# new hours??



## Nightprowler

Anybody here about extending spring turkey hunting hour until 2:00pm?? But in return the season is shortend by a week??? DNR is talking to council and hunters to see what they think about the idea.


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## Toxic

Personally, I think it should be an all day hunt. I would be more than willing to exchange hours for days. Current time do not allow kids to get out after school. For the normal working hunter, they are also limited in their time in the field. To be able to only hunt for 4 hours each day on the weekends and for the price of a tag, I believe we should be able to spend more time in the woods. If an all day hunt is not negotiable, what about proposing an all day hunt only on the weekends? Just my 2 cents.


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## kruggy1

I have to agree with toxic, Im a dedicated turkey hunter and it does suck that you cant go out after work. Nothin worse workin a bird to 12:00 then backing off especialy if he's commited. Cant tell ya how many times Ive seen big toms crossing the road infront of me after the 12:00 cut off. Thanks.


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## Bass assasin

i see what you mean, i dont mind being done by 12 because then i start doing my foodplots in the after noon or anything else that needs done


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## Toxic

My biggest complaint is that the Division is always saying we are loosing hunters and we need to introduce youngsters to (any) hunting. Then we only allow in this case, hunting until noon. How many states allow all day turkey hunting? I know there is a few.


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## BassCatcher12

I have heard the reason for huntin till noon is because of the Hens going to nest in the afternoon. If they get kicked off of the nest to many times they tend not to come back, therefore the young will die....


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## icefisherman4life

im ok with the hunting till noon. but in my opinion i think if you dont fill your tag or tags in the spring you should be able to use them in the fall. but it wont happen cuz they wont make any extra money that way. just my thought.


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## jiggin'fool

well I think the division of wildlife has done a fine job in bringing the population of turkeys up to what we have today with the regulations they set and releasing birds into so many areas! I don't mind only hunting till 12! and most of the time if a hen is jumped off of her nest they don't return! I wouldnt want them to take away any days in return for evening hunts! I do agree on transferring the tags from spring to fall!


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## EyeCatchN

Bass assasin said:


> i see what you mean, i dont mind being done by 12 because then i start doing my foodplots in the after noon or anything else that needs done


MUSHROOMS !!!!


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## DarbyMan

I agree with Toxic. ODNR does not stand behind what they say. They say they want to increase the number of hunters but don't act they do...in so many ways. But thats another thread.

My problem is that my son (16) wants to hunt turkey and I have to buy a license and tag just to go with him. Kinda irritating.


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## D Man

Te biggest concern by the ODNR is killing too many birds; this applies to both the noon thing and the spring fall tags. The estimate OH flock to be at approximately 180K - 200K birds. We kill a little over 20K birds a year, 95% of which are males. Assuming approxiamtely a 50/50 split, that means we kill 20% of male turkeys each year. 

I would love to hunt all day, or even till 2 but I do understand the divisions concerns. Can we really afford to kill many more birds each year and have a stable population? I'm not sure...


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## Guest

That last post was right on.

Don't be greety fellas. Would you rather have a healthy turkey population and only hunt until noon, or get to hunt all day and risk hurting the population and future hunting???

Sometimes you have got to look at the big picture rather then just what would suite you personally.

We currently are on the very tip of killing the maximum male turkeys each spring in order for them to sustain themselves into the next year. An all day hunt WOULD push us over that tip.


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## Kiowa

traphunter said:


> That last post was right on.
> 
> Don't be greety fellas. Would you rather have a healthy turkey population and only hunt until noon, or get to hunt all day and risk hurting the population and future hunting???
> 
> Sometimes you have got to look at the big picture rather then just what would suite you personally.
> 
> We currently are on the very tip of killing the maximum male turkeys each spring in order for them to sustain themselves into the next year. An all day hunt WOULD push us over that tip.


I go to Kentucky every year and hunt turkey. Me and my buddy generally walk out of the woods by 1pm with 2 big toms. Down there you can hunt all day and there are birds everywhere.


