Number Of Wild Turkeys--What Is Your Goal in A Season??

[Greg Massey]

[quote author=H
Getting back on topic....., I would have to honestly say that if I reached the point that I truly didn't care if I killed one, I would take up another hobby...perhaps baking cookies or something.

I don't think anyone is saying they don't care if they kill turkeys or not. Rather they have evolved to the point that killing turkeys or large numbers is not the only factor in the hunt. I for one enjoy the green up of Spring and especially the sound of all the song birds. They just sound so happy. I enjoy looking for morel mushrooms or last Falls buck rub. I care about wheather I kill a jake or not as that Jake will be next years Tom.

Now when I was younger I killed everything but over time became more selective. I have hunted all over this great country of ours and there is so much to enjoy. I believe that Turkey hunters over time learn to kill turkeys regularly and start to lose their tunnel vision and enjoy whole hunt more. As for cookies: they do make a great snack.

I hear ya and agree with where you are coming from. Guess what I hate to see is situations where hunters try to compare themselves to others.
But..... I did cook a pretty mean blackberry cobbler this morning. Can't be a big adjustment to switch to cookies...
[/quote]       good one....funny ...lmbo.....

[Happy]

I am very serious about my turkey hunting. Believe me when I hit the woods it is go time. However I do not place a kill as the only thing that describes a successful season. Not to sound sappy but every morning when I get away from the truck and have the stillness of a spring pre dawn morning around me. I take a knee and thank the good Lord for the gift of being able to do one of the things I love the most. Yes I love to kill turkeys. That is the goal. But I don't want to be so consumed with that goal that I miss everything that makes spring turkey hunting what it is. 

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[g8rvet]

Im a turkey hunter. When I go hunting, my goal is to kill a turkey. Can I go and not kill one and be happy?  You bet. But you can also bet I'm gonna be trying to figure out how to kill the one that got away.
I always hate discussions and talk about how many folks have killed...Pretty much a turn off to me.
But, I also don't buy into the "I'm evolved beyond the kill stage in my hunter progression " nonsense either.
A lot of different factors come into play on how many birds a person can or has killed and not all folks experiences and opportunities are equal.
My brother and I both grew up hunting Southeast Louisiana turkeys.  We both have nearly 40 years experience and both hunt with the same basic techniques. He killed the only bird that was killed in a lease with 16 members...most of which turkey hunt. I wouldare say, a good number of the "number touters" would be hard pressed to get a bird down there. When he comes to visit me in Missouri, his success rate goes dramatically up. Kinda weird how that has worked out that way for the past 19 years straight.
Getting back on topic....., I would have to honestly say that if I reached the point that I truly didn't care if I killed one, I would take up another hobby...perhaps baking cookies or something.

I feel much the same way.  At the beginning of the season, I have no goal.  Each morning I wake up, my goal that day is one bird.  This year was tough for me.  bad weather on my days off and maybe a little bad luck, but I heard 3 birds gobbling all season in North Florida.  And killed one of them.  Was frustrating to be where I knew there were birds and certainly did not go home and pout, I just hunted harder.  But I enjoyed this season as much as last where I was done after 11 days.

[Hook hanger]

My goal is to watch/call in 20 or so birds for friends and family. My goal is to try and fill the tags I have bought with Toms only no jakes! That number equates to over 20 tags for myself. I have not got above 20 toms in one season with me behind the trigger but have came very close to that in a season. My main goal is to be safe and teach a few new hunters what this sport is about every season.

[turkeyfoot]

At my age I don't put that much emphasis on killing and never have goal to kill any I'm more about the experience and good quality hunt anymore. I love the game and the challenge these days once he s in easy range I may or may not shoot just depends on my mood there are some days I just want to hear him one more time at daybreak. Everyone goes through phases in hunting I've had my years where if they were in range they were getting shot at but the joy to see another get a bird outranks me shooting even if I eat few tags

[mtns2hunt]

At my age I don't put that much emphasis on killing and never have goal to kill any I'm more about the experience and good quality hunt anymore. I love the game and the challenge these days once he s in easy range I may or may not shoot just depends on my mood there are some days I just want to hear him one more time at daybreak. Everyone goes through phases in hunting I've had my years where if they were in range they were getting shot at but the joy to see another get a bird outranks me shooting even if I eat few tags

You can easily see the different stages in a turkey hunters evolution in this topic through the many different answers. I believe the more you hunt and the more experience/success you have the more you strive to enjoy the whole hunt and not just the desire to kill a turkey. I can, however, remember vividly the effort and time I spent trying to kill my first turkeys.

