NY because I had an incredible mentor to learn and go with ( I live in Ohio ). This corresponds with when Ashtabula county caught fire and Turkey hunting really took off in my area. In those days through at least early 2000's it was very common to run into other hunters nearly every area i hunted ... But as time has gone on the Turkeys expanded their range and the hunting pressure seems to have leveled off in the last 10 years or so. I believe this is due to many hunters can now simply hunt closer to home. I myself do this now for the most part.
Not here in south central Indiana at least. Our public land (and private) are overrun at least where I hunt. The loud birds are killed pretty quick! You can scout and not see a soul, but come opening day there are campers and trucks all over.
Late 70's and early 80's , i could float down the river and listen for birds on both sides and hardly ever see anyone . Now everthing is posted and people everywhere. All the public lands in Mississippi are bombarded with arkansas tags now ... In now travel to kentucky and hunt on a friends private land ....
I don't think many young people are taking up the sport. They typically avoid difficult things. There is a shortage of people entering the construction industry also-more hard work. Some country's like Kuwait farm out all their labor type jobs; are we headed in that direction? Anyways there are more and more hunters in my neck of the woods each year but I think it's established hunters that are not satisfied with their two bird limit and are traveling to hunt additional turkeys. I'm the same way, with a good economy I have money to travel and extend my season. So more hunters in my area but the additional ones are all from out of state. Probably if we see the economy recess somewhat it will relive some of the pressure on states that are getting hammered by out of state'rs.
Not sure where they have gotten their information from. Ive seen a steady increase since the late 90s with no slow down.
Missouri's permit sales report page only covers 2010-2014, and it looks like there are lots of year-by-year variations.
It really comes down to each hunter individually deciding how much company he is willing to endure. If there is too much company to his liking, he must move or quit.
In my experience, very few of the old/middle age (45+) guys who hunt are turkey hunters in my area - most are deer exclusive with a few who hunt coyotes in the winter or moose. However, despite being a much smaller hunting demographic in the area, all the young folks (20-35) I know who hunt, are turkey hunters in addition to whatever else they hunt. However, we've only had turkeys in my area in huntable numbers within the last 15-ish years, so lots of folks simply never took it up, whereas those of us who became adult hunters after the re-introduction of birds hunted them from the onset. I also live in an agricultural area with little to no Crown Land, so unless you have an in with the farmer or have birds in your deer hunting spot, you're out of luck. Hard for a new guy with no contacts to show up to the area and start into the sport.
Sure isn't on the decline in Mississippi.
Quote from: guesswho on October 17, 2019, 12:36:10 PM
There's a shortage of turkey hunters in the Southeast, but no shortage of people trying to play the part.
well said...
As the population goes,so does the bandwagon. Fall is less popular but most fun time to be a turkey hunter.
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