MN turkey licenses, why the decline?

[dewey]

Looking at the MNDNR "Spring 2011 Wild Turkey Harvest Report" page 3 it appears as though this is the first time the permits issued has declined. However the permits issued in 2002 was 22,607 and the number of permits issued this year according the the Star Tribune was 41,863. So looking back over the last 10 years the number of permits issued has doubled while the decrease from 2010 to this year was about 20%. The flucuation maybe because of the bad weather in 2010,the 2011 early spring this year and people realizing that turkey hunting isn't quite as easy as it is on TV shows, shocking I know. I would be more interested in seeing how the turkey license sales do next year and the year after that.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/recreation ... arvest.pdf

Here is an excerpt from the report talking about the decline from 2010 to 2011.

Annual changes in turkey harvest are influenced by turkey population size, hunter effort, and weather. As of 2010, Minnesota’s wild turkey population appeared to be stable or growing modestly throughout most of the range, with more rapid growth in the northern PAs (Giudice et al. 2011). The effect of the severe winter of 2010-11 on turkey abundance is unknown, but survival rates may have been lower than average, leaving fewer birds in the spring 2011 population. Although hunting opportunity increased in 2011 with 4 new PAs open to hunting and unlimited permit availability for time periods G and H, hunter effort was reduced, with over 3,000 fewer permits issued in 2011 compared to the previous year despite an increase in permit applications. Reduced hunter effort was likely a function of poor weather during the 2011 spring turkey hunting season. Weather conditions in April and May were relatively cool, wet, and windy across much of Minnesota, with below average temperatures and above average precipitation (Minnesota Climatology Working Group 2011). Thus, the reduced harvest in 2011 was likely the result of poor weather (as it affects hunter effort and turkey vulnerability to hunting), and possibly reduced turkey abundance. Spring turkey harvest in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and South Dakota also declined from 2010. The combination of severe winter weather and cool, wet spring weather has affected turkey numbers or behavior as well as hunter effort across the upper Midwest.

I will be interested to see what the MNDNR's theory is when the 2012 Spring Wild Turkey Harvest report is issued.

Dewey

[turkey junky]

id say gopher is onto something i mean you cant continue to set license sales records every yr like we were... & with a big spike in interest there will be a loss of some of those half hearted hunters soon to follow & i think we are feeling that now? the last 3-4 yrs turkey hunting was being shown even on die hard deer hunting shows as the NEW IN thing to do prior to your FALL DEER HUNT they would pop up a blind & sit for a little while if nothing came in they would then move on to shed hunting!!!??? i think that got a lot of folks that didnt really need to be out in the woods turkey hunting turkey hunting the last few yrs!!! they then found out it really isnt as EZ as it looks on T.V. & deer hunting is more fun for them so they move on & give up turkey hunting fine by me!!! i mean lots of these new converted deer hunters to turkey hunters just pick n up the sport are lets say kind of well off & can afford to buy all they bells & whistles to help them harvest turkeys but they cant buy a wild turkey hunt AT LEAST NOT ON PUBLIC LAND so after they spend all that $$$ & they dont tag a bird they may say forget this & go back to there DEER LEASES & GAME FARM PHEASANTS as there is no guarantees in turkey hunting!!!

i have seen that in damn near all the mid-west states IA,MO,WI,MN,SD,ND,MT,WY even AR the hunter numbers have been going down as of late & in return the harvest numbers have declined in those states... i am on the other side of this conversation i must admit i am not say happy that there are declining turkey harvests numbers & or turkey populations drop n like in MO AR OK MT WY SD ND & a few other states but as for the hunter numbers on the decline thow i am not going to cry that there wont be as many hunters out there with me next yr as there was this season!!! i had the WORST i mean WORST season i have ever had when it comes to selfish A HOLE out of state hunters i was driving home from my WY,NE hunt threw SD & it was the 1st time i have ever thought "MAN IF THIS IS WHAT TURKEY HUNTING IS COMING TO THEN I THINK I MAY HAVE TO PICK UP ON ANOTHER HUNTING SPORT"!!! IT JUST WASNT FUN TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH ALL THE DUMB HUNTERS EVERY PLACE WE HUNTED...

