SB 481 Turkey Bill
Wisconsin
Has anyone heard about this? From reading it I don't like it. Why is the legislature deciding what is best for season structure without bringing it to the Conservation congress so that I can have a say in it.
I am no expert but I think there was a post on this a few months ago.
I agree it should go through the proper channels but personally I like this bill.
It would give me and the wife more time to hunt in a wider range of areas.
Currently we hunt zone 1 but live in a differnt zone. I like the idea of being able to hunt the zone I live while I am in school and being able to go to zone 1 after I am done with school for the week. Don't really care about the length. The current season structure or a continuous season don't matter to me either way.
The only thing they need to change about the turkey season is to move the application deadline to the end of January, rather than December 10th. Coming so soon after gun season and right before the holidays, LOTS of guys forget about the deadline.
They can still do their draw in early February and let hunters know by early March.
All 3 in my family...work..school & sports, are for the change.
I'm for it , my workload only allows me to hunt only the weekend of my draw period . If the weathers bad, I'm screwed . Not to mention that with 10 grandkids I need a longer time to give each kid some Turky hunting time .
I am all for it as well. With my family and work schedule I take a gamble on picking one week that I am not on call with work try to talk the wife into taking a Saturday off work so I can hunt. She burns a pto day for me and I get to what hunt two days of five. It was not worth it so I gave it up. Now give me 6 weeks or hell even three weeks so I can go every Sunday and hunt I will apply again until then the thunder chickens are safe from me.
This will be bad for those that don't have a ton of access to land. I know it will make it more difficult for me to hunt the current farmers place as others have priority. Seasons spread it out and give more people access to private lands.
I have three major concerns with this bill on top of B_n_G's access issue. This bill would ruin turkey hunting in Wisconsin.
1- The amount of tags availible in a few years would be dropped down to around 60,000 from the current 170,000 due to the increase in success rates from a longer season. I don't care how long the season would be if I can't get off of work to stand in line to try to buy one of the few tags they give out for the State. Oh yeah, remember the problems they had a couple of years ago when they tried to sell the leftover tags statewide at the same time. Now throw every turkey hunter in the State to buy tags at the same time.
2- The safety is a huge problem that I have with this. Currently the hunters are spread out over 6 weeks and there are still issues with hunters shooting other hunter's decoys or even other hunters. With this bill, you will have a huge number of hunters out the first week trying to get their bird before anyone has a chance to "smarten them up". Think about it, 150,000 hunters(the first year or two) out there in full camo, decoys, imitating turkey sounds and most with guns. It doesn't sound like a real good plan to me, sure, after a few years when there are only 50,000 - 60,000 hunters statewide the pressure won't be too high.
3- The quality of the hunt will drop, after a couple of years of unlimited tags, you will be lucky to find a Tom that is over 2 years old. The pressure on the birds and the hunters would be tremendous the first couple of weeks.
I am suprised at the backing on this site, a couple of years ago I threw a question out here about trying to push for an archery only turkey option that would combine 3 of the current weeks to make 2 archery only seasons within the current season structure and pretty much everyone was against it. Now the majority are for a solid 6 week season with no boundaries or any days off for the turkeys to settle down to find nesting spots and breed with out hunters in the woods. If you have aproblem with having to travle too far to hunt turkeys in a certain Zone, apply for the Zone you live in. That doesn't sound too difficult. If you are afraid to get a little cold or wet, another simple answer, find a different hobby in the spring.
The 5 day season is one of the main reasons I turkey hunt in the spring and not the fall, it adds the personal pressure to be able to perform in those 5 days. If it bothers you that much that you are unable to kill a turkey in those 5 days, you have some serious instant gratification issues.
One of the things that I like to do the most in the spring is to go out with other hunters, I try to find someone for every season. I enjoy their hunts more than my own. That part would bother me the most, I would feel bad for taking one out over the other, the current structure they all have their own week that I can give them a hand with their hunts.
This bill has some serious ramifications if it goes through the way it is.
Oh, I almost forgot......lol ;>) FROTFFLMFAO
I wasn't going to post on this site anymore, but this thread is something that has been bothering me since I first heard of this bill. I might keep up on some of the debate with this thread if I feel the need for clarifications on my post, but otherwise I am pretty much done on here.
How about a archery only season
I like the change,if you have bad weather or something going on you didn't know about, or the birds are not responding you can come back another day. Plus I don't have to waste my vacation days for turkeys I can save them for the rut!
