Hunting pressure

[NOmad]

Didn't seem like a ton more people but I definitely saw people all season long where I usually only see people the first week or two.

[Dtrkyman]

I had a mix of busy and not busy, had one douche park on top of me, he saw me walking in and came in anyway, well I got around the other side and killed a bird anyway!

Just the norm now, meanwhile I was at my 5th option for where to go in due to being on the late side!


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[GobbleNut]

Trends:
More casual hunters at the start of the season and on weekends.
More non-resident serious hunters during the week and later in the season.
Gobbler numbers decreasing steadily each year due to the impacts of both of the above.

[High plains drifter]

Hunted twelve different states, most places i've hunted before. Pressure as bad as I've ever seen. (Common theme since social media/YouTube era) I've just come to accept its the new normal. Just returned from a 2 week trip. I had three different opening mornings ruined (in 3 states) by someone parking on me and boogering the bird. In one instance, the guy started HOLLERING right before gobble time to screw me up. I assume he was mad he didn't get up early enough to be the first to the gate. In another instance, it was late morning and an older gentleman came sliding into a parking lot, grabbed his gun (i assume loaded) off his passenger seat and tried to race me to a turkey that had just crossed a road. I was in disbelief. Third instance was Saturday morning in Pennsylvania. Had roosted a turkey evening before and saw a black SUV drive by 2x after dark going slow. Well they parked right on me Saturday morning and screwed the hunt all up. I didn't take it kindly and told him exactly what a POS he was.

As a fellow on here likes to say, we just have to adapt and accept that this is the new era of turkey hunting! Isn't it lovely!
[/quote. You hunted 12 states? There is no way.

[YoungGobbler]

Well in my neck of the wood I actually saw less people than last year.

[WV Flopper]

Thank you Young Gobbler for bringing this back TTT.

At my conclusion of season I realize that pressure was low overall every where I went.

The issues I had earlier in season were at a place I have hunted for years, at least 15 on the one ridge.

I guess....over time, some young bucks have found the spot too.

Kind of fitting, but I ain't ready to give it up either.

[zelmo1]

Way more hunters this year and noticeably less turkeys. I'm trying, but it looks like we are doomed to follow the unsuccessful path of mismanagement and crash of turkey populations experienced by many southern and mid-western states. Ya think we would learn, but it doesn't look that way. Z

[tracker#1]

and that's why I mostly hunt privately. At my age, I might get 10 more years, so peaceful...

[GobbleNut]

Way more hunters this year and noticeably less turkeys. I'm trying, but it looks like we are doomed to follow the unsuccessful path of mismanagement and crash of turkey populations experienced by many southern and mid-western states. Ya think we would learn, but it doesn't look that way. Z

I have to agree with this sentiment.  Honestly, I couldn't tell you if the pressure on the areas I USED to hunt increased this year or not.  Those areas reached the saturation point in terms of hunting pressure several years ago and I pretty much stopped hunting them...at least early in the season. I have personally overcome that problem by focusing now on hunting later in the season and in more out-of-the-way locations, when and where the pressure is much more tolerable. 

However, one thing for certain is that the with the increased pressure we have experienced here, starting about ten years ago and increasing over time, there are fewer gobblers in the turkey population due to more of them getting killed each spring.  That is offset a bit in that we are still having somewhat reliable reproductive success in our turkey populations over time, but the current trend does not bode well for the future without the adoption of more conservative hunting strategies by our wildlife managers. Currently, there is little awareness that we are headed towards the cliff...

[NYturkey]

Pressure has been on the rise in the areas I hunt in a few states. Doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon...


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[Gooserbat]

Depends on where I was.  Oklahoma public was nuts,

[Brian Fahs]

Trends:
More casual hunters at the start of the season and on weekends.
More non-resident serious hunters during the week and later in the season.
Gobbler numbers decreasing steadily each year due to the impacts of both of the above.

Very well said

[Kyle_Ott]

Hunted twelve different states, most places i've hunted before. Pressure as bad as I've ever seen. (Common theme since social media/YouTube era) I've just come to accept its the new normal. Just returned from a 2 week trip. I had three different opening mornings ruined (in 3 states) by someone parking on me and boogering the bird. In one instance, the guy started HOLLERING right before gobble time to screw me up. I assume he was mad he didn't get up early enough to be the first to the gate. In another instance, it was late morning and an older gentleman came sliding into a parking lot, grabbed his gun (i assume loaded) off his passenger seat and tried to race me to a turkey that had just crossed a road. I was in disbelief. Third instance was Saturday morning in Pennsylvania. Had roosted a turkey evening before and saw a black SUV drive by 2x after dark going slow. Well they parked right on me Saturday morning and screwed the hunt all up. I didn't take it kindly and told him exactly what a POS he was.

As a fellow on here likes to say, we just have to adapt and accept that this is the new era of turkey hunting! Isn't it lovely!
[/quote. You hunted 12 states? There is no way.

There is a way.  Quite a few folks hunt 10-15 states each spring successfully.  My brother killed in 19 one year. 

   
Next time instead of doubting someone consider checking your ignorance before you show it on the internet. Deerhunt also happened to finish his US Slam this season so I'd consider paying attention to what he has to say on this forum instead of questioning it.

[Kyle_Ott]

Pressure was intense in most of the places I went. 

Louisiana and Arkansas were next level.  Trucks parked every 200-400 yards on the roads that had turkeys and dipshits with no sense of etiquette or common courtesy were far more abundant than turkeys. 

[Dougas]

On the public land I hunted and scouted extensively, killing two turkeys, I saw zero hunters and quite a few turkeys.

Turkey hunting really isn't a thing in these parts. I can see 20 to 50 a day easily and the fish and game routinely trap them, kill them and donate the meat to good causes.
They have removed over 20 turkeys from around my house this year and over 100 last year from what I have been told. I asked what they did with them and they told me they kill them and give the meat to charity and homeless shelters. In some counties, in the spring, you are allowed 3 male or visible beard tags and 9 beardless hen tags and 2 either sex in the fall. THat's 14 tags overall.