i can deal with another car parking next to me at a parking area on public land EVEN THOW I WOULD NEVER PARK NEXT TO ANOTHER CAR IF THEY WERE THERE 1ST!!! but when the guy in the car parks next to after im already in the woods then yelps his way up to my set up tree then see's me then runs deeper into the canyon i was hunting 1st instead of walking back the way he came from? that was uncalled for ethics on the 2 MN hunters part!!! also in OK the hole red neck hunters ROOST SHOOTING turkeys & trying to cut you off if they new you were in a particular area hunting was just crazy!!! & the hole in FLORIDA thing when/if you are lucky enuff
to ever hear a OSCEOLA gobble you will most likely hear 2-3 trucks start up & head your way to try & surround that gobbleing turkey... & if you are far from a road you better beleave that other hunters herd that bird gobble & are heading your way through the jungle/swamps!!!

when a hunt becomes more dangerous then fun then i dont like to be part of that kind of hunt any longer... i am either get n ?to old? or ?spoiled? but it is get n that way now for me when out turkey hunting when guys run up to you with in shotgun range answering your turkey calls it kinda scares you or it did me!!! i have called up at least 3-4 other hunters just using all hens calls this season alone 1-2 of them hunters never even knew i was there that was scary as well!!!

so with the turkey numbers/populations in the 7 million turkey range in the U.S. id say we could do with out a few of these half hearted trigger happy bad calling no sneak to there hunting approach walk through the middle of the wide open field & put up a pop up blind & decoy park next to you & go find you at your tree type of new age turkey hunters... call me selfish if you will its O.K. but less half hearted turkey hunters leaves more public land for us TURKEY HUNTERS to roam & not feel scared when doing so...

[turkey junky]

as for the late season hunts this season in MN dewey your friend was the ONLY person i have herd of still hearing birds gobble & that had a decent hunt late season in MN i just came back from 2 days of trout fishing in SE MN a area loaded with turkeys & we camped out wear we hunt turkeys & can always hear them gobble from camp but the 2 mornings 3 days we were down in turkey country SE MN we never herd a bird gobble & never seen a turkey out in a field or off the road it was a turkey dead zone i even got up & went out to listen at day break for the last gobble of the season & never herd a damn thing!!!??? my brother was out hunting with a buddy near town & they never herd a gobble in 4 days of hunting??? only seen hens...

i was always a big fan of late season hunting but after the last few yrs in MN id have to say im done hunting late season & will be applying for either the 1st or 2nd hunt periods in MN there may be a bird or 2 gobbleing come late season but all the birds gobble early season!!! much more EZ to locate birds early season...

ive learned in states wear the resident & non resident hunters flock to & hunt extremely hard FL NE KS OK that i have to be part of that camo clad army if i want to get in on the dummy birds that have not been blasted at by calls or shotguns or seen hunter activity day in & day out un-pressured turkeys are heaven to hunt & im tired of dealing with left overs that are mute & or walk away gobbleing to my calls...

so i do see & get wear that mentality of if i dont draw a tag for the 1st or 2nd season tag then im not hunting this season in MN WI ETC. i mean if you only hunt public lands & it gets beat down hard for 2 wks them 3rd-4th seasons really blow chunks & you feel like there is not a bird in the woods... & sometimes there isnt a turkey living on them smaller tracts of public land 100% of the day so you will have to call them from private lands back onto public lands if you want to harvest a bird i had to use that very tactic this spring in WI the tract of public land i choose to hunt was beat n down daily by horse riders hikers dog walkers mushroom pickers & a few hunters so i had to look at the pics i had of the land & pic a spot on the border of private & off the beat n path & low & behold them birds were just across the public land fence in 2 of the 3 areas i choose to hunt the 3rd spot had a pop up blind just across the public/private land fence & i found a empty turkey load hull near by so its safe to say the bird live n there was dead or shot at!!! but the activity level of the public tract of land had scared the birds to wear they were not being messed with that was just off of public land it was like they new i mean my dad & i walked threw the woods & field edged enuff that we should of buggered a few turkeys while walking the public land but never seen a bird on the public land untill i called a tom from private lands 300-400 yards away EZ & killed him just across the public land border!!!

