Wanting to see some new country and chase after an eastern. I'm a Texas resident and the less driving I can do while maximizing opportunity, the better. If you had a choice between western Tennessee and southern Missouri, which would you choose? Would driving a little further into the interior of either state be more fruitful?
Eastern OK has Easterns and it may be closer. Of the two, Id try TN only cause I haven't hunted it yet, so not much help to you there.
Quote from: dirt road ninja on February 18, 2020, 11:28:53 AM
Eastern OK has Easterns and it may be closer. Of the two, Id try TN only cause I haven't hunted it yet, so not much help to you there.
I was under the impression that the numbers of easterns in Oklahoma were similar to that of Arkansas (not very good). It would certainly keep me closer to home if I could get on one there though.
looking at this map
https://www.nwtf.org/hunt/wild-turkey-basics/habitat
why are there no turkeys that portion of eastern texas? just very heavy agricultural land? never been to texas
Quote from: bigriverbum on February 18, 2020, 11:39:40 AM
looking at this map
https://www.nwtf.org/hunt/wild-turkey-basics/habitat
why are there no turkeys that portion of eastern texas? just very heavy agricultural land? never been to texas
I don't really know why easterns don't absolutely thrive in the eastern third of the state. Stocking efforts have been ongoing over the last decade or more. Supposedly a lot of the piney woods they used to inhabit historically grew too thick from a lack of forest fires. There are some areas in northeast Texas along the red river that have good numbers, but most of the highest density areas are private. Some counties with birds don't have a permitted season. Counties with easterns and a spring season for them generally start after the birds have mostly finished up their breeding. I've thought about trying in some national forest land in the northeast corner, but feel my odds of getting into gobbling birds would be better in other states with higher bird densities.
I would say Tennessee because you can only hunt until 1:00 in Missouri. Not that you can't have a great hunt there but on out of state trips that's a lot of down time. Tennessee's nonresident license is one of the more expensive, though.
I would go with Tennessee. I believe the population is better than Southern Missouri. I've been told numbers are down there. More tags in Tennessee. Back in 2000 I lived in Beaumont Texas and there were turkeys in the Piney Woods. Not sure how dense or widespread they are now. Hogs probably take a toll on them I'm sure.
If I'm not mistaken west Tn numbers are way down.
Middle Tn has had a significant decline in harvests too, alot of hunters begging the twra to reduce bag limits but the keep giving us 4 a year. I wouldn't mind seeing it reduced to 2 a year if it means more turkeys.
Tennessee would be my pick.
Having to stop at 1 o'clock would be a big adjustment for sure. I guess if I hunted in Missouri close enough to the Kansas border, I could hunt the afternoons there. Time is on my side this spring. Do have a New Mexico trip on the agenda, but that's about it other than my home state.
Missouri! They are huge and there's enough to go around.
We don't have anymore turkeys in Missouri anymore...
Quote from: timberjack86 on February 18, 2020, 12:22:10 PM
If I'm not mistaken west Tn numbers are way down.
Yes they are down.....a lot! I too wish they would reduce the limit, at least in the western part of the state, to 2 instead of 4.
Quote from: JMalin on February 18, 2020, 11:20:52 AM
Wanting to see some new country and chase after an eastern. I'm a Texas resident and the less driving I can do while maximizing opportunity, the better. If you had a choice between western Tennessee and southern Missouri, which would you choose? Would driving a little further into the interior of either state be more fruitful?
I would have suggested Illinois public land but you're way too late to get a tag this year.
TN needs to reduce the bag limit and shorten the season. Numbers are down in spite of a good hatch last spring.
Quote from: JMalin on February 18, 2020, 11:32:23 AM
Quote from: dirt road ninja on February 18, 2020, 11:28:53 AM
Eastern OK has Easterns and it may be closer. Of the two, Id try TN only cause I haven't hunted it yet, so not much help to you there.
I was under the impression that the numbers of easterns in Oklahoma were similar to that of Arkansas (not very good). It would certainly keep me closer to home if I could get on one there though.
