Cheapest Non-resident Spring Gobbler tag
Turkey
With all this Corona Virus craziness it got me thinking about taking a week off and going out of state for a Spring Gobbler hunt. PA Season is 7 weeks away, so it would have to be a state that is open now or soon. Also would be a plus with lots of public ground where you could camp for a nominal fee. ANy ideas? Have never checked into out of state Spring Gobbler hunts so I am at a loss...………………………………….
Wyoming is $74 for NR I believe and Nebraska is $109. You can find birds in NE on public land and access to private is usually not hard to find near the smaller towns. Wyoming has birds on public as well in eastern half of the state.
Thanks guys- I should have specified...……………………………………..East Coast preferably. I don't really want to get on a plane. I'd be driving from PA.
imo, I don't believe any state is very high priced for turkeys..... Anything around us though only opens in 6-8 weeks. I'd guess going west would open sooner...Im hoping they all don't get cancelled.. My son just told me PA trout fishing has been drastically altered... time will tell
Yeah, from what I can tell the only state within a 10 hr drive or so is Tenn. Opens 4/4
I remember hearing of Spring Gobbler Hunting in March, but that appears to be way South in Alabama/Georgia
I meant south, not west...... not sure why I typed that...
Nebraska opens March 25. Looks like I'll have a lot of time to go this year.
Coming from PA, I recommend you try Ohio where the turkey population seems pretty good this year. And since their license year begins on 3/1, you can use the license to hunt deer and fall turkeys later in the year, so it’s a really good deal.
You might also consider SC, where the Sumpter NF offers good turkey hunting in the piedmont and mountains up near Clemson. I’ve killed a bunch of turkeys there when I was a SC resident and the season limit was 5. Limit had since been reduced.
My son will be hunting the GA opener this coming weekend, lots of public land there and good turkey population.
“”” I don't believe any state is very high priced for turkeys..... “”””
Iowa trophy turkey license price after the permit , license and habitat fee your up to $265 :::::...
And u can garner preference points at $60 a pop.
Good to see Iowa at the forefront of NR fees
Well now that the P&Y convention is cancelled, looks like I'll have some time and extra $$ that I would of spent on the convention.
So now I'm thinking a out of state hunt myself. Thinking of Catskills area of Ny or floating down the Delaware river in the kayak listening for birds on the Nj side, but not even sure I can get a tag for Nj this late. will look into that. Only an idea right now. Ed
Thanks for the info Jeff. I started looking at South Carolina, then I remembered they don't recognize my concealed carry permit, so that's a deal breaker for me. (So NY and NJ are out too)
I was also looking for a state that started in the next 3 weeks or so. Right now looking at Tenn. and Virginia. If I am reading the regs correctly, Tenn starts on 4/4 and has a 4 bird limit(1/day) AND you can hunt all day. Little bit more $$ at about $240 for non-res Virginia opens 4/11 and has a 3 bird limit(1/day) hunting til noon and $197 for non-res
Will check Kentucky and N.C. next......………...
Our turkey population in SC has gone down dramatically in the past few years. We used to have a 5 bird season. It used to open like the third week in March. Now it opens April 1 (in the Upstate). Now residents can only kill one bird in the first 10 days and only 3 birds the entire season. They have tightened the restrictions considerably because of the decline in birds. Good hunting can still be had on public land but it is the exception now rather than the norm. Unfortunately our state runs game laws with the legislature rather than through the biologists of the DNR. So we (the state of SC) manage reactively rather than proactively. It is really, and this goes beyond turkeys, an example of how not to manage resources.
Don't you have to draw the WY tag?
That doesn't sound good Candor...………………………………….
Living in NC now, I can say that the opener is 4/11 and the turkey population is growing! Yesterday While driving around, I must have seen 15 gobblers total at various locations. I live near the western mountains with plenty of NF and game lands to hunt. Good fishing too.
Thanks for the update Candor, I moved away from SC in 2005 and enjoyed very good turkey hunting in over a decade of living there.
Thanks Jeff- just checked and looks like I could get a 10 day non-resident license for $96 with game land permit. And opening day is my birthday. ;-) So the Tarheel State is looking good!
I live on the Tn and Va border and have farms in both, great turkey hunting would love to one day get all sub species of turkeys, with that said would love to find someone wanting to kill an eastern who would in return invite me out to kill one of the other sub species, flights are pretty cheap right now so why not.
Let me know if I can help if/when you come to NC, Rut Nut. I am a PA native and had a hunting camp in Tionesta for 10 wonderful years.
Anywhere along the Niobrara River in Nebraska. You could look into the link.