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## icefisherman4life

i agree i think huntin till noon is a good thing. ive only killed one turkey after 11:00, and i think it would be harder to get one in the afternoon except gettin em goin to roost. plus it makes my wife happy. she always says man i love turkey huntin so much more than deer cuz your home at 3 everyday and i dont have to wait all night till u get home


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## Curly

I believe basscatcher is correct. Until the population grows large enough for all day spring turkey, i'm fine to hunt until noon.


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## D Man

There was an article in the latest Ohio Outdoor News. Here are the options they are looking at:

1 - Keep reg the same (4 weeks/hunt till noon/2 birds)
2 - Hunt till 2 pm with a limit of 2 birds with a 3 week season
3 - Hunt till 2 pm with a limit of 1 bird with a 4 week season


Keep it the way it is


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## M.Magis

The noon quiting time has *zero* to do with the fear of killing too many birds. Basscatcher12 is correct, it is concern about hens getting bumped off the nest. It's actually a bit rediculous to think that extending the hours would put the turkey popualtion in jeopardy, just as it's silly to think we're at (or even close to) the maximum number of birds we can safely kill a year. We actually kill closer to 10&#37; of the male birds per year, 13% to be exact. Not 20%. They are asking for opinions because they KNOW that the flock can easily handle it. 
I don't know what we'd do without armchair biologists.


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## D Man

M.Magis said:


> The noon quiting time has *zero* to do with the fear of killing too many birds. Basscatcher12 is correct, it is concern about hens getting bumped off the nest. It's actually a bit rediculous to think that extending the hours would put the turkey popualtion in jeopardy, just as it's silly to think we're at (or even close to) the maximum number of birds we can safely kill a year. We actually kill closer to 10&#37; of the male birds per year, 13% to be exact. Not 20%. They are asking for opinions because they KNOW that the flock can easily handle it.
> I don't know what we'd do without armchair biologists.


They (ODNR) actually admitted being wrong and that the "bumping of birds" was no longer a fear 4-5 years ago.  

Took my info from the Ohio Outdoor News; the article was actually written by the state's head of turkey management. I don't know, maybe he was lying in the article???? I'm no biologist; just repeating what i read.


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## icefisherman4life

they need to keep it the way it is. i think if its not broke dont fix it.


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## M.Magis

> They (ODNR) actually admitted being wrong and that the "bumping of birds" was no longer a fear 4-5 years ago


I don't disagree at all that the fear of bumping hens is a bit unfounded. I was simply stating, that is the only reason that the mid day quiting time has been in place in so many states. A number of states have now extended the hours. They still have turkeys.


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## Guest

> The noon quiting time has *zero* to do with the fear of killing too many birds. Basscatcher12 is correct, it is concern about hens getting bumped off the nest. It's actually a bit rediculous to think that extending the hours would put the turkey popualtion in jeopardy, just as it's silly to think we're at (or even close to) the maximum number of birds we can safely kill a year. We actually kill closer to 10&#37; of the male birds per year, 13% to be exact. Not 20%. They are asking for opinions because they KNOW that the flock can easily handle it.
> I don't know what we'd do without armchair biologists.


M.Magis,

You are ALWAYS so quick to point fingers and call names. I don't know if it your ego talking, or your fear of someone being more knowledgeable then you at something.. 

Tell me, you like to use the word "armchair biologist" a lot. So I am assuming you must certainly have a degree in some type of wildlife management or wildlife biology program yourself.. Otherwise, you would just be calling yourself a hypocrite. Which one is it??? 

You state that the noon quiting time has *Zero* fear of killing too many birds. You also state that we only kill 13% of the male birds each year in Ohio. ( to be exact ehh?? ) 


I have no clue where you got your information from, but for the most part, its simply wrong...