[trkehunr93]

3 tags, 3 birds.  I always go down swinging.

[fallhnt]

I want to fill every tag I buy because I'm taking time away from my family to pursue my hobby/passion.

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[vt35mag]

I can shoot two bearded turkeys in the spring, and I more often than not fill both tags on toms.  However, I spend majority of the month long season playing guide for my grandfather, father, brother, wife, and other friends and family.  I get so much enjoyment out of seeing others take birds, and spending time with them, its hard for me to just fill tags and hunt multiple states.

[GobbleNut]

Thinking about it further from my own perspective, if I am hunting somewhere that I can legally kill more than one or two birds, I find myself reluctant to shoot more than one or two because I really don't want to have to deal with more dead turkeys than that.  I am one turkey hunter that believes that if you shoot a turkey, you should fully utilize the carcass.

Every turkey I kill, I take all the meat, and try to utilize as much of the rest of the bird (feathers, head, legs) as I can.  That is just my personal ethic.  I have found that dealing with multiple birds at a time under that ethical constraint is rather tedious,...and I just don't want to mess with it under the guise of "putting another notch in the gun". 

However, when I go on a hunt,...especially one out-of-state,...the first mature gobbler that comes into shotgun range is in big trouble.  After that first one, though, the second is a "maybe", and everything after that is probably going to get a pass unless it is a bird that I just can't pass up.  So far, after 50+ years of doing this, I have not seen that bird. 

[renegade19]

Fill every tag.  Usually 2 but sometimes 3.  I will say that I take great pleasure these days in helping someone else kill a bird. 

[MK M GOBL]

My goal is a number but it changes every year, that number is how many hunters I can mentor. Whether a youth, lady or guy but just the goal of getting them out there. If we get a bird great, but as long as I can start them down that road, that is my goal. In the end it's all about the "Hunt" and I enjoy that more than anything, I do have some luck too

MK M GOBL

[silvestris]

There are phases a normal person should experience as a turkey hunter. I have gone though one phase twice; first thirty years ago and now but not as extremely as thirty years ago.  That is the practice of getting the drop on a gobbler and letting him walk.  Perhaps it my imagination but after such an experience, his gobble seems to take on a supernatural quality.  But at nearly seventy and so many encounters it is the quality of the hunt that I relish, the memories that I carry between my ears.  I want to sit alone a few times with a magnificent gobbler across my lap, smoothing his feathers and admiring the beauty of his feathers gleaming in the sunlight, but I know I will not experience that many more times.

My health is starting to fail and the populations are falling in SW Mississippi and central Louisiana, and too many are invading my space as the teams of videographers increase each year.  They are missing the magic inherent in my dear friend, Kenny Morgan's subtitle to his first book, "A One Man Game".  Ah well, the times they are a changing.  At any rate, as long as I can I will continue playing the game, and that is what it, a game, not a contest, at least not with my fellow "hunters".

[The Cohutta Strutter]

There are phases a normal person should experience as a turkey hunter. I have gone though one phase twice; first thirty years ago and now but not as extremely as thirty years ago.  That is the practice of getting the drop on a gobbler and letting him walk.  Perhaps it my imagination but after such an experience, his gobble seems to take on a supernatural quality.  But at nearly seventy and so many encounters it is the quality of the hunt that I relish, the memories that I carry between my ears.  I want to sit alone a few times with a magnificent gobbler across my lap, smoothing his feathers and admiring the beauty of his feathers gleaming in the sunlight, but I know I will not experience that many more times.

My health is starting to fail and the populations are falling in SW Mississippi and central Louisiana, and too many are invading my space as the teams of videographers increase each year.  They are missing the magic inherent in my dear friend, Kenny Morgan's subtitle to his first book, "A One Man Game".  Ah well, the times they are a changing.  At any rate, as long as I can I will continue playing the game, and that is what it, a game, not a contest, at least not with my fellow "hunters".

Amen to that and may the Good Lord keep you in the game for as long as you desire to do so.