SCDNR turkey hunting survey

[ccleroy]

I like 4/1- 5/1 one bird. no decoys, no jakes

I know a few diehard turkey hunters who carry one tag and simultaneously pull the trigger with whomever they are calling for in order to add to their kill record. Guest tags the bird. They kill a lot of turkeys too.

Wow, that’s pretty sad.


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[2thDoc]

i find this all very interesting on lots of levels.


is it lots of factors or not?
is chamberlain the man or not?
baiting?
calling others out that shoot too many?
ten is ok if I chose the right ten?
hell, johnson said I shouldnt go turkey hunting after I killed ONE.

its information overload from a number of people that are fairly passionate about things, especially turkeys. at the end of the day, the majority say the population is declining. all we can do (as a whole) is to regulate people. too bad Duct Tape works in an environment that is so utterly screwed up that we cant count on him (them) to do the right thing.

this is kinda why i dont jump on many bandwagons these days. they never seem to take you to the finish line. and I agree that a podcast aint nothing but hot air in a format that lends it some odd credence.

[2thDoc]

oh and if i were a turkey I would be afraid of leroy and his kids....

[ccleroy]

i find this all very interesting on lots of levels.


is it lots of factors or not?
is chamberlain the man or not?
baiting?
calling others out that shoot too many?
ten is ok if I chose the right ten?
hell, johnson said I shouldnt go turkey hunting after I killed ONE.

its information overload from a number of people that are fairly passionate about things, especially turkeys. at the end of the day, the majority say the population is declining. all we can do (as a whole) is to regulate people. too bad Duct Tape works in an environment that is so utterly screwed up that we cant count on him (them) to do the right thing.

this is kinda why i dont jump on many bandwagons these days. they never seem to take you to the finish line. and I agree that a podcast aint nothing but hot air in a format that lends it some odd credence.

We do seem to be getting in our way on a lot of different levels for sure. Confusing to say the least, as passionate as I am about it I’m about to the point of saying the heck with it. I toted a gun myself a total of 6 times in SC this season, and enjoyed every bit of it. I just hope one day we’re not looking back and reminiscing on past hunts rather than enjoying present and planing future ones. Common sense needs to come into play with a lot of these problems, especially the ones we CAN control.


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[FULLCHOKE]

Must have a tag in possession to participate in the hunt.

I've said this for a few years and also would like to see it happen. Will it? Probably not.

Turkeys that shouldn't die get killed every year by an already tagged out killer finding a newbie with a fresh set of tags as his trigger man.

[2thDoc]

i take a lot of joy out of NOT shooting a turkey.
i dont take much joy out of shooting a deer with a rifle.
I am not afraid to use live bait.
I dont own a HECS suit or snake boots or, apparently, the correct leafy jacket.
I am a hermit that has never listened to a podcast or shopped at a walmart.


people are gonna people. opinions are like assholes.

[AnythingFeathers]

April 1st-May 1st. 1 bird 4/1-4/15 and 1 bird 4/16-5/1
No decoys
No Jakes
Must have a tag in possession to participate in the hunt.

So what your saying is that if I fill my tag on, in the case of next year when 4/1 falls on Tuesday, Tuesday-Friday and then my 19 year old college student kid comes home to hunt Saturday and Sunday, I couldn’t hunt with them?
Or I fill my tag on first couple of days and I am a paid guide at a hunting guide service, I can no longer make my supplementary income because I don’t have a valid tag? Or, someone who’s never turkey hunted, has a great spot to hunt and needs a little help on what to do, I couldn’t go with him?
Or….in the case of the commercial hunting industry, the star of show has filled a tag, cameraman doesn’t even have a tag, they have to cancel there production plan because of this law?

That is not a viable law. The first and third examples are how you get new hunters who could possibly be the future of turkey hunting. Sounds like attempt to keep good hunters out of the woods not save turkeys.

Continually trying to save the males will not save the species. If it isn’t somehow figured out why we’re not gaining hens as well as gobblers, saving gobblers will not matter.
1 hen + 4 gobblers= 1 possible nest
10 hens + 1 gobblers = 10 possible nests
The gobblers will do the work if the hens are there. Right now, at least from my observations ( 45+ days from preseason to last day) the hens are not there.

[WNM]

We don't need more hunters. You want to hunt with your kid, your clients, your cameraman (yuck), someone else, you save your tag. I don't hate the idea at all.

[Coastal Woodie]

It's hard to keep up with everyone's rules. I just enjoy turkey hunting, usually solo because I don't like people that much.

[ccleroy]

It's hard to keep up with everyone's rules. I just enjoy turkey hunting, usually solo because I don't like people that much.

Right there will you Woodie.


