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bad turkey season

This is the worst season I can remember, no toms gobbln at all. What is up? Anyone else having trouble?

I don't hunt them but live & work in 40 Franklin area and don't see near the numbers I did say 5 yrs ago. It seems that each yr I see less then the year before. With this year being the least. I know that there are a lot of guy's that hunt them in my area as I see a lot of hunter activity. Never ask them how they do. But the field's that used to hold numbers of them for viewing don't seem to hold many.

Well, turkey numbers are down and predators numbers are up. They have never gobbled much once they fly down where I hunt, at least most of the time. Once every four or five years I get a hot one gobbling all the way in, like last year. This year I had a lot of jakes come in making lots of noise but they get a pass. While I was working a gobbling fool in the distance one came in nice and quiet one day, good thing I was in a blind. Love those ten yard shots.

Just to hear a gobble on roost would be a treat... nothing, no hens in fields, no tracks, but ya know I just love being out there!

Bad is not the word, to many coyote's in the area and not even a rabbit, turkey or even last year fawn's...

I am more thinking that the past couple spring's have been not the greatest for nesting animals. A couple real wet ones that turned real cold when the apple tree's were blooming . This year has been colder than normal I would say. Mother nature seems to have played a big part.

I just returned from hunting in the Georgetown, DeRyter area that I've hunted for about thirty years. While we saw some birds while glassing the fields in the evening, we never heard a gobble!

I'm lucky to have taken that Tom on opening day and will try to get number two during the second half of the season. I think most guys will quit hunting and maybe the birds will become easier to call.

This year is the worst that I have seen since I moved up here almost 9 years ago. I used to see a bunch of birds in the fields on my drive in to work. Where I used to see flocks of birds, I now see hardly any. On my property, I used to see game camera pictures of 15-20 birds, I now have 3-4.

The past few breeding seasons have been really hard on the birds, really wet and cold. This year it has just been cold, so I hope the bird numbers will rebound some. It is pretty sad..

I am getting consistent coyote pictures on my cameras though. I think I need to do something about that issue.

I don't believe shooting coyotes during deer season effects your hunt at all. Unless you have a deer running with coyotes which in my opinion is unlikely. If I see a coyote opening day first light I shoot it. Have done this many times and still killed deer the same day. I have had deer walk by dead coyotes I shot & not even look at them. I spend a lot of time in the woods year round & I don't see coyote killed animals. Crippled deer or turkeys (Yes) I see the most dead turkey's in my area during & after deer season that appeared to have been shot by a rifle. My response is more about the thought that shoot'n a coyote will effect your deer season. Try it next season if your lucky enough to see a coyote on opening day or any day while hunting deer. The deer don't care. (IMO)

I located a nice mature tom with 4 hens in tow on Mon... could not get his interest though, I even threw him a couple gobbles... he was bout 100yds, when he heard the gobbles he corraled the ladies and strutted away from my calls,It was fun to watch.

On the coyote aspect... I am seeing more yote tracks in the mud and fields than I notice turkey tracks, that is a concern.

I see a lot of pictures of coyotes on my game cameras. I think something needs to be done about it,, and soon. My property in 6C is having a lot less birds and deer on it and I think it is because of the increase in the coyote numbers. As for the turkey hunting. I am see much fewer numbers across the board. This morning, I went out with my girlfriend. The field normally holds about 20-30 birds, We saw two hens and a Jake. There was no chance for the Jake. After hunting for a bunch of days and not getting any in close, I could end my season with a Jake... I never thought I would ever hear myself say that, but it is true. Jay

I passed on 6 jakes opening morning. Then went thru a 10 day drought of seeing/ hearing nothing.

Then this past Monday it all came together.....sort of. Called in a gobbler that was making a racket up on roost. Came in to 16 yards and shot right over his back. Called him back in and shot right under his belly. Sometimes I wonder why I sold all my compounds to get a recurve =(

Sorry to hear about the coyotes... FWIW, the 'yotes are usually slash and burn, ie., once they eat everything up, they go somewhere else while your area recovers (but not for long). That's been my experience, anyway.

