Frustrated in NY

[mikes]

I killed my second bird on the 19th in WNY.  Didn't know a bird was even coming until he came into the field I had my decoy setup in and started gobbling and strutting..   No gobbles on the roost or while in the woods. Keep on it, they are still there, just quiet.  It can be done.. it's just not as fun as hearing them gobble up a storm.

[TauntoHawk]

WNY those are some great birds, love the banded ones thats unique!

thats what we normally see each year is large flocks that roost in the same spot and burn the roof off gobbling in the trees but get quiet on the ground do to the hens and flock size... this year they were scattered all over roosting all over in small groups or singly, gobbling at random.. but when we found them they were callable and wanted to work a lot better then when they are flocked

[DeWayne Knight]

WNY Bowhunter, you've had a heck of a season!!!  Consecutively banded birds is awesome!

[mikejd]

I put in 8 full days straight 4:30- noon and did not get anything. However I will say it was not due to lack of birds. I will say it was the best year in many years. I was into birds everyday  in the morning. They would answer on the rooste and do the norm wich is head the other way. I had birds every morning some days I could see 2 or 3 longbeards on the limb. They would land and check out of my time zone. My dad did get one of them because this bird answered my calling for about an hour and never budged. Dad snuck in from below and sealed the deal. All in all I'm not complaining cause I'm happy to see that amount of birds. The real prob was hens.

[WNY Bowhunter]

WNY Bowhunter, you've had a heck of a season!!!  Consecutively banded birds is awesome!

Here's a tidbit of info reguarding the banding study:

In 2009, DEC completed a 4-year wild turkey banding project designed to estimate harvest and survival rates of male wild turkeys ("gobblers") in New York. This study is being done in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, researchers from Pennsylvania State University, and the National Wild Turkey Federation. The objectives of this work are to: (1) Estimate harvest rates of male wild turkeys during the spring season; (2) Estimate annual survival rates of male wild turkeys; (3) Estimate non-hunting mortality rates of male wild turkeys; (4) Estimate hunter reporting rates of harvested wild turkeys; (5) Use the estimated harvest rates and independent harvest estimates to calculate a population estimate for male wild turkeys in each state; and (6) Investigate landscape factors (e.g., percent forest cover, patchiness of forested areas, human population density, etc.) related to harvest rates. We designed this study as a band-recovery study so that data could be collected from all management units in all 3 states during the 2006-2009 spring hunting seasons. Also, we evaluated the retention of butt-end leg bands.

Nearly 4,000 toms/jakes were banded over the four years in these three states.  According to the lady from Penn State, my gobbler had 30 mm (1 3/16") spurs and a little over a 10" beard when captured on a local farm back in February of 2007. Based on this, she said that he was likely 3 years old at the time, making him 8 years old this spring.  He is now the oldest reported bird in the entire banding study!!! I killed the other one in 2008 on the same farm.  They had traveled a mile and a half from where they were banded. Both birds were captured at the same time and both hit the ground less than 100 yds from one another.  To shoot them 4 years apart blows my mind...

[DeWayne Knight]

WNY Bowhunter, that is amazing!  That gives me hope that a monster I hunted two years ago will be alive next season for me to try again...

[WNY Bowhunter]

You never know... !!!

[TauntoHawk]

I love hunting NY, I spend more time there every year. each time it becomes a little harder to leave and go home to south eastern PA. I started turkey hunting 6 years ago in PA but have been to NY the last 5 years and loved every minute of it. Been blessed to have filled 9 of my 10 spring tags and the only one I ate was holding out for a particular bird last year that I ended up heart breakingly missed on my last available day to hunt.

[mikejd]

That is really cool stuff right there. What county are you hunting. If your out west you probably have a lot of snow. For that bird to make it 8 yrs is great. How long were his spurs now.

[troutfisher13111]

That's really cool! It was probably posted before, but what were his beard,spur, and weight measurements?

[WNY Bowhunter]

That is really cool stuff right there. What county are you hunting. If your out west you probably have a lot of snow. For that bird to make it 8 yrs is great. How long were his spurs now.

These are all Steuben County gobblers. I guess that technically I'm more western Finger Lakes Region than WNY.  We don't get nearly the amount of snow that they do in the lake effect areas farther to the west. 

That's really cool! It was probably posted before, but what were his beard,spur, and weight measurements?

His stats were:  22 lb 6 oz, 9" beard (2/3 of it was broken off), one spur was 1 1/4" & other one was broken at 3/4"

Honestly, for his age he appeared to be very healthy and looked as though be could have survived for a few more years.  I watched him get into a fight with another gobbler two days prior to killing him.  He came out the victor that day, but his reign of dominance would be short lived... .

[mikejd]

According to your measurements and the original his spurs have barely grown in the past 5 yrs. I wonder if that's the norm. I bet they grow in the first 3 or 4 yrs then stop.

[WNY Bowhunter]

Yep, only 1/16" growth in 5 years time.  You would have thought that he would have been packing some 1 1/2 - 1 3/4" hooks at that age.  He must have been lacking in spur genetics. 

Let's see here...a majority of his beard was broken off, one spur was broken and the $100 reward on his band expired in July of 2009.  Man, I got screwed over here!!! I want my tag back...lol. 

[DeWayne Knight]

Yep, only 1/16" growth in 5 years time.  You would have thought that he would have been packing some 1 1/2 - 1 3/4" hooks at that age.  He must have been lacking in spur genetics. 

Let's see here...a majority of his beard was broken off, one spur was broken and the $100 reward on his band expired in July of 2009.  Man, I got screwed over here!!! I want my tag back...lol. 

On a more serious note, I think a bird like that shows character!  My first bird this year had the tip broken off one spur and I estimate 3/8"-1/2" broken off the other spur.  The tip is broomed a little like a mini Bighon Sheep horn...

[TauntoHawk]

Another NY bird hit the ground this morning, got a picture message this morning at 5:50 of my Buddies girlfriends bird, a nice 3yr old

didn't gobble on the ground but was going good in the tree and knew where they were at; once he hit the ground he strutted right in real quiet in the fog. Im happy for her, I was along last year for her first ever bird and she missed one yesterday and got a little down but wasn't giving up.