let the big boys walk

[Gobblernut]

Well this will be my first season fall turkey hunting Iv'e read alot of material on hunting in the fall Iv'e also talked to alot of hunters about it. I had an excellent spring my first to be excat I filled my tags. But I'm really looking forward to the fall season. As far as taking a gobbler I have mixed feelings I would like to think I'd let him walk just so I could hunt him in the spring but it would be hard to turn down..I wish all a very productive fall season..

[trkyklr]

well i see some of you see my point & yes as one of you said to each his own as for me unless its an oddity like the 4 beard i took this last spring or just a monster old bird i recon ill let them keep walkin see here in tn we got all kinds of birds hens out the rump & what got me started on it was one morning in the spring i watched 29 hens in a field for 3 hours never to see a trace of a beard so i decided to start my new idea of managing the hens i recon im just fortunate that i have like 6 farms totaling about 2000 acres all to myself plus 2 poachers so i basicly got a fresh spot @ will & i have 14000 acre mngmnt area 10 min from the house & ANOTHER 22000 acre mngmnt area 35 min away & both are eat up with birds ive been fortuneate to take a few gobblers in the fall so its not all that to me dont get me wrong I LOVE FALL/SPRING HE** TURKEY HUNTING & yeah ive read a lot of books from the old guys talkin about how hard it is to take long beards in the fall but to me its not @ least not so far & if you kill him in the fall you wont here him in the spring i promise

[mark hay]

Looks like a lot of mixed emotions on this subject. I don't know everything but I do know that everybody is different and that is one thing that makes this turkey hunting game so  interesting .I've taken one hen in the fall and it was and is still a very memorable hunt from which I learned a lot . Unless it something really odd or weird I doubt that I will ever take another. Killed several jakes , the first few years but most of them were bystalking or just getting around in front of them. I really like calling . I call to nearly everything I hunt. deer , coyotes , crows , coons, fox, whistlepigs and TURKEYS. I have yet to call in and take a longbeard in the fall . This fall ohio has lengthened the gun season on turkeys. It was two weeks up to this year , now we are priviledged to hunt 45 days with gun or archery gear . my plan is to hunt the first half with a bow , if the under growth can keep its leaves that long . Next year my ideas may be different , but this year I will take only a longbeard or eat the tag . But if I see any birds at all you can bet I'll be calling to them .LATER                    ''OLD SCHOOL TURKEY TACTICS''

[allaboutshooting]

I'm just glad to see all the interest in fall turkey hunting. In the rich history of this sport, fall hunting has always played a vital part but it's only in the last few years, that many states have had a flock large enough to reopen the fall season to hunting. It represents a milestone in one of the most successful restorations of any species.

Some of us were concerned that when we started hunting birds in the fall,  the flock would be diminished because we'd be taking out more hens than jakes or gobblers. While it's true that more hens than jakes or gobblers are taken each year, the flock has continued to increase in size.  A mature gobbler in the fall is a real trophy to most hunters.

I'm just glad that we have enough turkeys everywhere to allow a discussion about which sex we should take. When I started chasing those birds 30+ years ago, I would never have believed this would be a topic that would be debated.

Thanks,
Clark

[mark hay]

I just re-read all the above posts . There is a lot of discussion about taking the hens , to thin them out , and reduce the competition during the spring .

I wander , because I don't know , say 2 hunters take 1 hen each from 1000 acres of prime turkey habitat . OR , those 2 hunters take 2 longbeards from the same 1000 acres in the fall .

What do you all think will make a bigger difference for spring season ? The 2 less hens that might lead a gobbler away from you in the spring ,,,,,OR ,,,,,the change in the pecking order among adult gobblers ?
I'm not looking for a debate but some good discussion . What's your thoughts ?

[Cut N Run]

The turkeys travel around more in the Spring.  When one (or two) get taken out of a flock, others will fill in their place. Kinda like a bass on a prime stump in a pond...if one gets caught, another will take its place.
 
 If there are a lot of hens around, there will be several gobblers trying to breed with them come spring.  Turkeys are pretty opportunistic.  If the big guy is gone, second banana will fill in, knowing he may take a butt whuppin' if the boss comes back and catches him doing the love shuffle with one of the girls. On the other hand, second banana ain't gonna kiss & tell.  He will orbit around until he gets another chance.
 
Seems to me you got the tag to use it.  There will be another longbeard to service those hens come spring. 
 
Our Fall season was actually a mid-winter season and I just couldn't see burning up one of the two turkey tags we get each year on a hen. As of this year Spring is the only turkey season here in N.C.. Even though hens are supposed to be delicious to eat, Spring gobbler hunting thrills me too much to intentionally short myself.
 
Just how I see it.
 
Jim

[nhtrkybstr]

I don't know.

I have never taken a turkey in the fall. I have mixed emotions on the subject.

I guess that since we have only half the state to shotgun hunt in the fall with only a 5 day season, I would tend to be less picky. I would love to take a longbeard, but w/ realistically only 2 or so days, I have the feeling I would plug the first decent sized bird I saw.

The real bummer is, I can't hunt my honey hole this fall, so I'm gonna have to do some scouting![:)]

[mark hay]

Being in that same limitation , I would probably do the same . In the past we could take two birds in the spring and one in the fall ,,,three tags . Last year Ohio expanded the gun hunt from 2 weeks to 50 days . I'm hoping they'll up the limit too.

[trkyklr]

i see this thread has made it back to the top...& in the past..yes i used to pass up every long beard/jake that i saw in the fall...now if you will go back to the pics of last fall you will see that my opinion has changed...now i shoot them as they come...be it hen or gobbler...allot of my tactics have changed in the last little bit...i no longer use dekes(& never will again) & i no longer pass gobs in the fall (i never will again)...& you couldn't pay me to sit in another blind in this lifetime....im sure more & more of my tactics will change as life goes on....i'm even pulling a hay & lookin for some non camo drab to hunt in this coming fall...seems traditional tactics are for me...[:)]

[thunderchicken]

It just so happens this is my first fall hunt in NH! But lucky me my honey holes are open to shotgun for the 5 day season! I like the idea of managing the tom stealing hens! I do have mixed feelings though. Shooting a hen could mean one less hen to breed and produce more birds. Am I being a little niave about this?
 
Either way I am PUMPED for the fall season in NH!