The traditional season distributes pressure. Based on applications, demand is much higher for the earlier time periods. If this would go through, it would do nothing but create chaos. I sure wouldn't want to hunt public land the first couple weeks! The current structure is excellent!
Fivers nails it on the head!
I don't get why we would mess with something that has worked for years and has been more than successful!
Bad bad bad.....do what is right for the animals and the conservation, not the conveniences of a few hunters. Why don't these people work on something that is broken. If you don't have time to hunt, then don't apply. I know a lot of guys that did not draw that do have the time.
You just knew the crap would hit the fan on this thread , nothing wrong with the passion being shown by both sides, its a good thing .
Nice post Tony , you bring up some legit concerns , but I think a few of your numbers are a bit outta whack . We are up to our butts in Turkeys with no decrease in sight . I see 20 turkeys for every deer in my area . Everyday on the rifle stand 10 to 14 big toms marched by and 75 mothers and kids , on 1 40 .
I talk to farmers in the showroom and just about all of them complain about too many Turkeys . Many eat turkeys all year long and can't put a dent in the population .
We should try it for a few years and see what happens .
In total, 225,729 permits are available for the spring 2010 turkey season compared to 225,709 in 2009.
An estimated 76,636 remaining spring turkey permits will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
My question is: under SB 481 how many tags can you buy and can you shoot one turkey for every tag on your first day hunting during opening week? We have had more than one tom come in to our decoy setups on numerous occassions. If we shoot our multiple birds, that immediately means less toms available for hunters that want to hunt later on. Does this bill have any limitations that are needed for quality hunting for all or is it first come first served; too bad for the others.
I can see this turning out like shooting does on public land and other hunters never get a chance to even see a doe when they hunt. IMHO there are too many questions with this change. We (turkey hunters) need more information on how this new hunt will be implemented.
nice raspy. Let's not get out our "jump to conclusion mats" just yet, but I don't like it. I don't see how this will improve anything, just change it for the sake of change?
Perfect the way it is. If this passes when it gets light you will be able to look around and see 20 pop ups and decoys as far as the eye can see.
First off Great Post Tony!
Why did the Turkey disappear from the landscape in WI. In the first place before they were reintroduced? Substance hunting and unregulated hunting!
We all seen what happened to the whitetail with all the tag's you want and no self control by the hunter to manage what he was harvesting. Now you guys are all for doing the same thing to turkeys in the state.
There are many, many reasons NOT to support this and only one to support it. GREED!
Will , our current strain of turkeys are much hardier than the originals that roamed the state . Many years ago Turkey population was huge in the lower 1/2 of the state , but it was common in the northern 1/2 of the state to lose 98 % of what Turkeys they had during winter .
When the population became too high depredation went through the roof and disease from domesticated birds wiped out entire counties of Turkeys , and yes market hunting was a factor but heck our native american friends for a hundred years were bringing birds into the cities to sell or trade by the thousands .
That said , a few of you have brought some valid concerns to the table that seem to be legit . Based on the response here I don't know if the bill will make it .
Will , lighten up on the WBH . I have been a member of the NRA for 35 years and if I quit them everytime they pissed me off You could cut that number in 1/2 . Including this year .
Edit due to misunderstanding of glunkers post.
I also think the season should remain the same. If anything add another hen only season in the spring. Having a chance in late may after the regular seasons to shoot a hen with a bow would be great.
Its clear that anyone in favor of this is in favor of it for the convenients of being able to hunt when it fits in your schedule. This Bill is not a step forward for Spring Gobbler Hunting. 1.Spring Hunt is all about managing hunter density and minimizing hunter interference. Having time periods and Zones allows this to be done by the DNR. 2.Hunter oportunity would actually decline under this framewrok proposed in the bill. currently you can buy additional tags for later seasons over the counter . under the propsed bill you wont be able to. 3.The 2 day youth HUnt gos away. I feal this 2 day youth HUnt is very important. We need to preserve the great resource we now have and keep the Hunts safe and keep the quality HUnts we now have. This bill is a bad idea trying to be pushed thru by the WI NWTF for why who knows. its not going thru the right channels and its not working towards the Future of the Wild Turkey.
I hunt public land. Don't like the changes.
-Going to have more conflicts. I have already been turkey hunting and have had hunter bumbling around looking for a good spot, walk within 15 yards of me. That lowers the satisfaction of both of us.
