We had little to no winter this year and a very early spring. We have a very late turkey season (April 15 opener for E. Texas).
What I'm seeing so far in our young season is very little gobbling, and it's hard to hear with so much green. I'm having to use electronic hearing muffs to even hear gobbles over a couple hundred yards.
On the plus side, tons of cover to hide a hunter.
I know what the biologists say, and I think they're mostly right but generally speaking, our birds seem to be past peak hormone time and not actively gobbling once they leave the roost. I've only seen one hen and she was headed to a thick area, probably to her nest around 9am.
Anybody else noticing the effects of an early spring?
Bout the same as always
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Very little gobbling here. This has been the one the toughest years I can remember.
If the early spring and warmer weather only advanced peak breeding one week, it would have a significant on our local season. This one has definitely been different.
Season has been tough here because of the early spring very little gobbling once they hit the ground , I did luck up tho, got two the first week.
Our Season in PA always has come in late to me, 4-29 this year. Factor in a warmer than normal Spring, and the last two weeks always seem dead. Can still kill them till the last day, but the traditional gobbling is all most non existent by the 3rd week.
Same issues in south Arkansas. Hens are on the nest and gobbling has declined rapidly. I tagged out this morning due to hunting very hard and not giving up. I heard nothing off the roost at daylight and finally heard one gobble at 9am and was able to fire him up. Got lucky. Stay persistent and don't give up.
Good luck.
I keep a hunting log for turkey hunting noting weather and temp. starting in Feb each year and thru the season.I have found over the years early springs are better than late springs.2013 was really late and I saw gobblers grouped up like it was Dec. the whole season little gobbling or interest in hens.Early springs are hot and buggy but the hunting is usually better.
There gobbling pretty darn good here in wv. Called up a bird everyday of the season so far but its only the second day lol.
What early spring?
Has made for a tough season in AR. Last week I saw hens by themselves and on the nest every hunt. Only gobblers I have come across was because they randomly gobbled at their hens leaving them.
No real difference in my experience except a little more ground cover.
In the NC Mtns I've heard as many or more gobbles than other years, but on the coast in SC it was very quiet after a few daybreak gobbles. Gobblers just slipping in to check it out but not strutting and only halfheartedly.
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Let ya know in a couple weeks.
Still sitting and waiting to hunt, here.
Late spring is always better...
On one of my main turkey properties, I hunt ducks there as well... Birds are actively gobbling in December and January on the roost. They go nuts if I give them a hen call...
By the end of the season, there is very little gobbling and birds do not seem interested in breeding. I have to think a late spring would give me a longer window of activity for better hunting.
This year, it seems the hens are on the nest earlier than normal, but we have actually had a wetter and colder spring than normal... I am confused and equally fascinated by this development.
Where I hunt in Southern Illinois, in the four days of hunting it took to bag two gobblers, I heard more toms than I recall in any previous year. On the first day of the first season, the boss gobbler had two subordinates with him. Then, there were four subordinates under those two and then several jakes under them plus a dozen or so hens. It was like herding cats for the boss gobbler to finally get everyone on the same page and follow him across the creek into the picked cornfield. Interestingly, as soon as he was out of sight, the four subordinates turned and high tailed it to my Pretty Boy and two hen decoys, some 150 yards away. I took one of these toms after they knocked down my Pretty Boy and began to putt.