youth turkey hunting.
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3 jakes taken today.....Really tough sledding with the birds very henned up.....Got this want to be jake (hen) to come in....And that was it......lol
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hey Steve are you saying that bird strutting in the bottom picture is a hen, if never seen such behavior
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Yep......And he is only 8 years old......Him, his sister, and dad all practiced with us the week before.....Little 20 gauge did the trick.
ps.....3 more jakes taken today for a total of 6 birds for the weekend.....Best total so far for 20 kids.
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Yep......And he is only 8 years old......Him, his sister, and dad all practiced with us the week before.....Little 20 gauge did the trick.
ps.....3 more jakes taken today for a total of 6 birds for the weekend.....Best total so far for 20 kids.
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Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Three Jake's killed, Wow l''m I am saddened by this post. In my opinion (and it is my opinion alone and I ask no one to join me in this) is no good. Not only have several youth hunters been given the green light on killing Jake's but the drought is not over. Back when the population was strong we used to allow one or two hunters a day (Juniors mostly) to pursue them on our ranch, back then they would encounter one or two hundred turkeys a day and they took quite a few birds. When they became stressed we withdrew the invitation in order to help the population stay alive and and let them sustain in order to produce numbers that would lead to better days. Please folks we are one season out of a drought, don't think the turkey drought is over .Three hundred birds released in the early 90"s does not equate to the pressure they are recovering now. The pressure they now are facing with how popular the pursuit of them has become is tremendous over the last few years.
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Fred,
With all due respect and not arguing about the shooting of jakes (you know where I stand personally)......But, this is a youth turkey hunt for kids that would other wise never get a chance or have the opportunity to hunt turkeys on basically private lands that is hunted only 2 days a year.....With possibly the exception of 1 or 2, these kids had never hunted turkeys, much less shoot one.....And the hunts are more than just shooting a bird.....It's about ethics, nature, discipline, and in this busy world....Patience.
On MCC, many of us wanted at least a 1 jake rule.....John Massie (former DFG senior biologist), the person who is basically responsible for us even having turkeys, went on the stump against the rule. Saying it makes no difference.....Our reasoning was to have more longbeards.....Having more toms does not sustain the population......Hens do.....Hence, one of the reasons NWTF canceled the Lake Sutherland fall hunts, when hens are legal.
The other important thing to remember is, if we ever give this county hunt up, we'll never get it back.....Trust me, it's tough enough keeping it now.
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With all due respect and not arguing about the shooting of jakes (you know where I stand personally)......But, this is a youth turkey hunt for kids that would other wise never get a chance or have the opportunity to hunt turkeys on basically private lands that is hunted only 2 days a year.....With possibly the exception of 1 or 2, these kids had never hunted turkeys, much less shoot one.....And the hunts are more than just shooting a bird.....It's about ethics, nature, discipline, and in this busy world....Patience.
On MCC, many of us wanted at least a 1 jake rule.....John Massie (former DFG senior biologist), the person who is basically responsible for us even having turkeys, went on the stump against the rule. Saying it makes no difference.....Our reasoning was to have more longbeards.....Having more toms does not sustain the population......Hens do.....Hence, one of the reasons NWTF canceled the Lake Sutherland fall hunts, when hens are legal.
The other important thing to remember is, if we ever give this county hunt up, we'll never get it back.....Trust me, it's tough enough keeping it now.
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I too am very saddened at the fact that MCC won't place some sort of rule to limit the take of jakes. I greatly admire and respect John Massie as I have followed his studies since I was a kid. I have talked with a very well known turkey biologist out east, the school of thought with the experts in the field of turkey biology seems to be that a heavy take of jakes during the spring may not necessarily affect overall population but it will greatly affect hunt quality.
The lack of juvenile birds to grow into mature birds will decrease the overall population of mature toms which most hunters strive to take. Like Fred said, the recent rains only put a small dent in our drought problem so we're not out of the hole yet. If we have a month or two of hot dry weather, all the water will be gone. Luckily the recent rains increased the grass growth and filled water holes which will help with poult survival this summer. But next year could be a totally different deal, if we don't have continued rain.
I've been fortunate enough to have guided youth hunters and veterans at Fred's property. I can for sure say there were days of seeing droves of jakes and toms through out his place. It's absolutely heart breaking to not see the quantity of birds that were there the prior years. Hopefully things will change soon. but I foresee a grim future for MCC. if something doesn't happen.
The lack of juvenile birds to grow into mature birds will decrease the overall population of mature toms which most hunters strive to take. Like Fred said, the recent rains only put a small dent in our drought problem so we're not out of the hole yet. If we have a month or two of hot dry weather, all the water will be gone. Luckily the recent rains increased the grass growth and filled water holes which will help with poult survival this summer. But next year could be a totally different deal, if we don't have continued rain.
I've been fortunate enough to have guided youth hunters and veterans at Fred's property. I can for sure say there were days of seeing droves of jakes and toms through out his place. It's absolutely heart breaking to not see the quantity of birds that were there the prior years. Hopefully things will change soon. but I foresee a grim future for MCC. if something doesn't happen.
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Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
Steve and Gen, We are all on the same page here as far as our views go. I get the youth hunter thing and getting the flame lit with the next generation (especially here in California because of the politically uninformed climate towards hunting). I guess I've gotten so long in the tooth that I only look for the special one in whatever species I hunt when it comes to taking an animal for harvest and that is why I have to project my concerns. I highly respect what all of the youth hunter mentors do to ignite the fire in these young hunters to carry on the tradition and I know that you will guide them to understand that the first bird was easy because of that took an easy to do with a low IQ animal as opposed to fooling a wise old hard to fool big tom. Once again Gen and Steve you do great work for the hunting community and I highly respect that.
Snake Charmer
Happiness is a warm gut pile
SD birds, I have my opinion and you have yours. I'm more than welcome to listen to anyone's opinion but my opinion is my opinion. Please don't call me out as a turkey and undeserved of offering it because you don't agree.State your case and move on. Let's not insult each other. The hunting world in California has been under attack for many years and we don't need to be fighting between ourselves.