Telecheck Results 2019 *Final Numbers posted page 4

[Buckman18]

Biologist in SC ran DNA test on over 300 samples of coyote feces and only 2 had turkey DNA. Coyotes are not hurting your turkeys

Let’s just say for the sake of argument that a coyote takes a hockey 1x a day. My dog takes a hockey multiple times a day, but let’s just say a coyote only takes a hockey once. Just once...

That coyote takes a hockey 365x per year, and he had fresh turkey twice. There’s 25 coyotes on your property right now. That’s 50 fresh turkey meals per year.

Might want to rethink that statement about coyotes impacting turkeys??? Maybe I’m full of hockey...

 

[Mark K]

I just trap whatever has 4 legs and isn’t a deer. I figure I’m bound to help out in some way.
According to SC coyotes may not be a problem as far as killing turkeys, but I know dang well they hunt them. Otherwise I wouldn’t be calling them up when calling turkeys. If nothing else I’m reducing stress for my population.

 

[sea trout]

Let’s just say for the sake of argument that a coyote takes a hockey 1x a day. My dog takes a hockey multiple times a day, but let’s just say a coyote only takes a hockey once. Just once...

That coyote takes a hockey 365x per year, and he had fresh turkey twice. There’s 25 coyotes on your property right now. That’s 50 fresh turkey meals per year.

Might want to rethink that statement about coyotes impacting turkeys??? Maybe I’m full of hockey...

I've killed 1 turkey on our Wilkes Co. lease this spring.
Also this spring my son and I have came across 1 eaten scattered turkey, and just last week I found 1 more eaten turkey. I assume these are coyotes, (I'm aware it MAY be bobcat, eagle, black panther). These were both ADULT turkeys, 1 hen for sure (found legs) and the other seems to have gobbler tail feathers, (no legs found).

Thanks for posting up the gamecheck results all the time.
It's interesting!
I wish everyone would take a few minutes to check in turkeys it so we could have extreme accurate numbers.

 

[Arrow3]

05/06/19 update at 10:05am

So far in 2019 we are 47 days into a 56 day season (youth weekend included). As of 5/06/19 at 10:05PM there have been 10,769 turkeys killed. This is a average of 229 per day and puts us on pace for 12,932 turkeys killed in 2019.

708 turkeys killed in the last week

Didn't I see somewhere that Missouri killed 35,000 + this year?

 

[Turkeytider]

Didn't I see somewhere that Missouri killed 35,000 + this year?

Imho, anyone who cares ANYTHING about the resource will report their birds.

 

[Mark K]

I’m gonna report 6 and see if I get paid a visit.

 

[Tomboy Boots]

I watched a coyote trying to catch a turkey this year. It was a jake and it survived. If that had been an adult gobbler in full strut the coyote wouldn't have had much trouble killing him. The coyotes definitely kill hens nesting and also bust up the nest and destroy eggs. I've come across the remains of several turkeys in the woods this year. They could have been killed by any number of predators, but I've also seen coyotes and bobcats called up while turkey hunting.

 

[Gut_Pile]

Imho, anyone who cares ANYTHING about the resource will report their birds.

I think it was close to 40,000 but they have had their worst two seasons back to back. They killed 60,000 about 10 years ago.

 

[elfiii]

So you've seen a coyote eating a turkey on your trail camera and also with your own eyes?

No. Last Summer/Fall I had a healthy population of Turkeys verified by multiple trail camera pics and visual sightings. The coyotes started moving in late Fall of last year. Two weeks ago I found the remains of a hen carcass. I have heard precisely 2 gobblers gobble the entire season - one on opening day and the other two weeks ago. Other than that the woods have been silent. There are no signs of dusting beds or scratching in the hardwoods looking for grubs.

My cameras show deer moving into foodplots, grazing for a while, then they alert and look in the same direction and the next group of pictures is coyotes moving through the plot ten minutes later and the deer are gone.

 

[Gut_Pile]

No. Last Summer/Fall I had a healthy population of Turkeys verified by multiple trail camera pics and visual sightings. The coyotes started moving in late Fall of last year. Two weeks ago I found the remains of a hen carcass. I have heard precisely 2 gobblers gobble the entire season - one on opening day and the other two weeks ago. Other than that the woods have been silent. There are no signs of dusting beds or scratching in the hardwoods looking for grubs.

My cameras show deer moving into foodplots, grazing for a while, then they alert and look in the same direction and the next group of pictures is coyotes moving through the plot ten minutes later and the deer are gone.

Having a population of turkeys in the summer/fall does not always equate to having turkeys in the spring. I'm not saying coyotes don't play a role in keeping turkeys run off of your property, I just don't think they are eating them (regularly).

 

[elfiii]

Having a population of turkeys in the summer/fall does not always equate to having turkeys in the spring. I'm not saying coyotes don't play a role in keeping turkeys run off of your property, I just don't think they are eating them (regularly).

My property is primarily hardwoods. The property surrounding me is pine plantation. I hear what you are saying but I know what's going on locally because I'm there. They have killed at least one hen, there's no telling how many nests they have raided and I'll bet $ to doughnuts when the remaining nests with eggs start to hatch (if they haven't already) the coyotes will be all over those poults like a cheap suit and yes they have run off a bunch of turkeys and they have hit the rabbit population pretty hard too and the deer don't want to have no truck with them either.

It's happened like this before but not this bad. Eventually once they kill off the bulk of the local small game population they move on to greener pastures. Now that turkey season is over I'm going to help encourage them to move on.

 

[Mark K]

Just remember, counting today, there’s only three days left to get those turkeys checked in!!

 

[kmckinnie]

I seen a coydog coming in to try and catch a turkey. My wife had her decoy hit by a coyote in front of her. I seen where a coyote would lay in wait under low limbs and see the feathers from the attack.
Last time I checked. They eat something daily. It’s not always rats and squirrels with a rabbit.

 

[kmckinnie]

Here she is. The gobblers where coming and it as setting up for when they arrived.

 

[turkeykirk]

Here she is. The gobblers where coming and it as setting up for when they arrived. View attachment 968789

Good shooting!?

 

[Gut_Pile]

05/13/19 update

So far in 2019 we are 54 days into a 56 day season (youth weekend included). As of 5/13/19 there have been 11,299 turkeys killed. This is a average of 209 per day and puts us on pace for 11,717 turkeys killed in 2019.

530 turkeys killed in the last week

 

[Gut_Pile]

looks like we're going to end up somewhere around 11,400. This will put us on line with that was checked in during the 2017 season. Somewhere around 200 less than 2018

 

[Dustin Pate]

I’m gonna report 6 and see if I get paid a visit.

I would say you would. Just based on what I've heard they check after deer season.

 

[Mark K]

I had some buddies that posed with a bear that was killed legally in North or middle Georgia...3 GW showed up at his house in less than 2 hours, lol.
I’ll just say I couldn’t remember if I tagged them

 

[Buckman18]

I had some buddies that posed with a bear that was killed legally in North or middle Georgia...3 GW showed up at his house in less than 2 hours, lol.
I’ll just say I couldn’t remember if I tagged them

I think the Game Wardens time would better spent if most of them were reclassified to wildlife technicians. More plots, more seed, more fertilizer and lime. More coyote, coon, and hog traps and more dead coyotes, coons, and hogs. More select cutting, road scraping, and habitat improvement. Better hunting for all. The days of cruising around Unicoi State Park in one of the state trucks I bought would be over if I was made boss. My $0.02. YMMV.