I just need a few tips on turkey hunting

[TrapperJ]

Turkeys act a lot like antelope in the sense that they move very unpredictably most of the time. About the time you think they are headed to a spot they decide to go another direction. They may feed in the same spot 2-3 days in a row then go somewhere else completely for absolutely no reason.

I think they have a better plan then wandering aimlessly but that’s what it looks like a lot of the time.

Hmm I will say turkeys are wierd by the way I have a question why do we have to only hunt Tom's and not hens? We have more hens then Tom's and this flock I'm gonna hunt only has 1 tom I believe so if he gets shot then there's no Tom's? So why can't we hunt hens?

 

[Stocker]

Hmm I will say turkeys are wierd by the way I have a question why do we have to only hunt Tom's and not hens? We have more hens then Tom's and this flock I'm gonna hunt only has 1 tom I believe so if he gets shot then there's no Tom's? So why can't we hunt hens?

There’s usually several toms in or around a flock. Around here anyway. Can’t hunt hens for future population growth. The

 

[Wild Bill]

A single Tom will breed multiple hens, therefore there are not as many Toms required to sustain the population. Hens lay the eggs. That's why you can't shoot them. I'd advice not shooting them in the fall season as well, even if they're legal for take.
Chances are, even if you poleaxe him as the clock strikes shooting time on opening morning he has already obliged some hens.
Contrary to how we hunt turkeys, the natural order of operations is for the hen to go to the tom, not the other way around. The hens will find a way to get bred.

 

[np307]

Hmm I will say turkeys are wierd by the way I have a question why do we have to only hunt Tom's and not hens? We have more hens then Tom's and this flock I'm gonna hunt only has 1 tom I believe so if he gets shot then there's no Tom's? So why can't we hunt hens?

Spring is nesting season and because turkeys are ground nesting birds, they're extremely subject to nest predation. While turkeys are relatively abundant currently (with some states having population declines worthy of note), it wasn't that long ago that they were almost extinct. It took a lot of money and effort to bring them back to abundance. Toms contribute to the nesting process only by breeding hens and one Tom can breed multiple hens. But hens have to actually hatch the nest and raise the poults.

There are some states that do have fall turkey seasons, and in those cases they do often allow hen harvest. It still has to be managed carefully but the fact that they aren't actively nesting in the spring helps limit the population damage that fall hen harvest does.

 

[Hobbes]

I've sent you a PM

 

[TrapperJ]

I've sent you a PM

I will check it 1 sec

 

[TrapperJ]

Spring is nesting season and because turkeys are ground nesting birds, they're extremely subject to nest predation. While turkeys are relatively abundant currently (with some states having population declines worthy of note), it wasn't that long ago that they were almost extinct. It took a lot of money and effort to bring them back to abundance. Toms contribute to the nesting process only by breeding hens and one Tom can breed multiple hens. But hens have to actually hatch the nest and raise the poults.

There are some states that do have fall turkey seasons, and in those cases they do often allow hen harvest. It still has to be managed carefully but the fact that they aren't actively nesting in the spring helps limit the population damage that fall hen harvest does.

Gotcha kinda but I'm afraid it'll turn into the buck deal where there's no toms so the hens travel to the Tom which could be a long ways away then there's no turkeys