-Going to have to wear blaze orange to keep others from shooting me.
-Longer season with more hunters also means either fewer tags or more turkey shot. Just look at how short the sturgeon season is.
The changes would be great and I hope it passes. I don't feel that it would increase the pressure as you would not longer feel pressured to have to be out there as you only have 5 days, you know have 6 weeks. It works good in many other states and it would be a great thing for WI turkey hunting.
In addition to overcrowded public lands and private landowners not wanting to have to play referee, here's the No. 1 gripe I've heard in my neck of the woods IF this should pass: hunter interference on lands where private landowners don't care how many turkeys are shot (we have some who say "shoot 'em all" around here) and the opposite, inability to go to a favored spot because someone else has first chance — and they haven't scored yet. In fact, they maybe aren't even trying to score. Or maybe they scored, brought the bird home and didn't phone in their success, and now will head out again. Just calling it like I'm hearing it.
What we have now is not at all broke. Pick a week and live with it. You also have the option of multiple (in some cases) extra tags, which would die under this bill as DNR could not know where hunters will hunt and therefore would not likely issue many leftover tags in most zones.
For or against this proposed bill, you need to let your state reps no your feelings. It also would not hurt to let the NWTF National Office know your feelings, after all it is the state chapter that is supporting this.
We had the same discussion at a NWTF meeting and the group was pretty much split, probably slightly for the current system. The current system is broke, hope they fix it, no reason to apply for turkeys in WI. My opinion .
If it were changed, opening day and weekends would likely get the most pressure. Can't understand why some feel the system is broke. No reason to apply for WI turkeys? We have some of the best success rates and harvest totals in the country. The rates would be even higher if some hunted more than a few hours at a time. Can't tell you how many quit by 8-9 a.m., but it's a pile of 'em when the birds are up and moving around basically from dawn to dusk (if only deer were that active!).
We had left over tags at the end of the season, so how would applying or not applying change that? The success rate would also go up if we had more days to hunt. Yes, the weekends would get more pressure as I don't think people would take time off to hunt as some do now. I do often stop early here and run back to work, just hard to stay all day when I use to much vacation chasing birds in other states!.....sure wish I could stay out and its hard to leave. I actually have as good or better success later in the day. I really don't care which way it is done. My preference is for the change. I have a first season tag here, we want to go to KS but with the Learn To Hunt we do before and the youth hunt, we can't go before first, then my buddies family has tags starting second so we can't go then. I will hunt tell Friday morning(stopping early each day, not by choice) and then leave to KS. With the new system it would be easier to make plans for these types of trips. I just see it work in the other states and we have as many or more birds then they do. Yes, we may have a higher population so that can add crowding, but I don't feel it will. Anyway to perfect answers to all this and I really don't care which way it ends up, but I do have a preference. So just my thoughts and enough form me on the subject. Oh I don't really think its broke, just thought I would have a little fun with you! I do think it could be better though.
I have a feeling the changes will most certainly take place and i welcome the 6 week no lottery window.
Heres my opinion on this. I posted this on another site:
I really don't like this at all and here is why. I live in Northern Wisconsin where we don't have birds all over the place like the rest of the state. In areas there are good numbers of birds and in other areas there are no birds for many, many miles. I hunt both public and private land but almost all of the private land I hunt is hunted by many other hunters because the land owners let anyone hunt, as long as you ask and obey their rules. Right now with the season broken into 6 seasons I compete with other huters hunting the same property and same seasons just because you can't go just anywhere and find birds. I can't imagine what it would be like with up to 6 times the hunters out there for the first couple of weeks. No matter how it works in other states or how it may work in other areas of our state I know it will be a bad thing for turkey hunting in my area. I really hope this doesn't go through.
Some comments ; Some one said we may have about 350,000 turkeys . Must have been the same group that counted the Wolves and Bears . I see 20 times more Turkeys than deer , we are up to our butt in Turkeys .
It will be Too crowded some say : Well heck , we have over 600,000 deer hunters with rifles and shotguns all hunting the same weekend and no one was killed .
It will wipe out the Turkeys !!! In some states you can shoot a Turkey a day for months . Turkeys are spreading like a wildfire .
I like the proposed format , but I would like to see another month added to the season . Middle of June ?
Blaze orange vs. full camo, realistic decoys and gobble calls ... not really fair to compare to gun hunting.
I'll hunt no matter what they choose to do, but I'm guessing this one is dead unless they can show a majority are in favor.