Coming from a southeastern Oklahoma resident, that is a true statement. That's why our season opens 2 weeks later than the statewide season and the whole southeast 8 county portion of the state has a 1 bird limit, combined counties. You could find a bird somewhere in the state but the density isn't what it is in the other states listed.
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I hunt both mo and tn and it can be accomplished in either state. Mark Twain national forest has plenty of birds in it in southern Missouri.
Here in Georgia, there are no turkeys. Apparently they caught the same debilitating illness that eradicated the turkey population in Alabama.
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Quote from: JMalin on February 18, 2020, 01:55:05 PM
Having to stop at 1 o'clock would be a big adjustment for sure. I guess if I hunted in Missouri close enough to the Kansas border, I could hunt the afternoons there. Time is on my side this spring. Do have a New Mexico trip on the agenda, but that's about it other than my home state.
The eastern part of KS has a one bird limit due to poor populations of birds.
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Quote from: Missouri hunter on February 18, 2020, 03:56:08 PM
We don't have anymore turkeys in Missouri anymore...
I'm beginning to believe that in the southern part of Mo where I live. The hog problem is getting out of control and they are taking over Mark Twain. Now if you get caught killing one on Mark Twain its a $5000 fine!!
Have been hunting Missouri for the past 28 years, just started hunting Tenn. five years ago. Tenn. is what Missouri was 15-18 years ago. Lots of birds and 1/3 less hunters. Knocked on many doors and was given permission also.
For what its worth.... MO, KS, AR (as I am familiar with these states) are seeing a huge decline in birds. I live in AR and I only hunt one or two days. We have seen the decline on our farms in MO and KS. It's just a rough go now, but birds can be found. I'd say TN would be my choice only because I have never been.
TN. Look at all the birds those YouTube hunting shows encountered there!
My advice would simply be to research wherever you go very thoroughly and talk to as many turkey hunters from there that you can reach out to. There are good places to hunt,...and lousy places to hunt,...in just about every state. Personally, I would consider going north rather than east from TX.
I've got plenty of private ground in Tennessee. Willing to trade an eastern for a Rio? You have access to good private ground down there?
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I would say tenesee for sure i hunt there myself.I have lived in southeast mo my whole life been chasin gobblers in mark twain for 35 years.
Turkey numbers are worse than ive ever seen them. They have cut thousands of acres of mark twain looks like a bomb went off didnt leave anything .I guess the $$ is more important than the deer and turkeys.if you are lucky enough to find some you will be surrounded by Arkansas hunters as soon as you get him to gobble its not first come first serve anymore like it allways has been. Im not sayin there all that way but the majority that hunt around here seems to be no respect for other hunters.We have alot of out of state hunters mississippi tennesee havent had much problems out of them though seem like pretty good guys for the most part again not sayin everyone from arkansas is like this all that being said there are still some birds here not tryin to talk you out of hunting mo good luck where ever you end up going
Quote from: James gang on February 21, 2020, 03:34:10 AM
I would say tenesee for sure i hunt there myself.I have lived in southeast mo my whole life been chasin gobblers in mark twain for 35 years.
Turkey numbers are worse than ive ever seen them. They have cut thousands of acres of mark twain looks like a bomb went off didnt leave anything .I guess the $$ is more important than the deer and turkeys.if you are lucky enough to find some you will be surrounded by Arkansas hunters as soon as you get him to gobble its not first come first serve anymore like it allways has been. Im not sayin there all that way but the majority that hunt around here seems to be no respect for other hunters.We have alot of out of state hunters mississippi tennesee havent had much problems out of them though seem like pretty good guys for the most part again not sayin everyone from arkansas is like this all that being said there are still some birds here not tryin to talk you out of hunting mo good luck where ever you end up going
Glad I'm not the only one that is getting overrun with hunters from Ark. Been hunting Texas and Shannon Counties for the past 28 years, the past 5-6 years I have not been able to get away from them. Last year left camp @ 0300 on the first day, less than 1/2 mile from camp to where I wanted to hunt. There sat a rig from Ark.
