Fall hunting season?

tonyrittenhouse · Nov 25, 2014

fall season

Turkeydoghunter said:
I don't Care if GA ever has a fall season ! but if a feller wants to hunt Turkey year around there's plenty of states that do allow Fall and winter hunting ! The Fact is when regulated with it's own season fall and winter hunting has little impact on populations, and Fall and winter hunting abounds across the nation ! most people really don't hunt in the fall or winter because it's at times its allot more difficult to kill a fall turkey VS a Spring love sick tom when all you have to do is scratch out a few yelps and he comes in running !

I wish spring hunting was that easy sometimes. Especially when I have been after the same bird for 2 weeks strait, sometimes it is easy but most of the time it's not easy but that is what makes it fun "the challenge". To me fall season would be to easy I can take you to my lease and set you in one hollow and say sit here and the same 6 long beards are there every morning. No calling needed just sit there and shoot one. I can take you to other spots and the same groups of turkeys are also there everyday. I just don't see a challenge to killing a turkey in the fall and with them all grouped up the way they are in the fall I think it would really hurt the population. I hope we never get a fall season.

01Foreman400 · Nov 25, 2014

hawglips said:
One thing Lovett Williams used to say about it was that killing a jake in the fall was like only taking half a gobbler in the spring, because 50% of fall jakes will be dead before they become a 2 year old gobbler.

Is that because of humans or other predators?

herb mcclure · Nov 25, 2014

Fall Hunting Season

Here in Georgia, things are a little different than in many Northern and Western areas where Fall turkey hunting seasons are opened. Georgia's deer season runs from September to January in a large part of the state where most of Georgia's turkeys live. Almost all of the hunting is on leased club land or private land,with food-plots and feeders to lure wildlife, or to hold it on the property. The hunter density on these deer hunting clubs is real high, this wouldn't allow for a decent Fall hunt. Fall turkey hunting requires a lot of walking area to locate turkey flocks, which need to be scattered real good; in order to stand a chance to call one back.Just random calling is mostly ignored. Therefore to stand a chance; you have to know the sex of the turkey you are attempting to call and call the same way. Calling like old mom-hen don't work either. Remember, I have said previously, " I hunted back when Georgia had Fall turkey seasons". Most of the killing in Georgia I thank; will be done from deer stands located near food-plots and feeders. I don't consider that much sport either; when it comes to turkeys.
Spring time turkey hunting best suites Georgia's conditions of crowded areas.
Our game departments study and know what is best for Georgia's wildlife. We hunters just like to keep something going back and forth on these hunting forums; for entertainment mostly!

hawglips · Nov 26, 2014

herb mcclure said:
Here in Georgia, things are a little different than in many Northern and Western areas where Fall turkey hunting seasons are opened. Georgia's deer season runs from September to January in a large part of the state where most of Georgia's turkeys live. Almost all of the hunting is on leased club land or private land,with food-plots and feeders to lure wildlife, or to hold it on the property. The hunter density on these deer hunting clubs is real high, this wouldn't allow for a decent Fall hunt. Fall turkey hunting requires a lot of walking area to locate turkey flocks, which need to be scattered real good; in order to stand a chance to call one back.Just random calling is mostly ignored. Therefore to stand a chance; you have to know the sex of the turkey you are attempting to call and call the same way. Calling like old mom-hen don't work either. Remember, I have said previously, " I hunted back when Georgia had Fall turkey seasons".

One of my pet peeves is that in a lot of states, everybody else that wants to hunt something besides deer is forced to tiptoe around deer season and deer hunters. Hunting deer from Sep to Jan isn't long enough for them to find room to let someone else hunt a little!

But your description of fall turkey hunting is getting me excited about getting out there one more time before the VA season is out! Maybe I can squeeze a hunt in tomorrow morning since they open back up for a one day hunt on Thanksgiving.

herb mcclure said:
Most of the killing in Georgia I thank; will be done from deer stands located near food-plots and feeders. I don't consider that much sport either; when it comes to turkeys.
Spring time turkey hunting best suites Georgia's conditions of crowded areas.
Our game departments study and know what is best for Georgia's wildlife. We hunters just like to keep something going back and forth on these hunting forums; for entertainment mostly!

