It is tougher I think. The last two years I quit calling and resorted to ambush tactics.
late season
any body worried about the season, birds are less likely to respond to calling to me, last year was slow, still tagged out but birds werent responding to calls like usuall. especialy late in the day.
1 - 20 of 23 Posts
i really don't how the birds are doing this year yet.as cold as it has been they might be a little behind around here.i don't care as long as i get to go hunting.i gonna go out this afternoon and set up a pop blind up for next weekend .then go out in the morning and set in it for awhile maybe i will have good pics for tommorrow.
birds respond to calls early in the season and late in the season, in the peak of breading they dont come to calls because they are with hens, they will gobble to your calls but gettin em away from the girls is not easy. you wont hear as much gobblin late but if you do hear one you got a pretty good chance of gettin a shot. if birds have been called to alot early then good luck callin em in late....they wont come. green up only helps hide the hunter and like keith said ambush and soft calls are the way to go. the only thing i dont like about late season is the heat but other then that i prefer late season. thats over thirty years experience from all over southern missouri to north central and now northeast missouri.
a little info on turkey season.
MDC has used the same formula for settin the dates for decades. the season has always opened on the monday closest to april 21. opening dates range from the 18 to the 24th, last year we opened on the 18th then it shifts to the 24th, next year it will be the 23rd etc. the last time it opened on the 24th was 2000 and guess what?? we had a record harvest. the first turkey season opened in 1960 in a few ozark counties (southMissouri) for 3 days, opening on april 27th. opening dates were established based on wild turkey breeding chronology in the missouri ozarks. we do open later then many other states but we do so to ensure that we do not over harvest adult gobblers, which is an important factor in maintaining populations during years of poor reproduction. over harvest could lead to even more dramatic ups and downs in gobbler numbers.
this may help answer some of the questions on opening dates.
MDC has used the same formula for settin the dates for decades. the season has always opened on the monday closest to april 21. opening dates range from the 18 to the 24th, last year we opened on the 18th then it shifts to the 24th, next year it will be the 23rd etc. the last time it opened on the 24th was 2000 and guess what?? we had a record harvest. the first turkey season opened in 1960 in a few ozark counties (southMissouri) for 3 days, opening on april 27th. opening dates were established based on wild turkey breeding chronology in the missouri ozarks. we do open later then many other states but we do so to ensure that we do not over harvest adult gobblers, which is an important factor in maintaining populations during years of poor reproduction. over harvest could lead to even more dramatic ups and downs in gobbler numbers.
this may help answer some of the questions on opening dates.
Wow......that is word for word.
What the formula doesn't account for is that there is virtually no winter and "spring" is coming way earlier in the year compared to when it was established. Things are happening earlier in the spring than they were back 20 plus years ago.
What the formula doesn't account for is that there is virtually no winter and "spring" is coming way earlier in the year compared to when it was established. Things are happening earlier in the spring than they were back 20 plus years ago.
yes. you said i was going the wrong way.. i respectfully disagree.... i have no problem killing birds late season. ticks ..yes ...hot ...yes. hunting wont stink, you just have to adjust your tactics a bit. i dont hunt where people are crawling all over the woods though.......crowds do suck, and will make the birds near impossible to call. if you havn't got a bird by third week let me know and maybe we could go after em up here.
you were thinkin over my head...:neuspeuter: sorry i didnt catch your drift. alot of joes may not be in the woods cause its hot and ticky..:cool3: let me know how it goes and if i can help. :cheers:
The weather has a great deal to do with turkey season. I have hunted south Texas and the season opens April 1st and the Toms are on fire at that early date. The warmer the weather the earlier the breeding begins. For me the season is much too late here in Missouri. Yes some birds will still be active late but I hate the hotter weather and the increased bug population. I hav ehujted turkeys for forty years this year and there has been change in turkey habits. I don't know if it is the weather or smarter turkeys or some other factor. But I'd like to see it like it was in the late 80s and early 90s again.
Jack
Jack
DSG has seen this theory tossed around but thinks it's BS. DSG has also asked people to post up some data proving it's so but hasn't seen any to date.Originally posted by PFR
What the formula doesn't account for is that there is virtually no winter and "spring" is coming way earlier in the year compared to when it was established. Things are happening earlier in the spring than they were back 20 plus years ago.
DSG is pretty sure the weather is just what it always has been, which is just like it always has been. :cheers:
Just like the season, it is what it is and always has been. The addition of the third week however is for the most part a waste. By that time the underbrush is too thick and the birds are silent, so what's the point in having it? (Rhetorical question.)
Let's see. 3 inches of snow over the course of the winter is about all you can expect now, used to be common to get four or five 8-10 inchers a year. 50 to 60 almost everyday in January and 60 to 70 degrees everyday in February and it used to go weeks and 25 was a warm day......... It ain't the same as it was and it is bumping up the turkey habits. Missouri is starting to have a climate (at least winter temperature wise) of the deep south (MS, AL, GA) and it is affecting the stage of how far along the breeding is in late April and formulas established 30 years ago are becoming useless.
That's your opinion PFR. Do some research on climate and you might find something different than you are promoting. If I'm wrong, get back to me on that. I'll even make it easy on you. You mention 30 years. Just use that as a snapshot. :cheers:
Like I said, the weather is pretty much the same as it's always been. It can be a factor in the breeding equation, but I doubt it is the most important factor.
Like I said, the weather is pretty much the same as it's always been. It can be a factor in the breeding equation, but I doubt it is the most important factor.
Hey DSG didn't I post some pics of charts way back when regarding our supposed climate change?
