Alabama Question?

[Neill_Prater]

Okay, I'm confused. That's nothing new, but since it involves turkey hunting,  I want to make sure I got it right.

I got that the season, for most of the state, opens the 25th of March. Apparently WMA's and all National Forest land will not open until April 1st, or later.

Now for the confused part. When all these changes were in the works last fall, I read that the limit would be one bird only the first ten days of the season. I assumed that, similar to our regulations in Missouri limiting the harvest to one bird the first week, that would apply statewide.

Now, after reading the regulations via the internet, to me, it really doesn't say that, but rather that the one bird limit is only on WMA's, CHA's and National Forest land. Is that the case, or is it just a matter of omission in the wording? Thanks

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[guesswho]

Neil, that's the way I've had it explained to me.   One gobbler the first 10 days from any WMA, no more than 2 from any one WMA in a season.  Private land is business as usual except the reduction from 5 gobblers to 4.   Also no decoys the first 10 days of the season anywhere.     

[Neill_Prater]

Ronnie, thanks. That's going to help me out, because I can go down earlier, but, damn that totally sucks for the residents who only have access to public hunting areas. Would not make me happy if I was one of them.

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[deerhunt1988]

Ronnie, thanks. That's going to help me out, because I can go down earlier, but, damn that totally sucks for the residents who only have access to public hunting areas. Would not make me happy if I was one of them.

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Yeah, just another step towards turning turkey hunting into a rich man's game. Folks who have private land next to and even within a WMA/National Forest can hunt a week before the public can. Regs like this increase the demand for private access and ultimately can very well drive up lease prices and "turkey rights" prices.

If Alabama DNR thought it'd really help with turkey populations, they should have did it statewide. The vast majority of turkey reside on private land anyway.

[silvestris]

There is a bright side to one change, with no decoys the first ten days some folks may begin to learn how to actually hunt turkeys.

[Gooserbat]

There is a bright side to one change, with no decoys the first ten days some folks may begin to learn how to actually hunt turkeys.

Yeah and if the powers that be would just ban TSS, extended choke tubes, and turkey chairs it would be business as 1980.

[Hobbes]

I won't have a chance to hunt Bama anytime soon but I can't imagine anyone complaining if Alabama turkey hunting could resemble the 90s, maybe even the 80s.  Holy heck I heard a lot of gobbling turkeys in northern Alabama in 93 or 94.  It's too bad that I was so damn new to turkey hunting then.  Decoys weren't legal at all at that time if I recall correctly.  We didn't even know what hevishot was and sure as heck hadn't heard of TSS, but yeah I'd gladly revisit those days.

[Ihuntoldschool]

There is a bright side to one change, with no decoys the first ten days some folks may begin to learn how to actually hunt turkeys.

X2.  Also many of those that rely so heavily on their visual aids to fool birds may skip the first 10 days.  This may be a good thing for the turkey hunters that still play the game by the rules. 

[Hobbes]

It's a neverending loop.  I don't hunt with them either but get off the soap box.