2023 Changes in TN

[quavers59]

   I would like to see New York State Reduce the Youth Season early Opener to just 1 Day.
   Currently-- Youths have 2 Days and then all of May- May 1st-31st.
   (1) Day is enough for the Youths

[Number17]

   I would like to see New York State Reduce the Youth Season early Opener to just 1 Day.
   Currently-- Youths have 2 Days and then all of May- May 1st-31st.
   (1) Day is enough for the Youths

Yeah that sounds like a great idea 
The PA youth season is just one Saturday and I have 3 kids that want to go. I'd vote 100% for them to add Sunday morning before church as one of our legal Sundays to hunt.
How many gobblers are these children killing that it upsets you?

[HookedonHooks]

   I would like to see New York State Reduce the Youth Season early Opener to just 1 Day.
   Currently-- Youths have 2 Days and then all of May- May 1st-31st.
   (1) Day is enough for the Youths

Yeah that sounds like a great idea 
The PA youth season is just one Saturday and I have 3 kids that want to go. I'd vote 100% for them to add Sunday morning before church as one of our legal Sundays to hunt.
How many gobblers are these children killing that it upsets you?

I think youth deserve a full weekend at the minimum, especially because many families have multiple kids to take. Some states give them a full week up front and that's definitely too much.

The only downside of early youth season is that so many adults see it as a way to kill an extra gobbler and take a kid that's not truly interested or just go shoot one on their kids tag. This behavior adds in to greed and excessive early harvest that many are concerned about. Adding a youth season on the end of season doesn't make sense though either because the success rates would be so low that they wouldn't be gaining anything with a youth exclusive season.

[topnotch]

Finally, they are taking steps to adjust for population issues. Need more incintive to work on coyotes, good to see racoons restrictions eased on trapping, only issue is how many people are actively trapping anymore.

[arkrem870]

100% predation on nesting hens in LBL study. 107 nests monitored all failed. Proves what we know from prior research. They are initiating nests but predators (mainly raccoons and possums) are wreaking havoc   

[Sir-diealot]

   I would like to see New York State Reduce the Youth Season early Opener to just 1 Day.
   Currently-- Youths have 2 Days and then all of May- May 1st-31st.
   (1) Day is enough for the Youths

I am in NY and I simply do not agree, I have no problem with two days of turkey for them.

What I do have a problem with is them getting a gun season before bow season starts, I would be fine to have them in the last few days of bow season (gun only of course for safty or bow hunters also in blaze orange) but not before bow season where they scare the deer with the loud guns and traipsing around leaving scent all over the place.

[kelley91]

i would add fox to the list of nest raiders. they are not only hurting turkey numbers but quail, ducks, rabbits and songbirds to list a few. Predators are way out of control some more so than others.

[GobbleNut]

100% predation on nesting hens in LBL study. 107 nests monitored all failed. Proves what we know from prior research. They are initiating nests but predators (mainly raccoons and possums) are wreaking havoc

The question that I have to ask is if those doing this study actually verified that nesting-related predation was the cause of all of these failures?  Now, I am not claiming they were not.  Like most others here, I believe predation is a major concern,...but 100% failure due to predation?  Personally, that is a bit hard to comprehend.

My reasons for questions this are due to the fact that turkeys evolved in North America with predation always being part of the equation.  They have been here for tens of thousands of years developing survival strategies that have always included predators.  To think that, all of a sudden, predators have become numerous enough, as well as efficient enough, to cause 100% nesting failure just does not add up in my mind.  Personally, I would include other "suspects" as causes here.

[shatcher]

Marauding crows, hawks and owls.  Feds need to let us kill hawks and owls.

[Crghss]

Marauding crows, hawks and owls.  Feds need to let us kill hawks and owls.

That will never happen. I'm sure they contribute to the problem but not sure we want to be seen shooting hawks and owls then throwing them in the trash. We're not going to eat them.

[shatcher]

Marauding crows, hawks and owls.  Feds need to let us kill hawks and owls.

That will never happen. I'm sure they contribute to the problem but not sure we want to be seen shooting hawks and owls then throwing them in the trash. We're not going to eat them.

Not going to eat coyotes either.  Some may eat coons and possums, but I'm not.

[Paulmyr]

I've tried smoked raccoon. It tasted like ham.

[cwedding]

As a Tennessean, I overall liked the moves the commission made with the exception of the bag limit reduction. I like delaying the season but not taking days away from hunters. This will lessen early season Nonrez pressure and gets us much closer to the Median Date for the Onset of Incubation in Tennessee which is April 26th according to current studies by UT. Going to a 2 turkey limit is not ideal and I really don't think that will help much population wise, but I can live with it. I am not really a fan of states taking the most from their efficient resident hunters which is what a bag reduction does. Overall, I think the Tennessee wild turkey won and that is of utmost importance in my mind.

The science has shown Spring gobbler harvest will have 0 effect on populations if two rules are not violated:

- Kill less than 30% of your males
- Most of the harvest must occur after the Median Date for the Onset of Incubation.

Tennessee was violating both rules heavily and these changes help get us closer to these.

All commissioners should Read "Wild Turkey Harvest Management: Biology, Strategies, and Techniques" by Bill Healy and set seasons accordingly IMO.

Also - Hated to see more WMA land lost to quota, but seemed necessary as they are getting pounded after the successful paid advertising campaign by TWRA promoting public land turkeys in Tennessee.


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[cuttinAR]

100% predation on nesting hens in LBL study. 107 nests monitored all failed. Proves what we know from prior research. They are initiating nests but predators (mainly raccoons and possums) are wreaking havoc

That study was also proven to be trash.

Typical nest success was found to be 30-40%.  Combining recent studies across the Southeast have shown it has declined to the low 20% range.

[joey46]

My last experiences in LBL had coyotes showing up to our calling about half the time.  I should have enough preference points to draw LBL next spring but haven't decided whether to commit as yet.  Need to talk with a few locals I still communicate with and get a definite answer to a few of the road closure rules.  The $310 I would spend for a  KY license, tag, and LBL permit (with camping) also a factor.  Quite the dilemma