I too feel this will absolutely ruin turkey hunting in WI, especially on public land. RC is correct, the hens will still get bred, biologically probably not a big deal. The public land pressure will be ridiculous and once again those without access will be screwed, much like the current deer situation. There is more opportunity than time to hunt turkeys in WI, in my opinion. Except Zone 2 just about every area has tags left for good seasons. Plenty of options. We just went through a change of turkey seasons/zones. Why not let that simmer for a bit and see what happens?
I will agree with RutnStrut, why not ruin another good thing in this state???
Nathan
I like the current system. If you can't hunt when you got your tag you should not have applied for that season. Also with all the left over tags there is no reason you can't hunt many of the other weeks or zones with the current system in place.
When will we know when SB 481 becomes law or has it already? I have not seen anything about 481 in the newspapers for awhile.
A public hearing has not been scheduled and last month one of the co-authors (Grothman) and one of the of the co-sponsors withdrew their support. You can keep an eye on this or any bill through the WI legislature site.
If there is a 6 week season, why would there not be extra tags available, as there are now, what would change to cause that?
Just a longer season would be no reason??????????
Yes, this would ruin it for a lot of people, right now access is easy to get, if this goes through it will be like what goose hunting has become, nothing but competition for a spot, people will start paying land owners for the exclusive right to hunt their land. This has already happened up here during goose season. The excuse of not knowing in Dec what your schedule is in the spring doesn't hold water. I apply for a tag, when I get a tag I schedule around my Turkey hunt, because I love to hunt, I plan ahead, most people know what season they'll probably get. As it is now I usually get a late season tag, so far the late season has been good to me. I don't have a lot of competition for spots and the turkeys are still active.
Whitetailer, a wide-open season with no breaks (we currently have six five-day periods, zone specific) and no zone restrictions limits the ability to know where hunters are going to hunt. Sure, many will continue to hunt near home. Many will roam wherever. Wasn't that the argument to make the zones larger in the first place? Thus, how can they in good faith give out extra tags, not knowing where those additional birds will be shot?
RC, I understand your position but I believe most lawmakers are already acting on our behalf by not sponsoring the legislation, or, in the case of one of the co-authors, seeing the rising tide against it and dropping out altogether.
If this is to succeed some day, it should go through the normal channels to gauge public opinion.
"Turkey hunting is not the priority that Bowhunting is"
?? to many turkey hunting IS bowhunting
"crappy weather event"
All I can think of is it could be raining and that is the best turkey hunting conditions a hunter can ask for.
RJN, I thought the same thing. Granted, I'd rather enjoy a bluebird day hearing the whole outdoors come alive, but if the wind is howling and it's my only chance to go, I'll be there. I once shot a tom in a gale so strong that he couldn't keep his fan up for more than a split second or he'd practically tip over! When I shot, he rocked and went down for a split second, then got up and took flight. He rose into the wind, giving me time to prepare for the second shot. As he turned to go with the gale, my second shot brought him down with a thud just a few feet away. Talk about an adrenaline rush. Gotta love turkey hunting!
I hope it stays the way it is now. Apply for your tag and buy 3 extras. 20 days of turkey hunting for the picking.
This is off the subject, but why can you not use a crossbow to shoot a turkey, when you can use a shotgun??????????????????
Naz, I never thought of that, so that is understandable............
What do other states do????
"If there is a 6 week season, why would there not be extra tags available, as there are now, what would change to cause that?"
There would be extra hunters out there, those like RC that can't handle a less than perfect day and those that will do it because there is a longer season because I guess they can't handle the challenge of trying to get it done in 5 days. If your main purpose is to kill a bird and it bothers you that much if you don't get one, you have much bigger issues to deal with than needing extra days. Along with more hunters hitting the woods than there is now, the success rate will be much higher so the need to give out 170,000 permits would be uneccessary and hard on the population. Some say it won't have an effect on the overall population, but I see an over harvest of male birds having a significant impact on the overall population by having less Toms and Jakes to breed the hens on time, causing them to have thier broods later in the year making them less likely to survive the winter. I see that now in northern Wisconsin where there is high hunting pressure.
As far as the cross bow, I think you need the proper permits yet in Wisconsin, but I am not sure on this.