Here is an piece of an article about this subject from a recent edition of OON. I think this guy probably is a little more credible on this subject then both of us, but it is backing up what i had stated in an earlier post.
_
" I'm a little nervous about expansion of the spring season." said Dave Risley, the DNR Division of Wildlife's administrator for wildlife management and research. "Right now, we kill almost half of the adult gobblers every spring." 

"In the past several seasons, spring turkey hunters in Ohio harvest an average of just under 30 percent of the adult turkey population," Risley said. Studies have shown, he said, that any harvest in the 30-35 percent range of the adult turkey population will adversely affect the quality of spring hunting. 

Risley said a good hatch or two could change the divisions thinking on spring season expansion.

_
This armchair biologist rests his case.


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## Guest

i work afternoon turn, so my biased opinion really doesn't belong here. just a note though, the two birds o got last year and the one prior were all taken between 10-11. i usually don't even get in the woods until 8:00. right now, the system works for me. i agree with ice-for-life, if you don't take a bird in the spring, you should be able to use your permit in the fall. kind of leans towards greed by policymakers for odnr.


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## M.Magis

> I have no clue where you got your information from, but for the most part, its simply wrong...


First grade math. Try it some time. I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you. We all know your one step away from a card carrying PETA member. You seem to think the only one that should be allowed to take home any game or fish is you.


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## Guest

trap, if that is the case, i would gladly accept a reduction to one bird a season or a shorter season in order to continue spring hunting.


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## Guest

> First grade math. Try it some time. I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you. We all know your one step away from a card carrying PETA member. You seem to think the only one that should be allowed to take home any game or fish is you.


Well i guess I am that ignorant then, whats the math problem? Please enlighten me.

No matter how smart you are, you cant argue with cold hard facts. What I wrote was not neccessarily my opinion. It was however, straight from the mouth of a DNR wildlife biologist. 

I notice you didn't mention your credibility or that masters degree in Wildlife that you like to think that you have?? Welcome to the house of arm chair biologists!!

The only PETA i belong to is People Eating Tasty Animals. If I was an actual Peta member I don't think I would be taking wildlife management classes right now in college, nor would i be able to live with myself.

Step down from your throne sometime M.Magis. It's really not that bad of a view down here.


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## M.Magis

I never said you were stupid. Estimated flock, 260k birds. 2007 spring harvest, 17k birds. My math tells me that's approximately 13&#37; of the male flock. If I'm wrong, please tell me so. If I'm right, your quoted "expert" is wrong. And wrong by a bunch I might add. 
My comments have nothing to do with ego. I don't care if they extend the hours or not. It's not about me being right, because I have no real opinion. But, use some common sense. If the real biologists thought that extending the hours would hurt the population would they ask for opinions? No.


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## Guest

Again, your numbers are wrong. The population is not 260k like you stated. Rather it is 185k, therefor making the 30&#37; male turkey kill add up.


Here is another article from the ODNR to prove this.

_
"Based on brood observations, hunters can expect statewide harvest numbers that are similar or slightly higher than last year," said ODNR wildlife biologist Mike Reynolds. Hunters harvested 17,005 wild turkeys during last year's spring season. 
Reynolds added that Ohio's current wild turkey population is around 185,000. He anticipates as many as 85,000 people, not counting private landowners hunting on their own property, will enjoy Ohio's increasingly popular spring wild turkey season."_


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## M.Magis

You didn't do the math, did you? I'm now finding estimated numbers from the low of 185k, up to 260k birds. I don't know what is right, but let's assume the 185k is. That equals 20&#37;, not 30%. And *far* from the 50% Mr. Risley quoted. It's a bit unnerving that someone with such poor math skills could work for the DOW.


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## jiggin'fool

well you guys do know that turkeys are kinda like deer when it comes to male to female ratio! I don't know what the ratios are exactly but I do know that if you have 1 buck to 4 does your doing decent..... 1 to 3 is great! same goes for turkey so you can't just say that half the population of birds are male! cause I will see 10-12 hens for every gobbler! you would have to take that into consideration as well!


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## Nightprowler

I thought it was just me.


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