Louisiana Turkey Season

No Turkeys . Alabama went from 15th to the 25

What's the story on the turkey population in Louisiana? I used to see tons hunting west of Wakefield and a high school buddy was always on them around Little River. There were also some west of Ellick where i used to squirrel hunt but all of this was mid 80's.

Turkey populations are taking a beating all over the country.

Turkey hunters are a bunch of cry babies just like people who run deer dogs are a bunch of cry babies. It’s always the other guys fault, they do it the right way.

geauxbrown is spot on!!


Timber companies used to burn religiously in order to allow cutters to get the trees more easily. With the advent of equipment that can go through the thickest of thickets and cut the tree/lay it over/ and de-limb it. Prescribed burn in no longer necessary for tree growing and harvesting.

This has had a negative impact on turkey population. The overgrowth is not good for nesting, it doesn't allow the turkey to use it's number one advantage against predators (eyesight) and gives the predators and advantage in being able to sneak up on birds and attack.

Controlled burn wouldn't cure the ills of the turkey decline, but would put a serious dent in it.

I have no problem with them moving the season back or giving up a bird (Alabama used to be 5 bird limit/season)

But like most things political......and your states DCNR is political. We do everything to help prevent the decline of a resource EXCEPT the one thing that would help the most.

Lucky y'all, up here in TN it starts April 13.

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Taxman

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Would love to see some of your kill photos from deer season.

Spot on.
We’ve started to burn our <200 acres in SW Mississippi over the last 4-6 years or so.
It’s crazy how fast they come to burned areas. We’ve always had turkeys but our numbers have exploded within the last few years.

Curious as the draught was so bad this year our cows took out nearly every leaf in the woods from the ground to their heads. They really took out saplings and opened up the woods.

This winter into early spring we've seen more turkeys than in the last 15 years.

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Mississippi opens too early

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absolutely. the state willingly and openly whores out the resource by advertising across the country how early our season starts, "ya'll come on down."

Our population is hurting.

Most years the trees aren't even close to being greened out. The out of staters come in and join the flatbill, alpaca haircut, fanning instagram influencer locals, and everybody goes buck wild for a few weeks waiting on other states to open. By the time the dust settles 1st week of April, the birds are educated as hell from every Tom, Dick and Harry walking up to them on roost and trying to move to them in woods that are wide arse open.

I don't know what it is about Arkansas turkey hunters, but they are by far the worst of the bunch. They lose their minds down here. We feel about them how they feel about us coming duck hunting.

Two years ago one Arkansas hunter, desperate for some pictures for the 'gram, walked up to a highway patrol officers turkey coop and proceeded to beat his pet turkey to death with its own water bowl. Unbeknownst to him, the cop had a camera on the coop and happened to be nearby working. It didn't end well for him.

Mississippi desperately needs a physical tagging system (which is on the way), a lower limit, shorter season, and reduced OOS permits, along with e-bike restrictions on closed to motorized access national forest service roads. I bought an e-bike because what the hell, everybody else is doing it and I'm only hunting on private club land now, but they are ridiculously effective at enabling lazy lard asses to get to and sit to distant birds.

I fear for the future of Mississippi's eastern wild turkey population.