Turkey Season 2023 too late?

[Rubeng]

Anyone else think they opener is about a month late? Last spring it was hard to work birds since they seemed not interested in anything. I’m sure there is a “reason” why it opens in April but can anyone elaborate?


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[jerp]

I would have agreed with you last year but from watching turkey behavior on our place this year they seem to be several weeks away. I'm further north than you but they still seem to be in their winter pattern. I guess that can change quickly though

[wilded]

Strutting and calling here in Lampasas.

[Big pig]

I always thought a couple weeks earlier would help in Goliad.
I hate hot weather turkey hunting

But this yr our turkeys up here need that extra time to reviver from drought and cold

[turkeyhunter1]

Not sure about Texas but this has already happened in some other states.

There has been a quiet push by Biologists to have the hunting season after the major mating period.

They don't want you to be able to call in a gobbler. They say they are too susceptible to the call.

This is their attempt at preserving population as popularity increases.

[Duckologist]

Not sure about Texas but this has already happened in some other states.

There has been a quiet push by Biologists to have the hunting season after the major mating period.

They don't want you to be able to call in a gobbler. They say they are too susceptible to the call.

This is their attempt at preserving population as popularity increases.

Yep, did it here in Louisiana

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[ultrastealth]

Not sure about Texas but this has already happened in some other states.

There has been a quiet push by Biologists to have the hunting season after the major mating period.

They don't want you to be able to call in a gobbler. They say they are too susceptible to the call.

This is their attempt at preserving population as popularity increases.

supposedly, TP&W sets the season after most hens have been bred.

[MooseontheLoose]

It's my understanding that the seasons dates are set after the peak breeding occurs to give the bulk of the birds a chance to breed.

Most years, it definitely seems too late in my experience. A few years though, I've seen where they haven't been interested at all on opening weekend, and it took them a while to get going. The season dates seem right then, but those years are the exception and not the norm. I think habitat and range conditions play a factor there too. Last year was bad all the way through, and we had no hatch on the properties I hunt.

On one of of the places I hunt in Medina county, it's absolutely late. I've hunted the property for 12-15 years and it's not even worth going out the last half of the season. The best gobbling of the year is the end of duck season through February. By the time April rolls around they seem done. Hens are sitting and nothing is talking, even on crisp, cool mornings.

Overall, I think it starts late and ends way too late, from my experience in the hill country and down south.

[SmTx]

Not sure about Texas but this has already happened in some other states.

There has been a quiet push by Biologists to have the hunting season after the major mating period.

They don't want you to be able to call in a gobbler. They say they are too susceptible to the call.

This is their attempt at preserving population as popularity increases.

This was my immediate thought. They're letting the birds breed then we get to go at them.

[Rubeng]

Not sure about Texas but this has already happened in some other states.

There has been a quiet push by Biologists to have the hunting season after the major mating period.

They don't want you to be able to call in a gobbler. They say they are too susceptible to the call.

This is their attempt at preserving population as popularity increases.

You would think it would almost be like hunting deer during the rut. I would think more hunters are chasing deer than turkey


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[luv2hunt]

This past weekend I was hog hunting and saw a single gobbler. I started clucking with my mouth and called him within 10 ft of the stand. He was strutting hard and gobbling on every cluck. Season does need to be sooner.

[Passthrough]

Been too late for years! Eastern season in TX is a joke! They really DONT want you to kill one

[Outback]

I'll be hunting in Llano opening morning. Have not been seeing many birds so not expecting much. Later on I will be in New Mexico and Wisconsin and Llano again. Hoping for success on a Rio, Merriam's and Eastern this year. Have a hunt planned in Florida next year so may have a chance at a slam.

[CTR0022]

To me its half a dozen or the other. Trying to pull a tom away from live hens is near impossible, so hunting them during peak breeding season comes with its challenges to.

[Jcjohnson]

Not sure about Texas but this has already happened in some other states.

There has been a quiet push by Biologists to have the hunting season after the major mating period.

They don't want you to be able to call in a gobbler. They say they are too susceptible to the call.

This is their attempt at preserving population as popularity increases.

Here in GA also