Turkey hunting the South

I hunt big blocks of public ground in the Ozarks. It's rough, steep, and remote, and there is minimal cell service. I am often 3-5 miles from my truck, and if done properly, I will not see another hunter in the woods. We have bears, and we have hogs, but my biggest fear is to get zapped by a rattlesnake way back in the timber by myself. While we have cottonmouths, I am only around them when fishing. It's the rattlesnake and copperhead that I have to be on the lookout for. The snake I worry about is the one that crawls up to you from behind, that you can't see and won't hear it, and then when you put your hand down, the snake zaps you. Alone and with no cell service, it is a long way back to the truck in the rough up-and-down country while trying not to panic after being struck by a big timber rattlesnake.
 
DoubleLungRage said:
Enjoy it while you can man. Most of South Carolina is void of turkeys these days.
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Missouri turkey biologist says that the Missouri turkey population is down by 50%. I think it is more than that in the Ozarks. There are definitely more turkeys in the northern half of the state on the rolling farmlands.
 
GC said:
Missouri turkey biologist says that the Missouri turkey population is down by 50%. I think it is more than that in the Ozarks. There are definitely more turkeys in the northern half of the state on the rolling farmlands.
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South Carolina used to have so many turkeys that they would give them to other states trying to establish their population. Our DNR waited 10 years too late to do anything. Now they are changing season dates, bag limits, no jakes, etc. Still no open season on nest raders though. Nor open season on coyotes on public land.

Where did all of our turkeys go?

No one has been able to give a concrete answer on that?

Personally, I think the timber industry has a lot more to do with it than our DNR (Politicians) want to admit.
 
Habitat is key for turkeys/quail. Predator management plays a huge roll as well. The landowners I trap and shoot for all have seen an upwards swing in both quail and turkey numbers. To be honest itā€™s what keeps me motivated to take predators out.

I wish our WMAā€™s allowed more opportunities at predator hunting. I go when they allow it and kill indiscriminately. Thankfully GA allowed the taking of coons, possums, and coyotes year round on private lands. We can take coyotes/hogs on public lands but as far as I know we have to obey the coon and possums ā€œseasonā€ dates. One particular WMA had so many turkeys you didnā€™t know which was to head when theyā€™d start gobbling. I hunted it for 2 straight days last year and heard absolutely nothing while averaging about 9 miles a day on OnX. Turkey numbers are in a steep decline compared to 10yrs ago.

And yes, I have access to private land and we manage it for deer and believe it or not, turkeys. We have 2500ac and only take 3 and maybe 4 gobblers a year. We have birds that will die of old age, but we know when we go, weā€™ll always hear birds gobbling. Based on our numbers we could probably take double the amount and be fine, but weā€™d rather end the season with an excess going into the next season. Most private properties in this area have a self imposed quota they take as well. Limit is 2 birds per person in GA from 3 a few years ago. At this point Iā€™m happy with one. I do enough traveling to make up for leaving a bird here.
 
Hunted three family owned ranches for 20 years which have excellent game management programs for all native species + exotics. They had cultivated a healthy turkey population on two eastern ranches but had no turkeys on the western ranch (some 7 miles apart). The western ranch is much more arid than those near the coast.
They wanted to trap and transport a number of turkey from their eastern ranches to the west, but needed permits from the state. Took them a while to obtain the permits due to state biologists opinion that there was not sufficient taller trees suitable for roosts.
They finally obtained permits and trapped some 70 turkeys, IIRC and transported them to the inland ranch. The turkeys thrived and I believe it was only 2 or 3 years had multiplied to the point that we were allowed to take one turkey/year. I have seen turkeys roaming 3 miles from that ranch since. (The ranch owners are very serious about predator control on all their ranches.)
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Spurchaser said:
Iā€™m used to rat snakes and black racers, but looking over your shoulder and seeing this got the ole heart pumping!!
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GC said:
The snake I worry about is the one that crawls up to you from behind, that you can't see and won't hear it, and then when you put your hand down, the snake zaps you.
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Oh yeah! Try not to think about that when snuggled up in a bush, but once in a while the thought sneaks in and have to admit that the hair stands up on my neck. šŸ¤£ Rattlers are the only worry down here.
 
How about rattlers up in a bush? I've seen pictures of it here in SC.
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I've seen them off the ground on occasion. Years ago was walking down a game trail that forked, with a knee high bush at the V with a small (2-3') rattler in the bush.
In the winter, I've seen blacksnakes travel over the top of dead grass but never a rattler.
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Another concern is wading through the often knee to thigh high grass in spring and summer. I use my shooting sticks to, hopefully, encourage any unseen snakes to depart when walking in the grass. May be wishful thinking, but I suspect it would be a bit harder for a snake to strike in the thick, heavy grass?? Rattlers down here are quite big enough to strike above a boot.
 
Believe it or not after 7-8yrs on this property Iā€™ve only encountered 1 rattlesnake. Now we have cottonmouths like women have shoesā€¦way more than we want or need!!
 
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