Oh, I almost forgot........lol ;>) FROTFFLMFAO
Anyone who is for this then is not for conserving the resource.. and also is for it for the convenience of being able to Hunt when there ready to. Im for a quality HUnt and preserving the resource and a safe hunt. There possibly would not be extra tags because everyone will Hunt in April and hammer the piss out of the Birds so then there wont be any extra tags. The system we have now has givin us the great resource we now have and the quality Hunts we now have and safe Hunts. Why risk throwing all that away ? If anything make each season from Monday to Sunday so then theres 7 days to Hunt. This Bill is not a step forward for WI Spring Turkey Hunt. Vote NO and help keep the great Spring Hunts we now enjoy.
Okay. We get 5 day seasons now but it may change to 42 days. That is 37 more daily opportunities to take a bird. The WI NWTF and others do not seem to care if there is hunter conflict or who hunts first or last on a turkey rich area or farm. Since we will have 42 days to hunt I see no need for separate two day seasons for Learn To Hunt and the Youth Hunt programs when the powers that be do not seem to care about conflict.
Just a thought here but why not move the start of turkey season to the first Saturday of April and run it consecutive for their 42 days? We add two more weekends for all of those hunters that don’t want to burn vacation days. By ending on May 14 or 15 we avoid the ticks, mosquitoes and other bugs plus the hot, muggy weather that usually shows up the two weeks before Memorial Day. We will have 42 days to help the youngsters and the new turkey hunters instead of only two days as it is now. That would create a more calm and sociable time with the youngsters and the new hunters instead of the push to get them a bird in two days. Veteran hunters could wait until they felt like hunting thus giving the new hunters more help where needed. We could probably get more mentors in a situation like this. Everyone wins. We already see in 2010 that 76,000 plus extra turkey tags are left over for the last three weeks of our current season structure. It would make sense to move their 42 day season up to when hunters want to be out in the woods and not doing thousands of family things we can do when the weather is warmer. If the DNR wanted to limit participation, they could limit tags to $20 for one or $30 for two tags per hunter. That would take care of this surplus. The real plus would be for the hen turkey because she gets to lay her eggs undisturbed in the second half of May. You probably have accidently pushed hens off their nests while hunting weeks five and six in years past. I know I have. The hens could devote more time to their feeding and nesting activities in a very relaxed atmosphere if all the hunters are out of the woods earlier. It’s too bad that ALL of the passionate turkey hunters were never allowed the chance to put their two cents in to this bill before it got to the legislative floor. Somehow I think we were cheated.
"Veteran hunters could wait until they felt like hunting thus giving the new hunters more help where needed. We could probably get more mentors in a situation like this. Everyone wins."
Do really think that is what will happen? Those that don't want to brave any inclimate weather for their own tags aren't going to give a rip about taking any kids out before they get their birds. The current setup is what gains more mentors, they don't have a permit for that week, but they really want to be out there, so they take a kid or other inexperienced hunter out to show them the ropes. If your main goal is to make sure the person you are mentoring kills a bird, you are mentoring for the wrong reasons. My goal for all of the kids that I have taken out is to see and hear the birds react to calling and to view/witness them doing their thing. Getting a bird is a very special bonus, you are getting their expectations too high if you get them to expect an easy 2 day kill every year. I view the 2 day hunts a chance to teach them about the birds and their reactions, I almost feel sorry for those that get an early kill, because they miss out on a lot of learning. Also, if you feel pressured during the 2 day hunt, the kid is going to pick up on that and feel pressured and not enjoy it as much.
Oh, I almost forgot.......lol ;>) FROTFFLMFAO
"It’s too bad that ALL of the passionate turkey hunters were never allowed the chance to put their two cents in to this bill before it got to the legislative floor. Somehow I think we were cheated."
There's been nothing brought to the legislative floor. If you think this proposal should or should not fly, you can let these folks know your thoughts:
Senator Holperin at [email protected] and DNR's Scott Hull at [email protected].
Thanks Naz. I already have.
I can tell you Scott HUll is against this. If you dont wanna see this pass you need to contact your senator and representative person and all of the WI NWTF board members. This bill is a bad plan for the future of Turkey Hunting in WI. we were cheated and this bill thanks to the WI NWTF wasnt properly handled or thought thru. The spring Hunt needs to be controlled as it is now to keep the resource we now have.
Sounds like the ones that are in favor of the 6 week hunt are for their own selfish reasons (time) and the ones that are not in favor of change are looking out for the good of everyone and the birds.
I know they have blue laws in some of the southern bible belt states that don't allow hunting on Sundays.
