Earlier this winter when the birds were grouped up, I counted 62 hens, 2 toms, and 3 jakes in a group... Nice to see birds, but a bit dismaying to see such a skewed ratio of males/females...
Yesterday, I took my young children (5 &7) up to the properties I was going to hunt, to secure permission, get the keys, and look around... Late afternoon, and we came across a young (looking) tom with 7 hens, and he was breeding the heck out of them (2 weeks before season).
We have had almost no winter, but the past two weeks things have actually cooled down, so I suppose breeding behavior is a bit off, and unpredictable.
We tried to elicit some gobbles while scouting (2 ranches), and never heard a bird... Saw some sign, and with two little ones in tow, I did not expect to actually see birds...
I very rarely see bachelor toms in the areas I hunt, and my hunting generally greatly improves later in the season as hens start to leave the toms to sit on the nest... In the past years, I would guess that there is a ratio of about 10 hens to 1 tom.
Is this typical for most of you guys? What type of tom/jake/hen ratios are common in your areas?
