The Changing Times

[GobbleNut]

Doing a bit of forum surfing this morning, I noticed a discussion about the changes we are probably all seeing in the places we turkey hunt.  It made me start to think about what I have seen happening around here.

Hunting mostly public land that is interspersed with private holdings, I have seen drastic changes that have significantly impacted hunting.  Fifty years ago, the large tracts of private lands we have, which were largely homesteaded properties, were undeveloped and the owners were generally amenable to allowing hunting on them. Over time, many of those places have either been sold to wealthy folks who have locked them up...or have been split up into parcels and turned into subdivisions.

Often, in both cases, the new owners are trying to attract wildlife, either for viewing or hunting, and they either set up feeders or till a portion of their property with wildlife-attracting agriculture. With turkeys, in particular, birds that once roamed the public stuff and could be hunted are now spending most or all of their time within these private holdings.

The results are that we are finding fewer and fewer turkeys accessible for hunting on our public lands here. In addition, hunter numbers and the corresponding increased hunting pressure just keep going up.  The problem is increasing yearly here and I see nothing to indicate it will change...and none of it bodes well for the future of turkey hunting, or hunting in general, around here. 

Now, we have LOTS of public land here, so I'm sure the problem is not growing as fast as it is in other parts of the country, especially the further east you go.  I can only imagine what some of you are facing where you live and hunt. 

[Tail Feathers]

Texas is almost all private land, has been for a long time.  No public turkey hunting near me due to restocking efforts.  Lot of public land, just can't turkey hunt it.  Been that way for about 6 or 7 years best I recall.  Re stocking efforts haven't gone well.
So I lease timber company land to hunt  Along with a bunch of others. We are one of the few places with a decent supply of turkeys in this general area.
It won't get any better than it is now.

[Greg Massey]

What changed things in my area first was agricultural farming the days of small time farming is pretty much over... back in the early days people lived and made a living off these small farms. Most of this type of farming is gone as these people die off.... A lot of these farms have become overgrown and not much left after being logged etc... 

Like you said, rich people have come in and bought a lot of these places and either lease it or DON"T allow hunting at all... Liability plays a part also...

Back in my early years in our hometown community everyone knew each other and no one had NO HUNTING SIGNS ...you could run and chase wildlife all the time pretty much on anyone and they didn't care... Those old days are long gone.. AS you said the changing of times..

[eggshell]

One thing I am thankful for is at almost 70 my turkey hunting days are fewer then I have already experienced. It gets a little tougher to navigate and hunt hard every year. I have seen opportunity for available space dwindle so drastically that a part of me is satisfied that my hunting days are dwindling as well. Where I used to have my choice to hundred anywhere on probably 3,000 acres of land I can now only hunt family land and one very small private parcel of a friend's farm. I am lucky that's still around 1200 acres. Public gets so much pressure anymore that it's tough to enjoy hunting it. Our problems are the same as Gobblenuts but on a smaller scale. The old family properties are being bought up and closed off. Leasing is a major issue for locals. Out of state people come in and pay huge amounts for leases and shut out the locals. I can not pay thousands of dollars just to hunt a 200 acre farm. People are not only nuts they are selfish. I fear the day is coming it will be a rich mans sport. Purchase price for land has skyrocketed as well. Land that sold for $500.00 an acre 10 years ago is now bring $2,000.00 / acre. Someday when I can no longer physically keep my property up I will sell it to one of those idiots and move down next to Gobblenut and pester him in my old age. Heck it's worth about 10-15 times what I paid for it 37 years ago.

[Tom007]

Great thread. Changing times are here, and will continue to affect us all. In my opinion, the biggest thing we must pay attention to is the potential to lose available hunting property. You can't rely on your clubs, public, and "secret honey holes" to be there forever. I'm always looking, "securing" back-up properties to hunt in the event I lose one of my parcels. Constant searching and exploring new potential hunting ground will determine your future in the turkey woods for sure. Be safe and treasure each hour you get pursuing this fine bird...

[Dougas]

The western part of Oregon is the same as GobbleNut's situation. East side is slightly opposite. On the west side, public land is slim pickins and private property is loaded with them. Permission to hunt on them is very rare unless you know them.
East side, private is loaded with not much permission granted and public land has some opportunity, but very rugged where there are populations.

[Gooserbat]

In short the good ol days of turkey hunting are likely over.  Those who have been exposed to them will remember fondly and the rest will only understand the present. 

[WV Flopper]

It is a fact and it is sad, I do not disagree with the above.

Food for thought: The good old days for todays new hunters is today!

[arkrem870]

Loose lips sink ships.

It's that simple

[Dtrkyman]

I have definitely had more run ins with hunters over recent years, which is typically not too much of an issue.

My main issue is the ignorance of many of these hunters that I had not previously had issue with, folks just have gotten damn ignorant!

Most of my run ins with others is good but the not good has just gotten more common.

I tend to get away from folks rather easily, mostly due to the fact I can cover a lot of ground, but I also avoid obvious spots for the most part and will often leave an area if the pressure is on regardless of birds being there.

I have run into ridiculous pressure in places I never would have expected, fortunately there is a lot of room to roam there and I get a bird somewhere there every year.  Mostly trekking a ridiculous amount of miles to do so but not always!

Most days each spring I have no issues, they are definitely focused on here and other media outlets!  I have no social media presence other than a few forums so I probably do not see much of the banter online, I just go hunt!