I got up and listened every morning for a month before season figured out where i wanted to go .I was sitting around 80-90 yrds from roosted birds 1.5 hrs before daylight soon as the gobbling starts here they come all over me i guess those arkansas turkeys like calling because they never quit two guys walk right past me one sits 40 yrds strait in front of me starts coyote howling then non stop calling guess they didnt realize the birds were long gone so i get up and walk out arkansas trucks parked 20 ft on both sides of my truck ( this is a narrow logging road not a parking lot at a wma) so i drive back to camp which isn't far at all 3 more arkansas trucks parked at camp not next to it i mean 20 yrds from our campers and fire.local game warden says he gets 10 complaints about arkansas hunters for every one on mo and every other state that comes here combined.I know the locals are fed up with them when you see a truck parked you go to the next spot thats how its allways been they see a truck they stop to see if your working a bird so they can try and get in between you unreal but very true
James some of the locale where we hunt have told us not to park our rigs on the timber cut roads, because when they do they shove them out of the way with their rig or log skidder. Informed us they have shoved many Ark rigs off the road and into the brush.
You bet not quite that hardcore myself but i understand why they do it we have plenty of crazy hillbillies around here also .Most are very good people but you go out of your way to mess up someone's turkey hunt ( park on top of them because they got a bird gobbling try to intercept) your asking for it arkansas or not last year worse ive seen it watched a local take a shotgun away from an arkansas hunter unload it grabbed it by the barrel and smashed the stock across a tree then toss it on the ground in front of him ended up with a broke gun and a nasty shiner no one cares who comes here to hunt but everyone is fed up with the bs not trying to scare anyone off just telling what i saw im sure it will get worse before it gets better anyone could come here have a good hunt with no problems all it takes is a little common sense and respect for other hunters
I'm in Memphis and cover quite a bit in W Tn.
The more you get towards mid TN the better the numbers.
I have gone to the boot heal of MO and was successful.
I would suggest MO as the terrain and size of the birds are incredible.
Good luck
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Missouri. Tennessee public land gets pretty crowded the times I've been.
Walking a mile in the dark is nothing to me. I would honest expect to have other hunters around if I was working a bird within a few hundred yards of easy access.
I'll try this again. Maybe the newly priced Missouri non-resident license will have an effect. It was $55 when I started in 1986, $224 this spring. I've had a couple shot out from under me in those years, but mostly if you want to walk you can hunt unmolested. I made a few lifelong friends from Arkansas-they don't hunt the way some have described. There's a few bad apples in every bunch, I guess.
I used to put on 6-7 miles some days, but next week I'll be 68, so I've cut it to 4-5. :happy0064:
Sounds like you got to hunt mo in its prime i can remember hearing more birds in one morning than i hear all year now
Oh man back in the early 1990's it was nothing to hear 30 birds on the roost, and to have 5 birds answering your calls coming from diff directions. It was something...
It was awesome back then. A person could find birds everywhere. They've cut more timber just north of me in the last 2 years than they have the last 15. Ive hunted Mark Twain my whole life and the numbers just aren't there anymore. A lot of my honeyholes are tore up with hog sign instead of scratching.
I know right have to keep changing positions tyin to figure out which ones gonna get there first lol the good ol days of mo turkey hunting sure hope im still able to chase them when im 68 im sure you got alot of good stories good luck
When you find some, you've found a wad of em. But you better get there super early to secure a spot. Then that's no guarantee some lazy jack wagon wont try to slip in on ya, lol. I love hunting those big holler gobblers.
Yep harvester makes me sick seeing my favorite spots destroyed been hunting out there all my life all up j through to c never be the same hard to belive what they have done to it
Thanks, James gang, same to you! Two of the nicest memories involve my late father. In 1987 we tagged out on Monday of week two, and he was 69 then. I carried 49 pounds of longbeards back to the truck in 85 degree weather. The other one is in 2001, when Dad killed his last Missouri gobbler when he was 83. I carried that one out from the very ridge we had first hunted in 1986, as the tears ran down my cheeks. I knew it was the last time he'd fire a gun in the Ozarks. That morning was like the old days, as we heard double digit gobblers all around us. He passed away in March of 2002, and that spring I hunted his favorite ridge on the first day and killed a bird at fly down I think that bird was guided to me.