Kill every last one of 'em they are good for NOTHING, they don't even eat carrion. Get that DEC twerp back in front of you, shove him into a corner, and see if he's man enough to argue the subject without the stupid badge stamped by Andrew Cuomo.

I sware they serve some etheral population that they think "exists" by watching TV and listening to NPR.

'Like the Republicans that rely on Wolf Blitzer and the press created by Mike Bloomberg (!!!??!!???) for news.

In my area the coyotes are hunted heavily with dogs and they have shot bunches of them over the last couple of years...I very rarely hear or see a coyote anymore and thats ok with me...yes the turkey numbers are down but I think there are more now than last year, so I'm confident the trend is reversing, next spring will be very telling I have seen large numbers of Jakes together this spring, in bunches of 4,5 and all the way up to nine, so I don't think the hatch was all that bad last spring... I'm out there almost every day in May, between Ct and NY so I'll make my final evaluation at the end but I don't think it is as bad as some say

Got an Older Tom in Southern part of NY last weekend.

Entered woods just after first lite as rain let up. Sat down had a gobble 150 yards out. Hit my call twice had him going absolutely bonkers. 10 inch beard 24lbs some of his toes were cracked and broken. I think he was an old bird.

Pretty good season so far heard gobbles all but one morning this year.

Nice bird zeeker! I finally tagged my bird today... 8:37 this am. I had seen a hen and tried to get her attention, had my jake decoy out, I think she seen it so I let out a gobble... the tom answered quick and came in on a string behind me, I turned around and waited for my 20 yd shot!

The DEC addresses the decline in turkey numbers in the syllabus and it's good reading. They suspect a lot of possible causes, some of which are mirrored in everyone's comments here plus one or two not mentioned here. Doesn't seem to be any real argument that the numbers are declining in most areas.

I had only a few birds to play with last spring. Killed one but of all the hens we saw while driving along the roads last spring and summer almost none ever had poults with them. On lumpy once I think. This year I again had only 3 gobblers present and just a few hens...wa Y, less than we had some years ago. I killed two adult gobblers but am able to hunt just about every day.

I would say gobbling in my area was fair from the roost, not great and little gobbling after fly down. Birds haven't seemed "hot" to me at all. I've not seen any birds in the fields at all. Overall poor even though I punched two tickets.

Pat....I must say I feel for ya but I'm not surprised by their behavior. I wouldn't say the ones I was after acted or responded as I expected very often at all and didn't gobble well overall. I killed another on May 22nd but that bird flew down and walked away from me at fly down but made the mistake of coming back to look me up an hour and a half later. You've got some seed and their spurs will be longer. No threat of em dying off with all the global warming.

Unfortunately, I found a nest with 10 eggs and lots of hen feathers next to it. The next day there was 4 eggs and then none. I did have a jake walk up my driveway to within 10 yards, look at me and turn and walk away. He was the only turkey I saw all season.

I'm thankful the turkey numbers in Southern NY aren't as bad as the rest of the areas you guys are. I got the best chance at a tom I have ever had with my bow and I blew it. I tried to shoot through a hole in the Brush after watching him strut back and forth for ten minutes at 20 yds. DAMN!!! My buddy filmed the entire thing. Great morning........

Jdawg is right, overall it was a less than spectacular gobbling season, mostly due to the weather...early in the season the birds were not where they usually are because of the late arriving spring, which means a later than normal winter flock break up...I started to notice birds in traditional areas about the second week of the season in most areas but not all...and then the last week of the season finally came, the week when the gobblers are usually screaming their heads off out of desperation (lack of available hens due to nesting), low and behold the gobbling was sporadic at best with plenty of hens seen everyday with strutting birds following close behind...I had a good year but it took a lot of time in the woods to be successful...I hunted 4 states beginning in Mid-April and finally ended this past Sat in upstate NY, not far from you Pat...I just love turkey hunting and keeping a thumb on the pulse of their breeding stage!!

