2023 spring turkey!

[JShane]

I'm no turkey hunter but I'll be following along with you fellas. Best of luck to you all.

 

[sclancy27]

Our state opens April 15th, but I don't get too excited until early May. That said, I got a couple tags, hopefully get a chance at a couple birds.

 

[Gellar]

I'm no turkey hunter but I'll be following along with you fellas. Best of luck to you all.

Osceolas in your parts?

 

[BrentD]

I intended to get a .410 this winter since they have become legal for turkeys in Iowa, but $50 for the box of 5 has my cheap a$$ hesitating.

Don't do it!

 

[Gellar]

Don't do it!

I just bought 20 12 gauge turkey loads so I think I’m committed for a few years.

 

[BrentD]

I just bought 20 12 gauge turkey loads so I think I’m committed for a few years.

Whew! I'll sleep better now

I have some turkey loads that I may use, but a good pheasant load is generally plenty.

 

[BrentD]

I'm trying to work up the courage to go knock on a door for permission. That's not my favorite thing to do, but I may give it a try again.

 

[CowboyLeroy]

Did the same here in Oklahoma last year moved back 10 days.

Going to western Oklahoma for the opener (April 16th)with a couple buddies and maybe my nephew to chase Rios on public for 4-5 days. With the bird numbers so low here at home in SE Oklahoma where we have Easterns plus a ton of stuff I need to get done before the new baby in July I think I'll just hunt them out west this year.


But I've made up my mind next year I'm going out of state for turkey. Tennessee and Missouri are both on the radar but pretty sure I'll head to north central NM.

I'd give Tennessee a few years, they say THP came in and the public land warriors just flooded the place. I want to say the state sold 10,000 more licenses than usual

 

[Gellar]

I'm trying to work up the courage to go knock on a door for permission. That's not my favorite thing to do, but I may give it a try again.

I’m at work right now so don’t bother.

 

[BrentD]

I’m at work right now so don’t bother.

No, I gotta ask a Ms Ferarri. She's hard to catch up to.

 

[CowboyLeroy]

Turkeys are still in their winter groups here, but they have spread out. Im starting to see them getting closer to their spring roosting areas. Why did they move the season back? To give Toms more time to find hens before being pressured?

I live on the southern border of the state and we've had gobblers strutting around with groups of hens for two or three weeks. They say they did it so the breeding hierarchy wouldn't be reset midway through breeding. I was skeptical but it looks like from just what I see in my daily travels it's been a good move. I've got two gobblers and eleven hens on a farm that I haven't seen turkeys on in seven or eight years. Now that I think about it, moving the season back probably did a lot to help keep mature birds from being picked off before Greenup. We're in full blown spring bloom around here, and I imagine that made hunting under the woods much more difficult, along with not being able to hunt fields in the heat of the day.

 

[brownbear932008]

I'd give Tennessee a few years, they say THP came in and the public land warriors just flooded the place. I want to say the state sold 10,000 more licenses than usual

Seeing that problem all over lately it seems. The influencers have really put a hurting on some areas the last few years.

Our turkey population in my area of VA. has been struggling pretty bad last several years. I haven't taken a tom off the farm I hunt in two years now. It use to be loaded with turkeys. It's definitely not over hunted. I feel it's a combination of nasty hatching weather and predators.

 

[perma]

I got a WY general tag in my pocket and will be picking up a CO OTC tag in a week. No idea where to go turkey hunting in WY outside of Black Hills but I’m going anyway!

Haven’t been in 3 years which is absurd. Turkey hunting is the most fun hunt IMO.

Even bought a new hen decoy, peg and slate and shotgun for the occasion!

 

[CowboyLeroy]

I heard one report that the reason to move the season back a couple weeks is to allow the top bird to bread more. The argument was that once the pecking order has been established and if the dominant tom was taken out early. it negatively impacts the breading cycle. Additionally it really disrupts the hierarchy of the birds and they will start that process all over again which delays the breading which results in lower numbers so they claimed. Given that the survival rates are so low to start with the idea is to give them the best change possible. Moving it back would get more hens bread during that 2 week period.

I don't know if there is any merit to that, it was just something that I read on the internet so take it for what it is worth. I have not heard anything from the different states biologists that back that claim.

In all my experience "breading" is what you do after you've shot the bird.

I had to do it.

But you're exactly right.

 

[Scott85]

Oregon and California, maybe Idaho as well.

 

[Gellar]

In all my experience "breading" is what you do after you've shot the bird.

I had to do it.

But you're exactly right.

O god! I love to cut the breast into 1 inch chunks, bread them with breading mixed with some garlic and onion powder, little bit of cayenne pepper, and salt, followed by a hot bath in about a 1/2 inch of oil in a big cast iron pan. I like to make a homemade honey mustard sauce to dip them in too.

 

[Gellar]

I think I have some legs/thighs from last year. Turkey carnitas are my favorite part of the bird!

 

[Scott85]

O god! I love to cut the breast into 1 inch chunks, bread them with breading mixed with some garlic and onion powder, little bit of cayenne pepper, and salt, followed by a hot bath in about a 1/2 inch of oil in a big cast iron pan. I like to make a homemade honey mustard sauce to dip them in too.

Soak them in pickle juice and use some spicy fish breading mix.

 

[Scott85]

I think I have some legs/thighs from last year. Turkey carnitas are my favorite part of the bird!

Pressure cook them down and make turkey salad out of it.

 

[Gellar]

Soak them in pickle juice and use some spicy fish breading mix.

I’ve never done the pickle juice. I might give it a try. I’ll brine them in a basic brine with water, kosher salt, lemon juice and herbs.