Effects on turkey population shooting multiple gobblers?

[Bobby5]

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 This may be a dumb question but I have about 75 acres and hunt surrounding farms. Everybody in my family hunts (wife,son,) and was curious if we all harvested gobblers from the same area how would that effect the population and future gobbler population? If you harvest a mature bird do others move into the area ?


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[Tom007]

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Obviously you have control of your land, therefore you somewhat control your game population. What you can’t control is what goes on with the properties around you. All I can add here is I hunt several different parcels in my state. I only take one bird out of a parcel in a given year.  It works. Last year I harvested a gobbler, and on my way out, another bird was gobbling. I gave him a pass last season, and sure enough he is there this year. When you take a gobbler off a tract, another will come in to claim the hens. But not over-harvesting on parcels can give you better opportunities in the years to come. Best of luck....

[shaman]

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This may be a dumb question but I have about 75 acres and hunt surrounding farms. Everybody in my family hunts (wife,son,) and was curious if we all harvested gobblers from the same area how would that effect the population and future gobbler population? If you harvest a mature bird do others move into the area ?


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Gobblers gobble in part to keep each other appraised of their presence.  A lot of other birds do it as well.  When a gobbler falls silent, another gobbler often comes in to claim the territory.  I had an instance many years ago where I shot an old, dominant bird on a neighboring ridge.  Before noon, another gob had announce his presence on the ridge (hesitantly at first).  By the next morning, he was cock of the walk up there.

If the population is healthy then killing gobs won't have a huge effect.  Most states time their seasons so that most hens are bred before season's start. 

Also remember that a turkey's life is rather short.  Yes, they can live for over a decade if everything is just right, but most gobs die of something after their 2nd or 3rd season. 

I've been in situations at my farm where there were too many gobs and not enough hens as well as too many hens and not enough gobblers.  Both caused a ruckus.  Bottom line: when there is a deficiency where one sex is over-represented the turkeys switch into warp drive.  The deficiency does not last long.  When there have seemed to be not enough gobblers, the hens get raucous and yelp and cackleall day.  They want to be bred and they want to be bred NOW!

[Southerngobbler]

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I've seen several instances where there were two or three gobblers on a property and after getting shot there wasn't another gobbler for many years, in one situation there still isn't anything but a few hens after almost 10 years There has to be a certain number of animals in any group to expand their numbers and when there are less than that number the group can decline. I know this to be true of turkeys and quail. Be careful shooting too many. All my experiences are in the south with out agriculture near by. It could be different if you have an over flow from different properties.

[nativeks]

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This may be a dumb question but I have about 75 acres and hunt surrounding farms. Everybody in my family hunts (wife,son,) and was curious if we all harvested gobblers from the same area how would that effect the population and future gobbler population? If you harvest a mature bird do others move into the area ?


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Gobblers gobble in part to keep each other appraised of their presence.  A lot of other birds do it as well.  When a gobbler falls silent, another gobbler often comes in to claim the territory.  I had an instance many years ago where I shot an old, dominant bird on a neighboring ridge.  Before noon, another gob had announce his presence on the ridge (hesitantly at first).  By the next morning, he was cock of the walk up there.

If the population is healthy then killing gobs won't have a huge effect.  Most states time their seasons so that most hens are bred before season's start. 

Also remember that a turkey's life is rather short.  Yes, they can live for over a decade if everything is just right, but most gobs die of something after their 2nd or 3rd season. 

I've been in situations at my farm where there were too many gobs and not enough hens as well as too many hens and not enough gobblers.  Both caused a ruckus.  Bottom line: when there is a deficiency where one sex is over-represented the turkeys switch into warp drive.  The deficiency does not last long.  When there have seemed to be not enough gobblers, the hens get raucous and yelp and cackleall day.  They want to be bred and they want to be bred NOW!

Research is showing that most of the hens are not bred when seasons start. In fact hens are nesting later and later and they believe that to be a result of hunting pressure.
https://www.realtree.com/turkey-hunting/articles/are-turkey-seasons-opening-too-soon

This article addresses that as well as several of the other theories we have held as fact that are now being debunked.

[TRG3]

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It's been my practice to only take one gobbler from a parcel of land annually. With more turkey hunters participating in the spring season, this is getting to be more difficult to do. Last season, 150 acres of mainly woods that I'd previously had permission to hunt changed hands and seven toms were harvested from there. Hunting from an adjacent piece of ground, I haven't heard a gobbler in that area so far this spring.

[silvestris]

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Every gobbler has a number and overharvested, there will be fewer for the future.

[ChesterCopperpot]

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I’d be very, very surprised if 75 acres could support the harvest of three toms per year.


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[Crghss]

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Getting one mature Tom off 75 acres would be an accomplishment. Turkeys travel pretty far.

Don’t shoot 2 year old’s or younger and I think you’d be ok.

[WV Flopper]

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 I think it was called field of dreams? The guy built a baseball field in the middle of a corn field, and they came

 If your 50 acre parcel has better habitat than the neighbors, they will come. If you kill them all, they will replace.

 

[zelmo1]

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I believe that usually boss Tom’s will get replaced when harvested. But overkill is a real thing too. If the pressure is too much, birds will move out of that area. It’s a balance. I try to leave a couple Tom’s in any area. Hunting smaller pieces of woods gives good success , but you can easily ghost a small area. Use your best judgment to keep this resource healthy.  Al Baker

[Bobby5]

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How many gobblers do you guys usually harvest from a piece of land? How many acres? Did it affect the next year’s success?


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[wchadw]

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I hunt a 300 acre property that I normally shoot 2 a year and brother might shoot one. Recently one of the other owners allowed his father in law and 2 other men to hunt. They shot 5 birds. I can say it has effected the overall population. Unfortunately I found out they a planning on coming this weekend while I’m out of town. I have killed 2 this year and my brother shot one. I only saw a flock of 6 adult gobblers in fall


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[GobbleNut]

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The real focus here should be about population recruitment.  That is, are you having reliable reproductive success such that you are replacing the gobblers killed with an equal number of jakes (or other new gobblers) coming into your population to replace them? 

It doesn't matter if you are talking about a small, specific property or a larger tract of land that might encompass many private and/or public parcels.  If you are not having harvested gobblers replaced through reproductive success, your gobbler numbers (and likely hens as well) are going to decline over time. 

Healthy turkey populations (and gobbler numbers) are fundamentally a result of annual,...or at least somewhat regular,...nesting success and poult survival.  It doesn't matter how many gobblers you are shooting each spring, if you aren't replacing them with young birds in equal numbers, your hunting is eventually, and inevitably, going to suffer. 

[Bobby5]

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I see 2 or 3 jakes every year. A lot more jakes than tom’s. Not sure if this is a good thing or not.


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