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[duckchoppin]

I know it's not a popular idea but if we are worried about the number of birds being killed this would drastically reduce that.

I'm not saying you could'nt go hunt with your son. You just couldn't carry a gun or any calls. Or you could wait for him to come home from college, hunt with him and kill one after. I have two sons and a third on the way. I know my days behind the trigger are going to slow way down and I'm ok with that. The reason you say it won't work is because you don't like it.

[ccleroy]

I know it's not a popular idea but if we are worried about the number of birds being killed this would drastically reduce that.

I'm not saying you could'nt go hunt with your son. You just couldn't carry a gun or any calls. Or you could wait for him to come home from college, hunt with him and kill one after. I have two sons and a third on the way. I know my days behind the trigger are going to slow way down and I'm ok with that. The reason you say it won't work is because you don't like it.

If you're worried about numbers of birds killed then get rid of the crutch called male decoys.

[duckchoppin]

That was on my list. see #2

[tman]

If you're worried about numbers of birds killed then get rid of the crutch called male decoys.

Say it louder for the kids in the back of the class!

[Glenn]

It's hard to keep up with everyone's rules. I just enjoy turkey hunting, usually solo because I don't like people that much.

Yeah. All this fussin', name calling, name dropping etc has blown past my level of caring.

Take me deer hunting.

[cajunwannabe]

Wow, that’s pretty sad.


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They've been doing it for years. The 5 tag days turned to 15 + dead turkeys. Those types won't stop no matter what the law, it is sad too.

I hunted 3 x in Newberry Co, didn't hear a gobble, something has to change to bring them back.

[AnythingFeathers]

We have had some fluctuating numbers on hunter participation (note- participation, not tags sold) over the last 15-16 years.
Only 5 of those being increased numbers.
Three were big upticks 18%, 15% and 19%. The other 2 were 1.5 and 2.5
The largest being 2021 after Covid. But we lost 12% the previous year
The other 2 being biggest being when we had statewide early open with 45 days to hunt.
But overall hunter participation from 2008-2023 is only up 147 hunters- 0.32%
Numbers do not point to hunter increase.

My point earlier there are many, many arguments to why this would not even be considered. They do not specifically apply to me.

I too hunt alone mostly.

Another thing to think about, New guys, whether or not you think we need or want them, are gonna happen. So would you rather that they go out with a seasoned ethical hunter or wing it after watching the industry advertisements/videos full of dekes, tents, long shots, reaping. You take the hunters out of the woods from mentoring new guys and you produce KILLERS, not hunters. Success measured in kills, not experiences. Because, they know no better.

An example, had a friend call and ask me to take an inexperienced mutual friend of his out to his property the last week of season, as he was going to be gone. I took him out 2 of 4 days he was in town. Under your proposal, if I didn't have a valid tag, I could not have taken this fellow. I was not sure I was going to make day 1. Had I not, he would have probably sat in a blind/ deer stand with decoys, possibly a strutter decoy, and not had the experience of 4 gobblers answering calls, cutting each others gobbles off, cutting my calls off, all just barely out of site. And finally, a wiley one slipping around silently and putting in his ear at 12 yds. He learned a lot in an hour- hour and a half:
Be still.
You dont need a sporting goods store worth of gear
Don't call like you're trying to win a contest.
You don't need a decoy.
You don't need a tent.
Turkeys can be crafty/ sneaky.
BE STILL!!!! (turkey saw him move his hand)
But most importantly- Turkey hunting in a pure form is exhilarating, fun and unforgettable. Even without a shot fired.

Told me it was worth the 26 hr round trip just for that experience. That is satisfying.

With you proposed solution, that would accomplish nothing towards the ultimate goal of increasing population- only saving a few, we would both have been robbed of that experience.

I know someone will pipe in a say " save your tag, wait for him to come and then hunt yourself". I didn't know he was coming until 2 weeks in. What if I had already filled my tag/ tags prior?

[2thDoc]

It's hard to keep up with everyone's rules. I just enjoy turkey hunting, usually solo because I don't like people that much.

we should go together, but separate.
and put leroy way the hell away from where i'm hunting, just in case.

[Golfernash]

I know that the numbers being reported don’t necessarily reflect this, but in the Lowcountry in the late 90’s early 2000’s there were not 1/4 as many people actively hunting turkeys. Ask anyone else in this area. Same response. We have waaaaay more people chasing them and even beginners are much more effective given the shortened learning curve with available information and ultra realistic male decoys.

Is this the main problem? Probably not, but it is a portion of it. Increased predation, change in timber management on old paper company land, lack of fire, alll play a part. But to say that we don’t have more people turkey hunting today than 20 years ago is ludicrous

[Highstrung]

I do my part.