So I went on the DNR site last night to buy a left over turkey tag for this season. Everything in my zone is sold out. OK , no problem, my fault for not getting it done sooner and not sending in for one last fall. My issue started when I went to another outdoors site and read reports from guys, most of which bragged about having 5 to 8 or 9 more tags for this season. My question to all of you is what is your opinion on guys buying so many tags?
Who needs 7 turkeys? Its right up there with the jags who buy 12 deer tags around here and feel like they have to fill everyone of them. Seems like pure blood lust to me, nothing more than the need to just go kill something.
Whats your opinion?
Bill,
I know guys who love turkey hunting so much that they start in Florida and work their way north as season open hitting multiple states. It can be an addiction! When I was younger, I would hunt every morning at Quantico. Here in VA we only get 3 tags per year. There are no bonus tags for turkey. We have an odd setup where our license years begin in the summer. So, the 3 tags for turkey are good for either the fall of the year you buy them or the spring of the next year. In Virginia, you can only use two tags in the fall. If you use one that leaves two for the next spring and if you use two, you only have one for spring. We can shoot hens in the fall but only bearded birds in the spring. I shot a longbeard and a bearded hen with a crossbow last fall so I only have one tag left this spring. I have not yet seen a longbeard this spring only jakes and I won't burn a tag on a jake.
So, here are my thoughts on the subject you raise. I can't speak to how well other wildlife departments do at managing game but ours in VA does a superb job for both deer and turkey. We are far enough south that we don't get much winter kill of turkey. So the number of hens harvest in the fall is the biggest controllable factor for population management. Our fall season is split to minimize the opportunistic harvest of hens by deer hunters but still provide ample turkey hunting opportunity in the fall. Deconflicting turkey season from the first week of general firearm season for deer did a lot to bolster our populations. The biggest uncontrollable factor is spring weather. Wet weather at the wrong time in the spring can reek havoc on recruitment.
Harvesting gobblers in the spring has no appreciable impact on populations. Given that, presuming your wildlife department does a good job of using tags and seasons to keep the populations healthy, I have no issue at all with folks buying tags and shooting as many gobblers as they like. Providing more recreational while keeping populations healthy is an objective of our wildlife department. Now, bragging about it is not something I'd participate in, but sharing success is. So, as long as it doesn't become a competition, I'm all for it. Competition and hunting don't mix well. It temps folks to stretch or disregard ethical boundaries and for some legality.
When folks stoop to illegal, unethical, or unsafe methods, I can get riled up, but short of that, I'm all for it!
Thanks,
Jack