State Bag Limits- Too Many Or Too Few?

[quavers59]

     I just checked out the 2024Spring Hunt Guide in the Turkey Call Mag. There are a good 10 States with just a 1 Gobbler Bag Limit.  Most States have a 2 Gobbler Limit. A few States have a 3 Gobbler Limit.At least 1 State has 4. And Montana has a 5 Spring Gobbler Limit. While New Jersey- There is a opportunity to buy alot more then 5 Turkey Permits.
    I feel bad for residents in States like Ohio. Just 1 Gobbler.   Probably  most hunters would want a much shorter Spring Turkey Season if they could take 2 Gobblers.
  2 Gobblers is Probably just right for a bunch of States.  So how do you feel about your States Spring Turkey Bag Limit? Too Few,Too Many, or Just about right?

[Boykin Hollow]

Georgia recently went from 3 to 2 gobblers and also moved the opening day up a week later in the year.  We start this Saturday, March 30th.  I am good with the changes if it will help the turkey population out.  Two per year is a plenty if you ask me.

[Prospector]

 Too many with a caveat:
Mississippi-currently has a 3 bird limit. My personal opinion is NR should be one and one only. Resident should have a one ( maybe 2) bird limit at license purchase with an opportunity at an additional tag with a predator bounty.
Quit wasting money on tele-check. Look at the NWTF harvest report for MS. Little over 11k reported but MS "thinks" like 30k actual. Wow. Even they know it's ridiculous. Use $ for something else. Like supporting a predator bounty... get all us NWTF members off our duff and #1 trapping- gotta get that tag! and #2 helping man and support that predator bounty.... Just one poor man's opinion. lol, might have got a little more than u asked....

[ScottTaulbee]

Depends on the reason for asking about the limit, from a hunter standpoint I wish we could kill 5. From a "good for the turkey" standpoint I believe a 1 bird season would help. But then again, we've had so many new hunters from out of state showing up lately, even with a one bird limit I doubt the total harvest would decrease. I believe it's something like 2% actually fill their second tag here.


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[Yoder409]

Not sure how to answer this.

Pennsylvania is a big place.  State limit is 2 spring birds.  There are places that should be cut to 1 bird.  There are places it could be upped to 3 birds.

I guess if it's gonna be one set limit for the entire state, then 2 is just right.  Not sure why the Game Commission hasn't broken the limit down by WMU ??  I thought that's what they were for........

[Gobbler-one]

South Carolina dropped the limit from 5 to 3 a few years ago. Also pushed the start date back a week. We're looking at possibly more changes next season. Personally I'm ok with whatever is in the best interest of the resource. I hunt private as well as public land. Our WMA's all have different bag limits based off size of area and population. On the private land I hunt I have a self imposed limit of 1 bird per season for the past three years. I still get to hunt plenty with my grown kids and son-in-law. I enjoy pulling the trigger on an old long beard as much as the next guy, but the biggest thrill for me is calling and working a gobbler. I support any changes so long as they are made with logic and common sense.

[Tom007]

Seems simple to me. If recorded harvest counts show a declining trend year after year, then bag limits should be something to look at for sure. Unfortunately most Wildlife Agencies count on license and permit fees to fund their operations. This might (will) serve to make them apprehensive about changing laws that could affect their livelihood. It's an unfortunate "conflict of interest" that many DNR's are struggling with. Funding has become a major problem with everything in life. We all know as sportsman that when states look to cut budgets, hunting and fishing dollars could be easy targets for sure. No target funding is safe anymore......

[King Cobra]

Seems simple to me. If recorded harvest counts show a declining trend year after year, then bag limits should be something to look at for sure. Unfortunately most Wildlife Agencies count on license and permit fees to fund their operations. This might (will) serve to make them apprehensive about changing laws that could affect their livelihood. It's an unfortunate "conflict of interest" that many DNR's are struggling with. Funding has become a major problem with everything in life. We all know as sportsman that when states look to cut budgets, hunting and fishing dollars could be easy targets for sure. No target funding is safe anymore......

X2 Unfortunately with some states it appears its all about money. Very Unfortunate!

[eggshell]

I am ok with the reduced limits if they are done using biological data and in a way to be effective. However, they are usually applied as appeasement to the crowd hollering, "do something about our turkeys". Reducing the bag limit is the easiest and fastest way to demonstrate to the whining masses they are doing something. In reality most small reductions in bag limits do very little to stabilize flocks. As someone else said, most hunters never fill all their tags. Here in Ohio approx. 40% or less filled the second tag. We buy our tags individually and a lot don't even buy the second. Using the states own harvest numbers works out that the reduced limit to 1 gobbler averages saving one gobbler for around every 25,000 acres. That's not going to do much for the flock as a whole. It's just a smoke screen and not biologically sound in most places.

[silvestris]

The main problems are declining habitat and perhaps more significantly people, too many people persuing a limited resource.  For the most part a hunter behind every tree.  Cutting the limits and the seasons are about the only things a game department can do.  I so miss the old days of the 1980s and 1990s.

[Gobbler428]

I have watched the slow decline of the turkey population here in South Carolina since the mid 1970's and in my opinion, if we don't make changes in a lot of areas, not just season limits and start dates we will see the continued decline of turkey similar to what happened to quail. It's really a state by state issue because what works in one state may or may not work in another, it should be left up to the game department and their biologist and researchers in each state to make the recommended changes and we as hunters should follow the science. If that means we spend less time in the woods during turkey season and are able to kill fewer birds, so be it. If that's what it takes on our part for our children, grandchildren and future generations to enjoy turkey hunting even close to the way many of us have, then in my mind, that's a small sacrifice on our part and one we should gladly make.

[JeffC]

Grew up in New Jersey when there was no season. Now go back because the population of birds is better than Maryland where I live. I think Jersey does a decent job of limiting the amount of people hunting per week per zone. Have 7 tags, will be lucky to hunt 10 days spread over entire season. I wish Maryland would go to a permit system to help rebuild the population. I would never take 7 birds but look for that perfect hunt when he plays the game the way I want it.   

[Prohunter3509]

Too many with a caveat:
Mississippi-currently has a 3 bird limit. My personal opinion is NR should be one and one only. Resident should have a one ( maybe 2) bird limit at license purchase with an opportunity at an additional tag with a predator bounty.
Quit wasting money on tele-check. Look at the NWTF harvest report for MS. Little over 11k reported but MS "thinks" like 30k actual. Wow. Even they know it's ridiculous. Use $ for something else. Like supporting a predator bounty... get all us NWTF members off our duff and #1 trapping- gotta get that tag! and #2 helping man and support that predator bounty.... Just one poor man's opinion. lol, might have got a little more than u asked....

I am from ms. My feelings are the same as yours.
3 birds is too many with all the out of staters put on us 

[kytrkyhntr]

I have always believed that all states should have a 1 bird limit for non residents. With a delayed start, even if it's 2 days.

[Gobbler-one]

I have watched the slow decline of the turkey population here in South Carolina since the mid 1970's and in my opinion, if we don't make changes in a lot of areas, not just season limits and start dates we will see the continued decline of turkey similar to what happened to quail. It's really a state by state issue because what works in one state may or may not work in another, it should be left up to the game department and their biologist and researchers in each state to make the recommended changes and we as hunters should follow the science. If that means we spend less time in the woods during turkey season and are able to kill fewer birds, so be it. If that's what it takes on our part for our children, grandchildren and future generations to enjoy turkey hunting even close to the way many of us have, then in my mind, that's a small sacrifice on our part and one we should gladly make.

X2