I'd say you're right about that for sure - deer hunting over bait piles and turkey season just don't mix. And it would be a very bad mistake to have turkey season simultaneously with deer hunting over bait piles, IMO.

But two other viable options exist for any state that wants to consider a fall/winter turkey season: (1) make baiting for all game animals illegal, and/or (2) make a fall/winter turkey season outside of deer season. If I was in charge of it, I'd do the 2nd option since deer hunters seem to get real upset when you talk about taking their bait piles away. And heck, the turkeys are getting fat from eating all that deer corn half the year anyway.

But all joking aside, I would not be surprised at all if in states like GA and NC that have very long deer seasons and allow hunting over bait, that as many or more turkeys are killed illegally by deer hunters as are killed during the spring gobbler season. So a shorter deer season is a good thing for turkeys anyway.

I think something like 44 states have fall turkey seasons. And all but a handful arrange it like that around deer season. If the very few states that still don't have a fall season wanted one, it would be easy to arrange something like a two or three week season in Jan after deer hunters get through staking out their bait piles. And shortening the deer season would benefit the turkeys and allow more of them to escape the deer hunter's bullet and live till spring if you wanted to shorten deer season instead of making turkey season in Jan.

Bottom line for the way I look at it is (1) fall turkey season is funner than anything else to hunt that time of year; (2) the 5 states that don't have a fall season could very easily have one if they wanted one; and (3) like any other hunting season, it won't hurt the game animal populations if managed.

But I am glad not that many turkeys hunters care to go in the fall, for selfish reasons.

turkeykirk · Nov 26, 2014

hawglips said:
" But all joking aside, I would not be surprised at all if in states like GA and NC that have very long deer seasons and allow hunting over bait, that as many or more turkeys are killed illegally by deer hunters than are killed during the spring gobbler season. "

Over heard a fella talking in a big box hardware store yesterday telling someone that he was having a bad year deer hunting (hadn't killed one yet) and was going hunting today. Said if he got the chance was going to get him a Thanksgiving turkey.
I'm sure illegal turkey shooting happens more than most people suspect.

Timber1 · Nov 26, 2014

There are many large wmas in Ga. that are closed for deer hunting or have one or 2 quota hunts. These would be ideal for a fall turkey hunt.
I think dnr and legislators are just lazy and dont want to fool with it.

hawglips · Nov 26, 2014

01Foreman400 said:
Is that because of humans or other predators?

That's natural death by predators or whatever else, no hunting included.

six · Nov 26, 2014

I want to be able to shoot a deer in the spring if I run across one while turkey hunting. I've seen some really fat does that time of year.

As far as a fall turkey season goes I don't care one way or the other. If we had one I'd go. Since we don't I'll sleep in.

hawglips · Dec 1, 2014

My brother just killed one this morning out west. Said he had him gobbling and he came in strutting. Hunted him just like spring except using gobbler calls.

GLS · Dec 1, 2014

I'm for all states surrounding Georgia having a fall hunt. As for Ga., no. SCDNR has stated it's reasons for not having one after trying fall season for sometime. SC's reasons were based on scientific management principles and a recognition that some folks would cheat or game the season if allowed to shoot turkeys during deer season. Here's the official reasoning from SCDNR.
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/turkey/fallseason.html

longbearded1 · Dec 7, 2014

SC had a fall season for three years back in the 1980s, that was it. We will not have another until our current deer/turkey biologist is gone. SC had a dedicated turkey biologist but once he retired his position was shifted to the deer biologist, not good. 43 states have fall turkey seasons and most work just fine. Hunting with dogs that find and bust the flocks and then return to their masters is alot of fun, not trying to convince anyone but have been doing it for years. The dogs are covered up and you call the birds back somewhere close to the bust site. Three distinct groups of birds in the fall Boss hens with young of the year, jake and a half, next springs two year olds and then longbeards that travel together. Sat for close to three hours before on a group of longbeards before shooting one. While not for everybody it is alot of fun when I get to go.

Fall hunting season?

tonyrittenhouse

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herb mcclure

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hawglips

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turkeykirk

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Timber1

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hawglips

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six

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hawglips

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GLS

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longbearded1

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