SEIowaDeerslayer
Well-Known Member
Just like anything, we're at the bottom of a cycle & areas with high predators will have low turkey numbers. Hire a good trapper if you can.
Turkey Population
- Thread starter fastfreddy
- Start date
-
- Tags
- None
Iowafarmboy
Member
Same thing Daver said X3. I'm in S.E. Iowa and have some concerns.
I would like to see turkey quota go to one bird a season unless your a land owner and bobcat quota disappear or go to two cats.
I would like to see turkey quota go to one bird a season unless your a land owner and bobcat quota disappear or go to two cats.
chipterp
PMA Member
You are not going to help/affect the turkey population in any way by limiting the quota to one bird.
Daver
PMA Member
FWIW, from the sounds of things...I get the impression that the south central Iowa region has not experienced the same downswing. Actually I was in Decatur County last spring and saw/heard quite a few birds. In my short 2 day stay there, it seemed as though things were good as far as turkey populations go.
Further east though, in SE Iowa, it seems as though things are quite different. Not even counting people that post here on IW, I have probably talked with a couple dozen long time turkey hunters in that area that would validate that a pretty large section of SE Iowa is probably running at 20%-25% of the numbers that were there even 5 or 6 years ago.
Booner
Well-Known Member
I'm not saying numbers aren't down. Just saying your bird numbers are down 20-25% that puts your farms from 10 toms down to 7-8. See my point, come up to boone/Hamilton county and I'll show you poor bird numbers.
hotshott2289
Active Member
we wintered 120+ birds on one farm in decatur this year had at least 50 toms now the spring rolls around and we have 4-5 on the whole damn place.. i know they bounce around in the spring but man i wish they would've stayed
AIRASSAULT
PMA Member
Big difference between down 25% and at 25%... If daver had 10 toms, he now has 2-3, not 7-8..
NWBuck
PMA Member
Seems like our numbers in NW Iowa are down too. No significant bobcat presence, but lots of coyotes. We are also about 30 minutes from 2 of the big "bird flu" outbreaks that have been in the news recently. They are thinking it arrived in these flocks from migrating waterfowl, and if waterfowl can spread it to birds in enclosed facilities, surely it could spread to the wild population as well?? Just me thinking...who knows??
NWBuck
NWBuck
Daver
PMA Member
Thank you. I really am not interested in getting into a dispute over how many turkeys someone else thinks are on my farm, etc. But the numbers today are a fraction of what they were a few years ago.
If you would have heard the gobbling activity 10 years ago, when at times it sounded like a barnyard full of them...on nearly every ridge, to nowadays when you hear just a handful and sometimes none, something pretty significant has happened.
I think they will bounce back up if we avoid overly wet springs, but until then...
TheMadCatter
Well-Known Member
Y'all are lucky if you have one Tom per 50 acres.
Booner
Well-Known Member
Sorry, guess I misinterpreted Daver's original response
And like I said, I'm not disagreeing bird numbers are down, just simply saying I'd give my trigger finger to know that within a short drive (my good buddy lives in Burlington and there farms are all "LOADED" with birds) I can be on turkeys VS living where I live and have to work your tail off to kill one. I hunt properties in 2-3 counties (Boone, Story, Hamilton) and I can personally tell you hunting up here and seeing 2 birds in a morning is pretty stellar; those standards once I cross highway 80 are out the window.
Blaster
PMA Member
That's because they were still in there winter groups. You will not see any tom's in these groups until end of March first of April. The farm we hunt in Lucas had 80 hens this winter and as of last week there were only a hand full left. But the Tom's are there now!
turtlshell
PMA Member
after hunting second season, and not seeing or hearing what I anticipated I got overly suspicious.
I spoke with some neighboring farmers. Between their stories and other local hunters trailcam pics, bobcats are a problem here, now...and had never been confirmed until a couple years ago. I can only conclude that the tough winters, spring floods and predator pressure (bobcats and coyotes) has decimated the birds in our area. This is East Central Iowa, Cedar River corridor...and there is certainly something impacting the birds. This used to be Turkey mecca!
About 5 years ago we could stand in my dads yard and count over 20 different gobbles in a 360 degree radius. He's retired now, and has been listening daily. While his ears may not be as good as mine, this year we have heard less than 10 birds gobble across the same acreage of the 360 degree radius. The last three years we have seen/heard a significant drop in gobblers.
In one field, where historically you could see a strutting tom every single day...dad has not seen a single strutter this year.
I spoke with some neighboring farmers. Between their stories and other local hunters trailcam pics, bobcats are a problem here, now...and had never been confirmed until a couple years ago. I can only conclude that the tough winters, spring floods and predator pressure (bobcats and coyotes) has decimated the birds in our area. This is East Central Iowa, Cedar River corridor...and there is certainly something impacting the birds. This used to be Turkey mecca!
About 5 years ago we could stand in my dads yard and count over 20 different gobbles in a 360 degree radius. He's retired now, and has been listening daily. While his ears may not be as good as mine, this year we have heard less than 10 birds gobble across the same acreage of the 360 degree radius. The last three years we have seen/heard a significant drop in gobblers.
In one field, where historically you could see a strutting tom every single day...dad has not seen a single strutter this year.
CurtisWalker
Well-Known Member
I'll come hunt with you :way:
BDAHMS
Be here Now
Im taking my dad this weekend for his first time ever turkey hunting- ill do better at pics/video then.
hotshott2289
Active Member
thats how it used to be for us in ringgold.. sadly no more.. i haven't even bothered to hunt my favorite farm in a few years since theres only 4 or 5 on there the last couple of years and I'm banking on the neighbors killing a couple while I'm hoping they rebound