I had a chance to talk with a biologist here in 7A and they caught 17 birds over the winter and when i asked what was going on with the turkeys here he stated they were checking for disease's. I also asked if they were hampered by predators and that was part of his evaluation also the nesting was upset by cold and wet spring this is the 2nd year of a 3 yr program he also said updates would be available in your hunting digest.

I've hunted nearly every day of every season where I live in 7M for 20 years. I've never NOT gotten 2 birds. We've had years of terrible rain, lots of coyotes and the turkey numbers and hunting remained awesome. Over the last 2-3 years especially the numbers have plummeted. I do not blame coyotes at all. Guys have been wacking away at them with dogs here and the pop is very, very low. What there is is the Fisher...he's a new comer and I think he is responsible for a lot of the decline. Also, raccoon & Red Fox pop's have increased significantly....I feel that there is just very limited nesting success due to these 3 predators. Red Tail Hawk numbers are also very strong

This is the first year since I have been up here where I didn't get two birds. If I would have been using a gun that wouldn't be the case, but since I hunt with a bow, it's all good. I had a nice bird coming in on the last day, right up along the woodline of my food plot where I had been seeing them strutting on my cameras. My blind was tucked into the trees sort of, I had my girl friend with me, and when the bird stepped out out where I could shoot it, he was at 4 yards. The only problem was that the hub of my blind was between my arrow and the Tom. When I shifted position, I think my seat squeaked and the bird heard it. He just turned around and walked into the woods, never to be seen again. That is how my season ended,, with a whimper...... But it's all god. Anyhow, I have been seeing a bunch of raccoon and coyote on my cameras, no fisher, but between the predators and the really terrible weather during the breeding season the past couple years, I think that has a lot to do with it.

Be well all, peace, Jay

This is the first year since I have been up here where I didn't get two birds. If I would have been using a gun that wouldn't be the case, but since I hunt with a bow, it's all good. I had a nice bird coming in on the last day, right up along the woodline of my food plot where I had been seeing them strutting on my cameras. My blind was tucked into the trees sort of, I had my girl friend with me, and when the bird stepped out out where I could shoot it, he was at 4 yards. The only problem was that the hub of my blind was between my arrow and the Tom. When I shifted position, I think my seat squeaked and the bird heard it. He just turned around and walked into the woods, never to be seen again. That is how my season ended,, with a whimper...... But it's all god. Anyhow, I have been seeing a bunch of raccoon and coyote on my cameras, no fisher, but between the predators and the really terrible weather during the breeding season the past couple years, I think that has a lot to do with it.

Be well all, peace, Jay

DAMN!!! Double post!! LOL

Pat....I see Fishers from my front porch, crossing the road and from my deer stands....man they cover ground and love to run hedges etc...I wouldn't think any ground nesting bird has a chance. Their tracks are literally everywhere in the snow...I suppose some disease may not be detectable to me but...

We set up on the bird in the first pic 8 days in a row before Chris got him - the kid moved forward unannounced to me or we wouldn't have gotten him that day either! Longest spurs on a bird we've ever killed.

And another big bird...Chris has quite a number of trophy birds

SJJ its not only the nests that they destroy but they actually climb trees at night and grab adult birds right off the roost...I have seen a winter roosting area with many turkey skeletons on the ground and the area is full of fisher tracks...they get in an area and they will devastate that particular spot...they are very aggressive animals in this way

SJJ, that bird looks big enough to rape an ostrich standing flat-footed.

I have three or four honey holes for turkey, so I am not out trying to locate birds like I have done in past years. Nancy and I tagged three of our four birds in five days.....

HOWEVER, there is a marked increase in fisher activity in our general area. They are one awesome predator....as I found a fisher den, and it had turkey remains scattered all around it, but also remains of a red tailed hawk, and an owl!!

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