What kind of satanic cult do we have here in WI that doesn't believe in hunting turkeys on Monday & Tuesdays!!
Other than that I wouldn't change anything with the current system. I apply for the 1st 3 periods and if unsuccessful I get a prefferencé point for next year. You can always buy tags for the last 3 weeks over the counter. 3 to 4 weeks of uncrowded safe hunting every spring is fine with me.
Here is the response I got from Sen. Holperin:
Mike:
Thanks for your note expressing opposition to Senate Bill 481, legislation that would make various changes to Wisconsin’s wild turkey hunting season. I’m glad you took the time to contact me.
I co-authored SB 481 at the request of the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, with the understanding that this is their proposal which they are advancing for public reaction.
Since introduction, I’ve heard from lots of veteran turkey hunters who, just like you, are strongly opposed to the bill. The measure has been referred to my Senate Natural Resources Committee, but I’m disinclined to take any action whatsoever right now, based on the reaction I’ve been getting from hunters and sportsmen.
Thanks again for the e-mail, Mike. Please feel free to contact me again if there are other states issues you’d like me to consider or if there is any way I can be of service to you in the future.
Sincerely,
Jim Holperin
Kinda funny isn't it. We have both sides, NWTF-WI and government, blaming eachother. NWTF says they went forward after the legislature said they were going to introduce a bill. Now we have a co-author claiming the NWTF is the one that pushed the bill. Either way, this bill is wrong for the future of turkey hunting in WI.
Last spring Charley Burke asked me what I thought about the season and what if any changes I would like to see. He said that they(NWTF) was approached by the state and wanted to make the changes that turkey hunter wanted. I of course said get rid of the application period, the stupid 5 day seasons, and the registration stations. I of course do not like the current system as I see the other way work to well in other states and see no need for our current system.....at least in this part of the state. What happened with any of the idea gathering from then on I have no idea, but my take was the state brought it up.
Just talked with a buddy of mine from ID about a similar situation dealing with Antelope. It used to be that their hunt was "controlled" with people drawing a tag every couple years. While the year off between was hard, the hunt was quality. Alot of antelope around and good trophies to be had. Two years ago they made the hunt unlimited, a free for all from opening day until closing.
In two years of unlimited bowhunting (not even with guns mind you), trophy quality and number of animals is reduced significantly. The tactic of bleaching waterholes has skyrocketed, and people protect "their" waterhole with their fighting side.
Quality of days will win out over quantity of days with me everytime. Quality equates to a good number of animals and low competition from other hunters, and I have a feeling most of us feel the same way. The system currently in place creates that situation, while the proposed system destroys it.
blugrasshammer, that is a great point that everyone needs to think about. making it a open season will not be a good thing. I have Spring Hunted In Wi for 25 years and the system now in play works great and have givin us the great resource we now have. to work towards the future of the Spring Turkey Hunt this bill needs to be stopped. The only thing I would like to see them do is add Monday and Tuesday to each season so then you can Hunt MON to SUN 7 days. So make is 6 seven day seasons. VOTE NO TO SB481 to keep the quality Hunts we have and to preserve the resource.
How do you guys think that an open 6 week hunt with still only one tag guaranteed to you....is going to kill quality of the flock? The same amount of tags are still going to be issed!
Now as for other states...here's some facts from the NWTF national site....Wisconsin has more birds then 10 other states that have open seasons and multiple tags available. Missouri has a two tag OTC sytem in place and still has the best turkey hunting in the nation, and last but not least....do you guys not think the NWTF knows a little about building good turkey hunts?
You guys are just crying wolf here it seems. I still like the OTC and 6 weeks version.
I not only hunt my land, but in fact have a choice of multiple other private lands, and two of the best public spots you guys could imagine. The public spots I hunt have flocks of 50 toms at least yearly!
I've never had an issue with birds, availability or safty anywhere, and that includes going on hunts to SD or MO.
What Ive learned is turkey hunting is alot like deer hunting. If you pressure them to hard your chances of harvesting one diminishes drastically. In our valley everyone would pound the first season and the birds would catch on real fast. The fun part is to see what season everyone gets and then you can plan to go with others to video or call as well as hunt your own season.
Well now after not participating in these threads lately i will voice my opinion. I do not like this bill, i hope it does not pass. I will vote against it if it comes up at the spring hearings. Wisconsin does have a lot of birds, and i hope we can keep it that way. I do not feel comfortable with this because there is to much room for me getting injured or you getting injured,as a result of to many people hunting at one time.
