Turkey - Live or Die

[Mookie]

After I buy the tag, I have less than a 5 minute drive to where I can hunt them. So in the end it is cheaper than buying at the store. One box of turkey load can last 4 years.

I totally get the point of the hunt, but I don't care at all about that, I want in and out.

[EastWaViking]

to me a turkey is just a giant grouse, if it has a beard I'll shoot it.

[robb92]

I would notch my tag with it

[tlbradford]

The reason I did this poll was to see the general attitude towards turkeys as a whole.  Machias and I had a discussion about this at the WDFW regional meeting.  He comes from a state where turkey hunting is second only to whitetails, and I was taught to turkey hunt by someone from the south with similar views.

Our discussion was that Washington is ideal habitat for turkeys.  I truly believe Washington could be the destination state in the U.S. for turkey hunting if the WDFW tightened there rules a bit and promoted turkey hunting a little more.  Three species in a single state is unheard of.  I do worry about Rio's and Merriams crossbreeding though.  With so many other animals in our state to hunt, the turkey is definitely an afterthought to most and certainly a nuisance to others.  I respect everyone's opinion, and I am obviously in the minority here.  It will be interesting to see what kind of industry turkey hunting grows into. 

I truly believe it is the #1 animal to hunt for teaching kids and introducing new hunters to the sport.  Good luck everyone for the rest of the season, and thanks for participating.

[Mookie]

Interesting view. In our area turkeys are a big pain it the butt. You want to tighten regulations? We want a buy one get four free tags. They get into barns, roost in cars, crap everywhere. I know plenty of people who have horrible problems with them. One couple I know basically has an open invite to kill them, she wakes up to about 300 in her yard. It is nearly impossible to get a depredation permit.
It seems that you have the tourist mentality. Everything is great to outsiders, but the people who live with them want them gone. Kinda like the people who love to go watch the ground squirrels, meanwhile farmers and landowners want them dead.
I know plenty of people who quite often have turkey dinners because they get tired of them eating their gardens.

I have no issues with turning it into a great money making sport and for teaching young people to hunt. But for many, tightening the regs would create more problems.

[SpokaneSlayer]

Where is this "open invite" you speak of? 

[tlbradford]

Interesting view. In our area turkeys are a big pain it the butt. You want to tighten regulations? We want a buy one get four free tags. They get into barns, roost in cars, crap everywhere. I know plenty of people who have horrible problems with them. One couple I know basically has an open invite to kill them, she wakes up to about 300 in her yard. It is nearly impossible to get a depredation permit.
It seems that you have the tourist mentality. Everything is great to outsiders, but the people who live with them want them gone. Kinda like the people who love to go watch the ground squirrels, meanwhile farmers and landowners want them dead.
I know plenty of people who quite often have turkey dinners because they get tired of them eating their gardens.

I have no issues with turning it into a great money making sport and for teaching young people to hunt. But for many, tightening the regs would create more problems.

Or issuing the depredation permits more easily, or handing out landowner permits, etc.  When I say tighten the regs, I mean don't allow a bunch of hens to be shot in the fall season.

Not a tourist, I live here and listen to landowner stories all the time.

[Mookie]

I got ya. When you said tighten up the regs, I was thinking that you meant make it more difficult to hunt them so the population would increase.

I agree. Landowner and dep permits should be given out a lot more freely. It seems the F&W Dep does not know what is going on with them.

But at the same time, they need to start issuing double or triple doe tags, or buy a buck get a doe free. Those things are getting bad. To many of them are dieing because of traffic and starvation and then we have to pull the tag. One landowner I know was saying the does on his property are going two or three heat cycles before reproducing.

I saw you were from Veredale, I grew up in Millwood.

[tlbradford]

I agree about the whitetail tags too.  At least for Spokane and Stevens Counties.