re: Alabama Turkey hunting thread

2019 article on WMAs and Turkey hunting

Among the state properties that reported an estimated kill of 20 or more birds, a traditional favorite, Oakmulgee WMA southeast of Tuscaloosa, ranks at the top of the 2018 man-day tables. On average, hunters killed a turkey every 11.3 days, down slightly from an exceptional 2017 season – a 7.4 man-day average – but still very good.

Lauderdale’s man-day average of 11.7 ranked just behind Oakmulgee.

Another traditional turkey hotspot, Choccolocco WMA east of Anniston, also continued to produce in 2018 with the most estimated kills in the state at 61 and a good man-day rate of 13.9.

Other WMAs with good man-day averages were Little River (12.0), Sam R. Murphy (14.3), and Blue Spring (15.0).

Top overall producers behind Choccolocco were James D. Martin – Skyline WMA in Jackson County (60), Lauderdale (45), Black Warrior in Lawrence County (40), Hollins (32), Barbour (30), Freedom Hills (30), and Coosa (28).

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“You have to look at all the categories, not just look at estimated harvest,” Barnett said. “Look at man days and maybe gravitate toward those that had fewer man days needed to harvest a gobbler. On those WMAs, maybe there are fewer turkeys harvested but less hunting pressure and interference from other hunters.”

Turkey Hunt with Game & Fish


GATHERING THE DATA

Barnett and other turkey managers continue to study the state turkey population in a variety of ways. Perhaps the most significant on-going project designed to analyze Alabama turkeys is an Auburn University study. The study, conducted primarily on various public lands across the state, is now in its fifth and final year.

Among the various components of the Auburn study include later starting dates for turkey season on the following management areas: James D. Martin – Skyline, Barbour, Oakmulgee, Hollins, Choccolocco, Lowndes, and Perdido River. The season will open roughly a week later than normal, March 23, on those WMAs again this year. The later starting date was first used in 2018.

“We’ve been able to glean some information (year-to-year) from the study, but we’re certainly not ready to make any definitive conclusions just yet until we receive all the data,” Barnett said.

About 15 miles as the crow flies to st Stephen’s

Hardly anyone hunted my family's land in Greene County last turkey season. We're covered up there this year, but so is the place in North MS I hunt. The problem is going to be the same as last season though...coaching tball and coach pitch does not result in a lot of opportunities to turkey hunt.

Turkeys 3-Me 0. The wind was blowing like a damn baby hurricane today, so many limbs were falling I had to actually be careful where I sat.

No reply’s to my owl call except other owls. I really expected this to be a no or very limited gobble day since I remember that lives there said he just heard him gobbling when it hit the ground yesterday.

I set up on edge of big field, and within 10 minutes of sunrise I heard my first gobbler way in back. He gobbled back at me maybe 2 dozen times. I am sure he picked up a hen or something. I was cool with that as our really hard to pull birds out of that part of the swamp. Day was already better than I expected.

Then, maybe three or four minutes after he stopped gobbling I heard a gobble to my immediate left and started calling him. I could tell after the first 30 minutes of back-and-forth. This is a two-year-old bird as he basically gobbled at everything and anything. He gobbled five or six times in a row once when I just refused to answer to see how many times he would go, he cut me off multiple times you name it. He gobbled at Crowe calls, purrs, mouth calls, box calls, pots, you name it. This went on for almost 3 hours. He would come right to the edge but wouldn’t step in the field. I realized I had royally fricked up.

I originally planned to set up in the swamp on the edge of this field, but you always risk bumping a bird doing that. It was plenty dark but I thought setting up right on the edge would be ok, since it worked great last year.

But this bird would gobble kick scratch etc but he wasn’t stepping foot in this field l. Either because he doesn’t want to get his arse kicked by a dominant bird or we have a damn hawk again sitting on it.

I was in a one man tent since I have gotten busted on this field every time I haven’t used one. Its huge and typically surrounded by nosey hens as the swamp borders it on three sides.

He was so close I was determined to make him come in. I threw everything but the kitchen sink at him. I was out of spit, my back hurt you name it. When I finally had to try to go around and sneak up on him he busted me. They just clear cut 2/3s of the property and piled it up on edges, and there are sticks everywhere now so it’s impossible to get into the swamp quietly. Once in the swamp, you have a chance, but they are swamp birds.

Anyway, 3 hours of non stop gobbling is my personal record. It sucks as this bird is easy to kill, but I fricked up out of the box, because I didn’t want to go tripping through the scrub brush and shite and it bite me on the arse. I will kill him later.

To add insult to injury, I called in another bird as I was walking in for a cold coke and water, but didn’t see him in time. (That the trouble of running and gunning in the swamp
And swamp adjacent. If they can see and avoid the bobcats, (ours look like mountain lions), coyotes, hawks, 10000 owls etc, they can see you)

Anyway, considering it was blowing 25 mph to 40 mph all day, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Better than work anytime.

tough luck steve

I didn’t even bother yesterday morning with the weather what it was and having spent the entire weekend in Mississippi hunting. Waiting to hit it hard Wednesday and Thursday morning before work.

Me and a friend doubled yesterday. Didn’t hear a gobble till 10:20

Killed them an hour later. His had 3 beards

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Sumter