SCDNR Public Meetings on Turkey Management

**JimmyD714** · 06-28-2023, 09:06 AM

PJ is right and is echoing my exact stance on this. Permanently, and you know it's going to be permanent, taking days away from turkey season should be a last resort.

There are numerous things we can try in the meantime that will limit harvest, possibly increase poult production, and allow us to keep the full turkey season.

Why yall want to immediately jump to cutting the season in half and cutting off hunting in the afternoons is mind boggling.

**trkykilr** · 06-28-2023, 09:24 AM

I don’t “want” to cut the season, nor do I “want” to cut afternoon hunting. I want to have more turkeys gobbling when I go hunting, and more yet when my kids are hunting at my age. I believe that moving the season dates later is the best tool in their bag to accomplish that goal, currently. I think reducing to two birds with a 10 year sunset clause will help, although marginally. Those are my opinions, but are backed up by data. Stopping afternoon hunting will reduce pressure, and save some birds, but that is the only time that some folks can hunt, and I believe that if you buy a license and turkey tags, you should have opportunity.

Until Alabama has some data over some relevant period of time as a result of their decoy law, I don’t see that being on the table. My friends that hunt and manage land there think it helped. I think decoys and TSS and Ground Blinds help, but I have no data. I have lots of time in the woods with and without them. I’ve seen turkeys react to decoys, and I’ve seen TSS kill birds that lead wouldn’t, and I’ve seen turkeys parade in front of ground blinds manned by half camo’d squirmy people. I’d guess that Jay and Charles have seen the same, but personal experience doesn’t equal data.

Now, if you want to try to discuss banning fanning/reaping across the board, I think you could have a shot there, and that would make a difference.

**Southernduck** · 06-28-2023, 09:33 AM

It’s about pressure and there just simply are too many people hunting too much. The turkey numbers around us are growing well but we limit pressure and leave them alone.

**JimmyD714** · 06-28-2023, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by trkykilr

Stopping afternoon hunting will reduce pressure, and save some birds, but that is the only time that some folks can hunt, and I believe that if you buy a license and turkey tags, you should have opportunity.

.

Exactly how I feel. Going straight to cutting the season length and/or cutting hours out of the day to hunt is a bad idea. That should be a last resort after we've tried a lot of other things that will likely save some turkeys and ensure more opportunity to breed.

So, again, we are in agreement. I strongly support the idea of delaying the opener by 2-3 weeks. The heat will also reduce some pressure on them.

As for the decoys, I'll let Glenn chime in but I believe he said Alabama DNR literally gave the reason of them being too effective for why they didn't allow them for such a long time. They recently changed their regs to not allow them for the first 10 days of the season, I think it was.

My opinion is that banning decoys would save a lot of birds while still giving us a full season. At some point, the technology has to have a line drawn of what we can and cannot use. There's a reason it's illegal to use punt guns to kill ducks or shoot deer at night using an infrared scope.

At the very least, I'd like to decoys banned for 10-14 days of the season.

**Tater** · 06-28-2023, 10:03 AM

Correct. I just pick and choose what i read in any turkey related post because, just as is the case with this one, the majority of the fucking people have little to no clue and take a hard stand on a topic they have no fucking knowledge of other than what they heard someone say.

Alabama didn’t allow decoys period. If you called and asked them about it you would be told “if you can’t kill a turkey without a decoy feel free to go to another state, no hard feelings, we’re cool with you doing that”.

Politicians are the biggest hurdle DNR faces, period. The lower part of the state was and is controlled by blue blood politicians. The upstate season were set by DNR because the VAST majority of the public land was in the upstate. The blood were from the lower part so they didn’t give a fuck what DNR did up here. The upstate had it good.

Everyone screamed “Science!!!” So DNR had some science done. Legislature said “FTS”.

