Hunter numbers 2022

[WV Flopper]

 Increase or decrease from last year? The year before "20"?

Simply, are you encountering more or less people hunting than last year and the year before?

[FLGobstopper]

A lot more than last, probably not as much as 2020 but hunted a few new areas and nothing to compare it to. Overall, a lot more people than last at usual areas.

[Tail Feathers]

More.  Not hugely more tho. 

[WV Flopper]

 I have experienced far less. So far! Back to 80's level even, seriously.
Understandably, WV is not a destination state like Fl. But wow. I have hunted the same areas for years and have a guy or two come through once in a while, last two years were a lot more. This year, alot less.

[turkey_slayer]

More than doubled

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[aclawrence]

I would say 2020 was the worst and this year is maybe a little better than last year. Last year wasn't as bad when we hit about the third week of the season. I still see some guys getting after it but it's not too bad.


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[Remturkey]

A lot less than last two years.  I'm thinking it's a combination of people having to go back to office to work and the crazy weather we've had for the first week here in Maryland

[Archivist13]

A lot less than last two years.  I'm thinking it's a combination of people having to go back to office to work and the crazy weather we've had for the first week here in Maryland

I'm in Maryland as well and I would say it is less during the week than the last two years. As you mentioned, the weather has been all over the place and most people are back to work.

[grayfox]

2020 was the worst where I hunt.

[Will]

I'm in Maryland and hunt private and it's more for me. Social media complaints of more on the  public land in Western Maryland. Apparently sounded like a healthy population of crows and owls at daybreak. I didn't hunt up there so I can't really say but more hunters on my private Eastern Shore pieces.

[Dtrkyman]

Similar numbers but an increase in ignorance!


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[GobbleNut]

Here's my take around these parts:
Every year a few more newbies take up spring gobbler hunting.  Most don't have a clue and give up rather quickly, but while they are out in the woods, they are often doing stuff that is counterproductive to both their own success and also to others that are hunting.  Simply put, they just don't know what they are doing.  Because of that, they often end up interfering with other hunters, and in addition, educating turkeys at the same time.

A certain percentage of beginning and relatively novice turkey hunters also manage to learn the "ropes", do things right, and become more serious about it over time.  That is a natural progression.  In addition, many of those types become more and more passionate about it,...and naturally graduate towards hunting more and start doing things like travelling to hunt.  Those types also end up being pretty proficient at the game and generally are more successful at it.

So what we end up with is an increasing number of skilled turkey hunters hunting more and more places,...and taking more and more gobblers out of any given population each spring, while at the other extreme, we have more and more rookies wandering the woods mucking things up along the way while trying to learn how to turkey hunt. 

All in all, it is a vicious cycle that, over time, just adds another percentage of folks in the woods each year,...which results in a little higher number of gobblers being killed each spring,...which eventually results in what we are experiencing now:  That is, too many hunters in the woods hunting too few gobblers in many places.

[tal]

 About what I saw also. I think overall numbers were down from the last two years of the world being on covid vacation but I ran into more goof balls than usual. Opening morning a jeep pulls just feet past my truck and a guy jumps out. I get out and he gives me a long look then heads across the road. A few minutes later I see his flashlight as he scoots back across the road on my side, what do you do? A few days later I go in cold thinking some turkeys might be around in this spot. I'm looking and listening come daybreak when turkeys erupt off the roost and go sailing down a big hollow. A pretty sight but not what you want to see hunting. I was wondering what happened when I spot two NASA scientists race walking down the opposite ridge going after them.

[Greg Massey]

I hunt private, but just in my area around me the number of people were down. Nothing like the past 2 years...