83 that is awesome good stories and memories no doubt that bird was guided to you lost my grandpa couple years ago sometimes i hunt with his old browning shotgun feels like he is sittin right there with me
Quote from: James gang on February 21, 2020, 11:08:10 AM
You bet not quite that hardcore myself but i understand why they do it we have plenty of crazy hillbillies around here also .Most are very good people but you go out of your way to mess up someone's turkey hunt ( park on top of them because they got a bird gobbling try to intercept) your asking for it arkansas or not last year worse ive seen it watched a local take a shotgun away from an arkansas hunter unload it grabbed it by the barrel and smashed the stock across a tree then toss it on the ground in front of him ended up with a broke gun and a nasty shiner no one cares who comes here to hunt but everyone is fed up with the bs not trying to scare anyone off just telling what i saw im sure it will get worse before it gets better anyone could come here have a good hunt with no problems all it takes is a little common sense and respect for other hunters
Holy run on sentence Batman!! I'm sorry that you've had troubles with some of the arkansans. I'm not sure why many of my fellow hunters act the way they do but don't paint us all with the same brush. I can assure you I treat others as I would like to be treated. We have a bad rap in all states. Keep dolling out those shiners!
LOL im not sayin everyone from arkansas is the same.There is a group of guys that camp a couple miles from us from arkansas every year.I look forward to talking to them they are good guys.We haul each other back to our camps all the time.They get just as frustrated as everyone else with the other group from arkansas .I didnt dish out any shiners lol just pulled up as it was going down
The good ole days of hunting SEMO are certainly gone. I can hunt several days in a row without hearing a gobble. There were so many days of hearing 8-9 birds a morning back in the 80s and 90s. Even up until early 2000's you would still hear multiple birds.
I think the non-resident hunters have thinned out a bit in my spots. Used to see plates from about every state in the southeast. Last year I did see one NY rig. I've never had any problems from any non-residents. I don't live in the county I hunt and I've had problems with some locals. Got shot at about 6 years ago. I walked a long way to get to a bird. Never heard anybody calling at all. Called the bird up the ridge and shot him. It was a pretty short hunt once I got to his ridge. While the bird was flopping somebody shot over my head twice. I hung around waiting for a confrontation but I never saw anyone. There weren't any rigs parked anywhere on the road I was parked on. That's about the worst that's happened to me. I've had several locals meet me by my truck and complain about it being crowded. I even had one guy tell me this was his last year hunting during season. He was gonna go back to killing his birds before season. I guess there's good and bad no matter where you go. I think the lack of birds has led some folks to abandon courtesy. As far as MO goes, I think it will only get worse. I've been thinking about a TN hunt, I would like to hunt somewhere that had a decent population.
Agree totally we are going to tn again this year have had good luck there.I here that everywhere i go ( not waiting for season so out of towners can try to run me out of my spot ive hunted all my life) im sure killing gobblers early in the mating season is great for our turkey population.
There is no way of knowing where people park or where they are in the woods as many hunters as we have people are going to bump into each other.Thats way different than parking next to someone and going after a turkey they are allready working. My old man would of slapped me silly if i parked in sight of another truck ( have some respect they were here first he'd say) I had a mississippi guy pull up to me next to my truck last year asked if i had any luck.
I had just heard two birds gobble just before he stopped .I told him and he said well ill go on so you can get after them.I told him sounded like two birds he may as well come with me.We didn't kill one that day but made a friend and got invited to hunt with him in mississippi a little respect goes along way.
I bailed on a botched hunt on private in Missouri second week last spring, drove 40 minutes to public and killed a suicide tom that ate the call up around 10am.
It was the third day I have hunted that section of ground and i have killed 2 birds, guess I should spend more time in there!
I agree on the points made about being able to hunt all day in TN. though!