If i am wrong, i realy do not mind some constructive critisism.
Camo, You will not get an opportunity to vote on this at the spring hearings. The supporters of this proposal are intentionally taking this directly to the legislature and circumventing the Conservation Congress Spring Hearing process. They know what would happen if the sportsmen of Wisconsin had an opportunity for a statewide county by county vote that would be undisputedly documented for public scrutiny.
That's a dang shame guess ill be calling my legislators tommorow.
"Sounds like the ones that are in favor of the 6 week hunt are for their own selfish reasons (time) and the ones that are not in favor of change are looking out for the good of everyone and the birds."
thanks for looking out for me Swamp Buck but I can take care of myself.
Show me some statistics that show one continuous season is bad for the birds? Other States are able to do it with success.
As Serb stated about Missouri. I have turkey hunted in Missouri a couple times and saw more birds in Missouri than I ever have in Wisconsin.
Personally I could care less if it stays the same or changes because I get my time in the woods either way. But if the change means I get more time in the woods with my wife then it is a good thing for me and anyone else who will get in the woods.
You forget that the goal is to get people in the woods regardless if its for turkey, ducks, deer, bear, or any other species. The less people in the woods the harder it is for us to fight against the anti's. You people who are trying to keep others out of the woods are ultimately helping seal our doom.
All i know is that i know the feeling of almost being shot My first archery deer season in wisconsin . A guy i beleive to be pretending to hunt squirrel was rapid firing uphill what had to be a 22 semi auto,as i was getting out of my car to go to my stand several bullets whizzed past me and hit the tree that basically protected me from being hit numerous times. I didn't like that feeling,and hope to never have an incident like that happen to me again. I dont want to read about people being accidentally shot during turkey season. Yeah maybee im not thinking on this change from other aspects Than what i explained in this post. I am just stating personal situations,and future fears.
Quality, not quantity boys. We can still hunt turkeys at least 20 days a year in the spring, and kill as many birds as we want! Limit the competition for the most in-demand periods and sell the left-over tags OTC. Hmm, this system sounds familiar....
Does anyone know where it stands. I just looked at the bill on the Wisconsin leglatrive page and it looks like it passed out of committee 3-4-10 and onto the Senate 3-5-10 I think? I'm not real familiar with that stuff but that's what it appears to me?
If quality hunts continue to decrease in availability the anti's won't have to fight us anymore. Most guys will just quit and the issue will go away. This is about quality, not quantity. It is tough enough to find quality deer hunts in this state on public ground, this will do the same to turkey hunting. The way things are now is not keeping a single person out of the woods that wants to be there.
I would like to see the number of licensed hunters in those other states that were mentioned. Many people like to compare game management in other states, with WI. It's not just that simple. The game managers in this state have to deal with the "wants" of a lot more people than other states. The more demand on the resource, the harder it is to manage. Not saying this is the case, it just needs to be considered. The current system offers quality opportunity for many people. I am not sure this proposal will continue to offer that.
Nathan
MO gave out about 50,000 less permits than WI currently does.
look through this page....which state leads the nation in kills?
And we all know how well our state is with herd/flock totals. lol
Good lets keep it that way, looks like what we where doing in the past works. Lets not do an earn a tom or some stupid shite. Turkey season will look like our deer season.
BTW....It's impossible to kill over 50,000 toms and have only 200,000 birds total. We have way more then 200,000 birds. THINK THAT OVER!!
So what? It's a quality hunt just the way it is. Change for change sake is almost always a bad idea.
2- The safety is a huge problem that I have with this. Currently the hunters are spread out over 6 weeks and there are still issues with hunters shooting other hunter's decoys or even other hunters. With this bill, you will have a huge number of hunters out the first week trying to get their bird before anyone has a chance to "smarten them up". Think about it, 150,000 hunters(the first year or two) out there in full camo, decoys, imitating turkey sounds and most with guns. It doesn't sound like a real good plan to me, sure, after a few years when there are only 50,000 - 60,000 hunters statewide the pressure won't be too high.
3- The quality of the hunt will drop, after a couple of years of unlimited tags, you will be lucky to find a Tom that is over 2 years old. The pressure on the birds and the hunters would be tremendous the first couple of weeks. "
I just want to make a point here on the couple things said here above. Let's all remember that what....150,000 turkey hunters are in the woods when landing their tags for one of the first three weeks....not SIX. It's extra tags that make up the majority of the last three weeks of the season. 95% of all hunters have tags in week 1/2/or 3.
