Quote Originally Posted by trkykilr View Post
I hunt almost everyday. I almost never hunt alone. I shoot 1 bird per year alone, and fwiw, I choose that situation and location. I enjoy it, but I’d rather be with someone when we kill one, miss one, screw it up, or never get in the game. I have the luxury of hunting lots of different parts of the state and with lots of different people. Of course I hunt with my dad and my kids, but I’ve made a lot of friends turkey hunting, and I like to hunt with those people. Turkey hunting in some cases is the bond we share. I can say, for myself, that I am very careful how many birds come off of a property or an area, regardless of whose place it is. I do call for people, and I think it’s important for new turkey hunters to learn from someone who does it correctly. Maybe I’m that person, maybe I’m not. I strive to be. I didn’t have a turkey hunting mentor until college or just after. When I get the chance, I try to lead people in the right direction. Hopefully, I do.

If you hold a license in this state and buy turkey tags, you have the right to hunt them. I’m fine giving up a bird for myself if it means someone else gets a great experience that would appreciate pulling the trigger more than me. If you think that’s wrong, I can understand that point of view.

As for the question whether things have changed in the last 3 years, I can assure you it has in my group of friends. Maybe it is having kids coming into hunting age, maybe it is having my own place. I look at things differently, and I think it’s a good different. I’ve made more trips out of state to spread out the kills, which helps.

The bottom line is that we all need to be aware that there is an issue. Your particular property may not have an issue, but a lot of places in this state do. If you have the opportunity, manage your place. If you have influence over someone else’s place, help them manage it. Shoot birds later in the year. Do whatever you can to make it better.
I don’t doubt any of the above. It’s all legal and you do it out of love for the sport. Fine. If it matters that turkey numbers are down, does it matter who’s pulling the trigger? Does it matter if one boosts success to pull the trigger given the same facts? Do you go and call less now than you did three years ago when you started this thread titled Discretion? Do you think people kill turkeys that may not otherwise do so if you weren’t there calling? I do. Despite your efforts to monitor kills on properties you get to hunt, which is admirable, you’re helping kill more turkeys “all over the state” admittedly in a thread titled discretion. Why? Because you like it. You only pull the trigger on one. OK. No rewards or accolades for you when you hunt nearly everyday helping kill birds. I’m not saying you’re wrong for doing it, but let’s not get carried away with all the conservation talk. To me, the irony is palpable. Discretion indeed.