Fall Drawing Completed with 58,979 Leftover

[ticklishtompro]

The OTC tags are selling very slowly as of 2:00 today only 95 have sold in #4 and 793 in #2 so you guys should be able to get at least another #2 tag tomorrow and maybe a third on Monday and a fourth on Tuesday if you're really lucky. Good luck

You can definetely see the differenc with tags in unit 2 and the rest of the state. 900 sold in unit 2 by 5:30. More than all the other zones combined. It is still going slower than I expected and with out a doubt I will be able to get at least one more Sunday, and who knows maybe a 4th on Monday, but I don't want to be greedy!!

[WillowRidgeCalls]

unit 1..20,557.....sold 1,700.....18,857 left
unit 2...4,816.....sold 4,237.........579 left
unit 3..21,846.....sold 2,104.....19,742 left
unit 4.. 10,846....sold 1,194.......9,682 left
unit 5.. 884........sold 875..............9 left

As of 9/17. A lot of tags still left to be had by hunters.

[charlie elk]

Wow, I can't believe how many tags are left for sale after the weekend; only 2384 sold statewide. Even unit 5 has 578 left!
Does that mean there are only 2384 serious fall turkey hunters in WI?
Looks like the interest in turkey hunting continues to fade in WI.
I am going to the turkey task force management revision meeting as an observer on Friday. Should be interesting to see if they have any ideas to address the steady decline.

[Treerooster]

Wow, I can't believe how many tags are left for sale after the weekend; only 2384 sold statewide. Even unit 5 has 578 left!
Does that mean there are only 2384 serious fall turkey hunters in WI?

No...2385...I ain't got my tag and leftovers yet.

[putt]

Hasn't there usually been a lot more leftovers for unit 4?

I can answer that, Treerooster.

I've been really anal about keeping track of the spring & fall leftover numbers the last few seasons. The reason is that I hunt in Zone 2, an area of short permit supply. So I've started tracking the leftovers in all areas in order to plan my permit seeking strategy. (Strategy hasn't done me much good so far in the spring permit draw)

Charlie was right about the ~10-11K normal Zone 4 fall initial leftovers. Here are the exact recent numbers:
2012: 10,876
2011: 10,298
2010: 8,710

[ticklishtompro]

It is amazing to me how slow the tags are selling. I now have 3 tags in my pocket and am debating if I should get more or not. I am sure I will probably break down and buy at least 1 more, but I kinda feel like a hoarder!! Well just a little! I mean everyone else has had a chance now. So anyone wanna come over and do some hunting in zone 2, come on over and we will go shoot some birds!!

[charlie elk]

I now have 3 tags in my pocket and am debating if I should get more or not. I am sure I will probably break down and buy at least 1 more, but I kinda feel like a hoarder!! Well just a little! I mean everyone else has had a chance now.

Don't think of yourself as a hoarder rather a concerned turkey hunter making a financial contribution to turkey management.
There will be a thick wad of tags in my pocket all season. So many tags so little time.

plan my permit seeking strategy. (Strategy hasn't done me much good so far in the spring permit draw)

Good to see you back Putt. I had a conversation about your spring draw situation with the head Turkey Dude, (he laughs when I call him that.) He says you need to apply for only one time period and zone, then if you are not drawn you will get a preference point for the next year which assures you will get drawn for exactly the time and zone you want. If an application has alternative choices and gets drawn no preference point is awarded.
The drawing scheme has mostly become a contest for the first 2 time period's permits. I only apply for these periods because somewhere in WI there will be 3rd time period tag available OTC.

[Gopherlongbeards]

picked up my lottery tag and an extra today. think I'll wait till these are filled to grab a 3rd. doesn't seem to be any need to rush in unit 4.

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Seems like in the fall of the year, they could give each hunter 2 tags in most of the units. Leave it up to the hunters what they need to shoot, and give the hunter a bite of the responsiblitity of managing the birds. Years ago you used to only get 1 goose tag a year, now they give you 6 and it hasn't hurt the birds one bit, the same with deer tags, it's actually helped the populations become more stronger and better hunting. They would still have a few OTC tags in some units, but the guys in the woods are the best judge of the populations of what your hunting. If the birds are thick in your area, some need to be thinned out, it helps. I think it would help bring back a few more hunters from the ones we've lost. Open the state up and let the hunters hunt where ever they want to state wide, just like you can with a deer tag, at least for the fall seasons?

[ticklishtompro]

Don't think of yourself as a hoarder rather a concerned turkey hunter making a financial contribution to turkey management.
There will be a thick wad of tags in my pocket all season. So many tags so little time.

Charlie, I like your wording and it makes me feel better already, yes I will get more tags!!!

Scott, I think you have some good points there. Most hunters, and I stress MOST, do not want to overharvest the game, as they know hunting won't be as good if they do it. It is to bad some don't care. Good management is so important. Like some people won't shoot any does because that means less fawns the next year, which is true, but good management requires keeping doe numbers in check. I am fortunate to hunt some properties that have a lot of deer and turkeys. But when doe numbers get to high, you do not see the mature bucks cruising during the rut cause they don't have to look hard for the hot does. This year we need to shoot some does cause that started happening this last fall. Most of the neighbors I talked to said the same thing, the young bucks, which we let walk, were everywhere, but the mature ones were nowhere to be seen. And there are plenty in the area, but they didn't cruise during daylight hours cause they didn't have to.

Turkey management is a little different, but you know if you have good hatches in your area, lots of jakes, and toms. This past year we saw more jakes than we have in a while, and with the good hatch, it should be stellar fo a while to come as winter kill is ussually not that high over here as lots of people have bird feeders and open farming bunkers that feed is not an issue.

Randy