hard to say that if i had been there a WK or 2 prior like season B-C that i would of been able to find a bird on the public but i think it would of helped big time!!! that goes for most hard hunted public lands id always want to be the 1st guy out hunting then the last just on the simple fact of there will be more birds around the 1st couple wks of the season

[dewey]

Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on Sunday June 10th that the spring turkey harvest was up 12% over last year but the number of licenses sold was down 7% from 2011. The spring turkey harvest was the 3rd highest ever.

Here is a link to the story.

https://secureapps.startribune.com/digi ... 5&quota=11

So the total number of licenses sold has decreased almost 20% in the last three years. From a high of 52,169 in 2010 to 42,563 this spring.

Here is the Pioneer Press excerpt about teh decline in permits

http://blogs.twincities.com/outdoors/20 ... -kills-up/

Spring turkey harvest up in 2012

Preliminary harvest numbers show that the 2012 spring turkey harvest of 11,324 is the third-highest ever, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

“Minnesota’s turkey population largely has rebounded from the severe winter of 2010-2011 and last year’s cold, wet spring,” said Steve Merchant, DNR wildlife program and populations manager. “These resilient and productive birds provided hunters with more opportunity.”

Hunters purchased 42,563 licenses this year, down from the 45,923 purchased in 2011. The 2010 spring turkey harvest was the highest on record. That year also had an early spring. Last year, spring season hunters harvested 10,060 turkeys, down significantly from the 2010 spring harvest of 13,468.

“I suspect license sales were down this year partly because of last year’s poor spring season,” Merchant said.

Turkey zone consolidation from 80 zones to 12 gave hunters more options to hunt. The 2012 hunter success rate was 27 percent.

Wild turkeys were extirpated from Minnesota around 1900. Re-introduction efforts have been incredibly successful and wild turkeys thrive throughout the non-boreal forest portion of Minnesota.

Dewey

[state turkey plaques]

It's true the birds were acting a little on the different side this year. A hunter has to be able to out think the turkey. You have to change your style of hunting in a moments notice. If you sit there and call and call for sure the smarter Tom's are going to just go away. Learn to think ahead of them and you will be ok. Check out my blog on my website www.rawescapes.com I help a friend of mine get his first bird.It was a blast to say the least. He is having me mount his in a Mn. state full mount. Trying to figure out there next move is part of the fun.
A lot of hunters just don't know what to do with there trophy. You need to check out my options on my website. The prices are very reasonable and if you need me to help you thru the process just give me a ring. I have and will continue helping hunters to preserve that moment. The standard, half or the full mounts are awesome so I have been told by my clients.
Remember that nothing is text book when you are in there backyard.
Thank You and happy hunting

Randy RAW

[dewey]

It's true the birds were acting a little on the different side this year. A hunter has to be able to out think the turkey. You have to change your style of hunting in a moments notice. If you sit there and call and call for sure the smarter Tom's are going to just go away. Learn to think ahead of them and you will be ok. Check out my blog on my website http://www.rawescapes.com I help a friend of mine get his first bird.It was a blast to say the least. He is having me mount his in a Mn. state full mount. Trying to figure out there next move is part of the fun.
A lot of hunters just don't know what to do with there trophy. You need to check out my options on my website. The prices are very reasonable and if you need me to help you thru the process just give me a ring. I have and will continue helping hunters to preserve that moment. The standard, half or the full mounts are awesome so I have been told by my clients.
Remember that nothing is text book when you are in there backyard.
Thank You and happy hunting

Randy RAW

First let me say welcome to the T&TH forum Randy! I have found that helping friends get their turkeys to be a blast like you said and sometimes it is more exciting than when you harvest one yourself. I like your turkey plaques and I will definitely be ordering a MN plaque from you in the future. I would also recommend posting this information on the Grand Slam Network.

Here is the link.

http://www.grandslamnetwork.com/

Where are you from and where do you hunt at?

Dewey