Let's Get Real

[Marc]

As turkey numbers decline, people move to more populated areas (populated with turkeys) and those areas are decimated. Then they move to the next area. Sooner or later, there will be nowhere to move to.

This here is the bottom line...  Many hunters with the attitude "I like to turkey hunt, there are no more turkeys where I live, I am going to travel to where there are some to hunt."  More and more areas get over-hunted, no increase in bird numbers, and that cycle continues.

As turkey numbers decline, hunters are looking for birds to hunt.  Hunting by nature is a fairly selfish activity, which can easily be seen by many of the posts on this thread.

Best solution is to improve habitat to produce more birds and wildlife in general.  Programs to CRP where private land-owners are incentivized (financially) to keep ag lands fallow, or to implement habitat improvements on non-ag land.

Takes money...  Lot's of it.  It will have to come privately from hunters and hunting organizations...  And most people will not get to hunt the areas that have been improved, cause they are privately owned.

As the population increases, and the access to land decreases, hunting will follow the path of European countries with hunting becoming more and more of an elitist activity...  Not sure I see a solution to that?

The leasing thing, to me, is a scourge.
We have an outfit here up north that is trying to capitalize on it. They're setting themselves up to profit from brokering between you, the hunter, and the farmer. They're nothing more than leeches.

Just like with anything else, there will be a-holes...  If it is a scam, with the Internet, word will get around, people will stop paying.  If people are having good hunting experiences, and the land-owners are making money, it will continue.

And...

As far as the Internet, I have watched the "Hunting Public."  For the most part, they attempt not to spot burn, and post up fairly ethical hunting situations, using reasonably good hunting strategies.  Yes, some people have seen this and think "Hey, I could do that too!"

But (outside of decreasing turkey numbers), by far and large one of the biggest factors leading to the increase of "traveling hunters" are apps such as OnX or Gaia.  Apps that tell you where you can hunt, and give you a layout of the topography...  With directions on how to get there.  And everyone has access to these.  They are wonderful apps...  But with them, there are no longer the secret spots that were hard earned through hours if not years of scouting and investigation.  These apps also have private landowners getting hit up by anyone and everyone to get access on their land to hunt.

The Internet and social media is undoubtedly causing some serious issues in our society...  The changing attitudes and entitlement seen in hunting is a very small scale of what is generally happening in society, and falls pretty far down the list of concerns for me currently...

We have drag queens dancing for young children, and it is being advocated for boys to play in girls sports and use the girls locker-room, and we are complaining about how the Internet is ruining hunting?

[Spurs]

As turkey numbers decline, people move to more populated areas (populated with turkeys) and those areas are decimated. Then they move to the next area. Sooner or later, there will be nowhere to move to.

This here is the bottom line...  Many hunters with the attitude "I like to turkey hunt, there are no more turkeys where I live, I am going to travel to where there are some to hunt."  More and more areas get over-hunted, no increase in bird numbers, and that cycle continues.

As turkey numbers decline, hunters are looking for birds to hunt.  Hunting by nature is a fairly selfish activity, which can easily be seen by many of the posts on this thread.

Best solution is to improve habitat to produce more birds and wildlife in general.  Programs to CRP where private land-owners are incentivized (financially) to keep ag lands fallow, or to implement habitat improvements on non-ag land.

Takes money...  Lot's of it.  It will have to come privately from hunters and hunting organizations...  And most people will not get to hunt the areas that have been improved, cause they are privately owned.

As the population increases, and the access to land decreases, hunting will follow the path of European countries with hunting becoming more and more of an elitist activity...  Not sure I see a solution to that?

The leasing thing, to me, is a scourge.
We have an outfit here up north that is trying to capitalize on it. They're setting themselves up to profit from brokering between you, the hunter, and the farmer. They're nothing more than leeches.

Just like with anything else, there will be a-holes...  If it is a scam, with the Internet, word will get around, people will stop paying.  If people are having good hunting experiences, and the land-owners are making money, it will continue.