Well according to your guide service website we have over 700,000 birds in WI. Is that a biological stat you found someplace or just a made up number to draw people to your guide service?
"Show me some statistics that show one continuous season is bad for the birds?"
Show me some that it is good for them.....
"Personally I could care less if it stays the same or changes because I get my time in the woods either way. But if the change means I get more time in the woods with my wife then it is a good thing for me and anyone else who will get in the woods"
Sounds like you may care a little more than you think.....
I don't see how not turkey hunting keeps you out of the woods. Heck you can still call turkeys, video turkeys, you just can't harvest a turkey. If you really loved it that much you don't need to harvest one to have fun in the turkey woods. You could also harvest some Morels that time of year as a bonus. When it all comes down to it, it sounds like you just want to be able to hunt when it is convenient for you. Have fun in the woods, watch out for those ticks.
That's 10,000 a county, not bad! ;)
Why don't we allow rifles right a way? Hell, there is nothing worse for some here than a Tom that hangs up at 70 yards, you know, you hate to have to wait him out to move to a different location to try to call him from a different direction. Plus, we have all read the statistics on how safe rifles are now days. This way we can all wait for the perfect day to head out to bag our bird.
With all of the reasons that people want this, I haven't read one that is any good or is a reason to change it. They are all just "poor me, poor me or I, I, I, me, me, me".
Oh, I almost forgot.........lol ;-) FROTFFLMFAO
I haven't heard anything but I, I, I for reasons NOT to allow it.
"I don't want to share the woods" "I don't want to lose my farm to the people with priority" "I hunt public land and it will now be unsafe"
It doesn't matter what side you are on it is about you, no matter who you are.
Serb I agree with you more hunter's are using the permits they drew for the first 3 seasons than the last three which enforces the point of over 100,000 hunter's would be hunting whenever it opens if you open up the state willy nilly that is proposed. Also I don't know how your getting your numbers if you look at the permit levels there are 225,000 permits statewide that breaks down to approximately 37,500 per season as it now is run.
"It doesn't matter what side you are on it is about you, no matter who you are"
I can't agree more. I like that I have only 5 days (rain or shine or snow) to kill me a tom. I take 3 days of vacation plus the weekend to get it done. If I don't connect every year, I chalk that year up the the old tom and the 25% success rate.
Do we remember when we only be able to hunt until noon, then 5, now dusk??!?!? We alreay do have more TIME to hunt and I beleive it is PLENTY! If you want to hunt more get an extra tag.
Personally I think if this is approved it will turn into another deer hunting fiasco. The only people that don't seem to have an issue are those that have unlimited land opportunities. Some of us don't have that luxury.
I respect everyones thoughts on this, I just don't want everyone to not think of the other side of it as well!!!
Since Missouri was mentioned in this discussion, I went out the Missouri Department of Conservation website and looked at there stats. Ther link proved is a report for the 2008 season. Here is a quick summary on that season.
3 week season
2 birds allowed. 1 during the first week or two during weeks 2 and 3 BUT only one per day
156,000 permits sold (Spring Only)
46,314 birds taken
85% of hunters reported no problems with interfernece from other hunters
80% of hunters hunt private land
madarchery, Yeah don't know what I was thinking...LMAO.
85% of hunters reported no problems with interfernece from other hunters
80% of hunters hunt private land
31,200 (20%) people hunting public land
23,400 (15%) people did report problems or interference from other hunters, or 75% of the poeple that hunted public land had problems or interference from other hunters.
What we have in Wi works great and has given us the quality Hunts we have with very little HUnter Interference problems. Why change to a system that will create more Hunter interference and less quality HUnts. You all need to go to the NWTF site and go to the message board. I have started a topic about this and us WI residents need to voice out NO's more. All i hear on there is from other states saying well it works in our state. Ya and what we have works here, so leave it alone.
It may work in other states, but in Wisconsin our current system works WELL.
Hey why not send 100,000 to 200,000 Hunters into the woods at once with camo on. Its a big of a nuff mess with blaze orange. I for one dont want Spring Turkey season to be like Gun Deer. One question. will there even be extra tags ?
One thing that may change my mind and make the proposed system work would be a 1-2 week Archery Only season to kick it off.
Does anyone know the status of 481? I don't see any updates on the legislative website.
