Missouri Turkey Season - Never Have Understood Why It Doesnt Start Sooner.

[heathwesley]

I too hunted Mo for many many years out of Houston, Mo, but no more. Way fewer birds than earlier years.


Gman

Gman - I hunt near Dora Mo. not far from where you use to hunt and I have really noticed the same trend.  I hunt in the big woods of the Natinal Forest and we use to get on birds every day.  The last few years we spend the trip just hoping to get on a few.

[heathwesley]

Well a lot of states that now have very good turkey numbers can thank the state of MO for a lot of them birds.  I hope the Conservation Dept is done giving away a lot of our birds over the years.  I think that has a lot to do with a lot of our numbers being down since the early 2000's.  They need to leave our birds here.  Of course they keep blaming it on the heavy rains every year, but I don't buy it.  

At one time MO had an estimated 1 million birds in the mid 90's. 

Id say your right there.  I know the area I hunt was cannon net hard for the dispersal of turkeys to other states. 

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

Well a lot of states that now have very good turkey numbers can thank the state of MO for a lot of them birds.  I hope the Conservation Dept is done giving away a lot of our birds over the years.  I think that has a lot to do with a lot of our numbers being down since the early 2000's.  They need to leave our birds here.  Of course they keep blaming it on the heavy rains every year, but I don't buy it.  

At one time MO had an estimated 1 million birds in the mid 90's.  

Id say your right there.  I know the area I hunt was cannon net hard for the dispersal of turkeys to other states.  

That's what I mean.  MO was rolling with birds and I do mean rolling in the 90's.  We had more birds by far than any other state in the nation and that was including TX.  Birds were everywhere.  You could call 4 gobblers in at a time on some days and not be a big deal.  Now you can't tell me that heavy rains will diminish your turkey population like this state wide and reduce your turkey numbers to half of what it was without some other factors going on.  I think the conservation has lied about this for a long time.  If that were the real case, how in the hell did we get 1 million birds in the first place with all the rain over the years?