And...

As far as the Internet, I have watched the "Hunting Public."  For the most part, they attempt not to spot burn, and post up fairly ethical hunting situations, using reasonably good hunting strategies.  Yes, some people have seen this and think "Hey, I could do that too!"

But (outside of decreasing turkey numbers), by far and large one of the biggest factors leading to the increase of "traveling hunters" are apps such as OnX or Gaia.  Apps that tell you where you can hunt, and give you a layout of the topography...  With directions on how to get there.  And everyone has access to these.  They are wonderful apps...  But with them, there are no longer the secret spots that were hard earned through hours if not years of scouting and investigation.  These apps also have private landowners getting hit up by anyone and everyone to get access on their land to hunt.

The Internet and social media is undoubtedly causing some serious issues in our society...  The changing attitudes and entitlement seen in hunting is a very small scale of what is generally happening in society, and falls pretty far down the list of concerns for me currently...

We have drag queens dancing for young children, and it is being advocated for boys to play in girls sports and use the girls locker-room, and we are complaining about how the Internet is ruining hunting?

Hey now!!!  Leave GAIA out of this...don't want that lil secret out to the masses. 

I have a different theory behind the competitiveness behind turkey hunting now though.  I think it is the big BIG BIG names.  Primos, MADD, Realtree, etc.  Those are the hooping/hollaring, face painters, reaping, and social media OGs (not Oldgobblers).  They post pics with half a dozen birds in Kansas/Texas with a reaping decoy and brag about 70+ yard shotguns.  You don't see that with the big names in YT.

[Kylongspur88]

Scott, where do you live that you can't find hunting within 3 hours due to crowds??

My standard drive to hunt (as I live where turkeys don't exist) is 3 plus hours away. However I drive it for single day hunts when that's all I have! I drove 6 hours to hunt one morning this year.

Sometimes you either want it or you don't.


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I'm in central KY, the public ground around me is in the northern, north eastern, or eastern part of the state for the most part. The closest place i have to go is an hour, the farthest place I've been is 2 hours and 40 something minutes almost in TN. Not quite 3 hours but close enough in my book. And every piece of public land that I've ventured to this year has had a massive increase of OOS hunters this season spanning from northern Ky to as far south East as you can get. And I'm not the only one noticing it. Opening day, I went out for an afternoon hunt, from 12:30 until around 2:30 I was driving trying to find a place that didn't have multiple vehicles at every gate, I found one gate that was empty and went in, had a bird coming in silently strutting, and here comes two guys walking through and go past me at 50 yards. Back to the truck and driving, spent until fly up doing the same thing I did since 12:30. Put over 400 miles on the truck and spanned 7 counties to find one public gate open. The next day I drove from 3am until 9 am to find a spot that I knew likely didn't hold birds, someone shot a turkey off the side of the blacktop road with me watching, back to driving. It's been the common theme this season. That's unfortunate that you have to travel that far, are you at least getting the opportunity to hunt when you get there?. Myself and other locals of these areas are not. Unless we just pull in behind them and give them the same courtesy that we've received.


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I'm in central Kentucky too. I'm a native hillbilly but now I'm just outside Lexington. We probably know some of the same public spots. There's one in particular about 20ish minutes from my house that used to be a pretty good spot and I've hunted it for many years but at this point it's just not worth my time. I've been in this area for a good while and the turkey hunters I know, myself included have all been amazed at how bad it's been the past few years and especially this year. Public land is overcrowded with oos hunters and when some of those folks aren't having luck on public they start cruising the backroads real slow with the windows down. At this point I'm either driving a few hours back to the mountains to hunt private or an hour and a half plus to hunt public that is so rough and god forsaken that few people venture there. It's the type of place you take a backup gun for your backup gun.

[WV Flopper]

 Marc, I enjoyed reading your post. I agree.

I have said for many years, many years. That turkey hunting was too commercialized, it's pretty obvious now.