DSG - you got it right buddy. sure there are swings in weather from year to year, but that the way its posed to be. i cant understand why people complain, in the best turkey huntin state in the country. i guess it wouldnt matter what they did , someone would complain. all i can say is if ya want an early season....go south. take your shorts, snake chaps, bug spray, sun tan lotion. people want it to be easy to get a couple gobblers.. do you think there would be any adult birds left if it were easy. maybe mdc doesnt want everyone to get a bird much less two.........you got to work for em, change tactics if necessary for late dates, stick with it. and just maybe you will get your late bird, i know i will. and even if we dont get our bird, so what, its a beautiful time to be in the woods. dont forget the morels...:dancin:
thanks Hammibal. It's not often DSG gets someone agreeing wiff him. :cheers:
But I still think they might as well take that third week away. It's a total waste. Like I said, the morels aren't even out that late! :wink:
But I still think they might as well take that third week away. It's a total waste. Like I said, the morels aren't even out that late! :wink:
So I guess you don't believe all published and confirmed statistics showing that the world as a whole is warming up........ I believe they say it is called global warming.
I don't really have the time to dig into the NOAA archives to prove my point but from the 10-day forecast from weather channel website for St. Louis says:
4/7/06 Forecast 77, Normal 63
4/8/06 Forecast 54, Normal 63 Oh No! Major Coldfront
4/9/06 Forecast 62, Normal 64 Normal for all purposes
4/10/06 Forecast 69, Normal 64 Same
4/11/06 Forecast 71, Normal 64
4/12/06 Forecast 75, Normal 65
4/13/06 Forecast 80, Normal 65
4/14/06 Forecast 84, Normal 65
4/15/06 Forecast 78, Normal 66
4/16/06 Forecast 74, Normal 66
I ain't the smartest guy in the world, but I can figure that 70% of the days are quite a da*n bit above normal. I can also figure out that normal equals average and there is going to be some ups and downs above average but statistically the variance is going to be a few degrees......not in the 10 to 20 ballbark. I also don't have to (I could if I wanted) go to the records to tell you that just about every day during the fall and winter is about 10-20 degrees warmer than the established normal and it is a rarity to see more than a dusting of snowfall now.
Maybe it isn't global warming, maybe it is just a normal cycle. Maybe the same thing happened 100 years ago before any of us were here. But, whatever the reason, the springtime weather is alot different now than when the MDC formula was established and I think they need to do something about compensating for that fact. What's the worse that could happen? 50 years from now people would be b*tching and complaining that it was too early? Then move it back to where it is now. It should be a dynamic process. I fully realize you can't be guessing and changing things just because of one year, but this has happened enough years in a row that I really think they need to start taking a look at it.
I don't really have the time to dig into the NOAA archives to prove my point but from the 10-day forecast from weather channel website for St. Louis says:
4/7/06 Forecast 77, Normal 63
4/8/06 Forecast 54, Normal 63 Oh No! Major Coldfront
4/9/06 Forecast 62, Normal 64 Normal for all purposes
4/10/06 Forecast 69, Normal 64 Same
4/11/06 Forecast 71, Normal 64
4/12/06 Forecast 75, Normal 65
4/13/06 Forecast 80, Normal 65
4/14/06 Forecast 84, Normal 65
4/15/06 Forecast 78, Normal 66
4/16/06 Forecast 74, Normal 66
I ain't the smartest guy in the world, but I can figure that 70% of the days are quite a da*n bit above normal. I can also figure out that normal equals average and there is going to be some ups and downs above average but statistically the variance is going to be a few degrees......not in the 10 to 20 ballbark. I also don't have to (I could if I wanted) go to the records to tell you that just about every day during the fall and winter is about 10-20 degrees warmer than the established normal and it is a rarity to see more than a dusting of snowfall now.
Maybe it isn't global warming, maybe it is just a normal cycle. Maybe the same thing happened 100 years ago before any of us were here. But, whatever the reason, the springtime weather is alot different now than when the MDC formula was established and I think they need to do something about compensating for that fact. What's the worse that could happen? 50 years from now people would be b*tching and complaining that it was too early? Then move it back to where it is now. It should be a dynamic process. I fully realize you can't be guessing and changing things just because of one year, but this has happened enough years in a row that I really think they need to start taking a look at it.
here are the numbers for turkey harvest the last six years
24th........................2006
18th.....53,798........2005
19th.....56,882........2004.......record
20th.....54,761........2003
21st.....53,932........2002
22nd....55,302........2001
23rd.....56,841........2000
I see NO correlation in starting dates or warmer weather to the numbers of turkey harvested.
some years are warm some are cold some are wet and some are dry. thats the way it is.
enjoy the season. I bet its a new record
24th........................2006
18th.....53,798........2005
19th.....56,882........2004.......record
20th.....54,761........2003
21st.....53,932........2002
22nd....55,302........2001
23rd.....56,841........2000
I see NO correlation in starting dates or warmer weather to the numbers of turkey harvested.
some years are warm some are cold some are wet and some are dry. thats the way it is.
enjoy the season. I bet its a new record
The funny thing I always notice about the weather is that, on the news at night, they always give the record highs and lows for "this date". It seems like almost all the record highs were from decades ago. I'll agree that we've had some pretty mild winters, but I think it's pretty much a normal cycle.
1 - 20 of 23 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Missouri Whitetails - Your Missouri Hunting Resource
A forum community dedicated to Missouri Hunting enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about safety, gear, tackle, tips, tricks, optics, hunting, gunsmithing, reviews, reports, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