Well, now you’re about to get what that science prescribed. It’s not a bad thing and it’s not a be all end all to the problem. We don’t even know for sure WHAT the problem is completely so this will apply a protective buffer to the population while it can be figured out and fixed.

Now, with that said, I will bash Jay Cantrell at will because a) he’s a Wren boy and b) he didn’t return my last text

**Tater** · 06-28-2023, 10:04 AM

Readers Digest condensed version of the above: shut your spoiled ass mouth and let them do their jobs.

**Glenn** · 06-28-2023, 11:12 AM

Thread killer

**Calibogue** · 06-28-2023, 11:22 AM

All hail King tater

**2thDoc** · 06-28-2023, 11:27 AM

personal experience doesn’t equal data

the majority of the fucking people have little to no clue and take a hard stand on a topic they have no fucking knowledge of other than what they heard someone say.

now you’re about to get what that science prescribed. It’s not a bad thing and it’s not a be all end all to the problem

this this and this

**PBiz** · 06-28-2023, 12:03 PM

As many of you moondicks sell insurance, why can’t you start selling the idea of “safety risks”
Using fans and strutter decoys to timber companies?

Also, make it illegal for grown men to go by initials, and at least make people show data on what they currently do for turkeys and their habitat before they say a word on how they are managed..

Nerd(s)

**2thDoc** · 06-28-2023, 12:32 PM

just bc you cant kill a turkey worth a shit doesnt mean you gotta be all snooty....

**JBK** · 06-28-2023, 01:08 PM

Question for the “never get it back” crowd. Wasn’t turkey hunting illegal/stopped once before? Did we not get it back? I am honestly just asking because I don’t know.

Just to clarify I’m in no way saying we should stop or limit hunting. I tend to feel the same way as the “never get it back” folks.

**Calibogue** · 06-28-2023, 01:15 PM

Yes..... except for remote locations like Francis Marion and the Savannah River they were totally extirpated from most areas.

**Catdaddy** · 06-28-2023, 01:15 PM

It's really simple.

We need more gobblers breeding.
We need less Jakes breeding the hens.
We need more fertile eggs.
We need more poults.

The DNR cannot micro manage every property.....but they can help by reducing the season or starting it later, reducing the limit, and stopping afternoon hunting.

And for those saying we will never get it back,....you must have forgotten we went from No turkey season to a 5 gobbler limit hunting season.

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**Duckman#1** · 06-28-2023, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by trkykilr

I don’t “want” to cut the season, nor do I “want” to cut afternoon hunting. I want to have more turkeys gobbling when I go hunting, and more yet when my kids are hunting at my age. I believe that moving the season dates later is the best tool in their bag to accomplish that goal, currently. I think reducing to two birds with a 10 year sunset clause will help, although marginally. Those are my opinions, but are backed up by data. Stopping afternoon hunting will reduce pressure, and save some birds, but that is the only time that some folks can hunt, and I believe that if you buy a license and turkey tags, you should have opportunity.

Until Alabama has some data over some relevant period of time as a result of their decoy law, I don’t see that being on the table. My friends that hunt and manage land there think it helped. I think decoys and TSS and Ground Blinds help, but I have no data. I have lots of time in the woods with and without them. I’ve seen turkeys react to decoys, and I’ve seen TSS kill birds that lead wouldn’t, and I’ve seen turkeys parade in front of ground blinds manned by half camo’d squirmy people. I’d guess that Jay and Charles have seen the same, but personal experience doesn’t equal data.

Now, if you want to try to discuss banning fanning/reaping across the board, I think you could have a shot there, and that would make a difference.

Take decoys out of it and most of your ground blind hunters will ditch the blinds also way more people are hunting with decoys that’s do with blinds

**tman** · 06-28-2023, 02:24 PM

Got an email from DELTA this morning (screenshot below).

Where's the SCDNR predator management program at????

"90% chance if a duck nest fails its bc of a predator." I bet turkey nests are pretty similar but what does my pea brain know?

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