# General season turkey crowds?



## Skally (Apr 20, 2012)

This will be my first year turkey hunting during the general season. So I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about turkey hunting in Utah. In my research I came across this wonderful forum and promptly read every post about wild turkeys within the last two years. There are quite a lot of posts that say the general season turkey hunt is as crowded or more crowed than the deer hunt. This got me a little discouraged about my hunt so I am wondering if this is the case? or if most people are just going to the easily accessible “hot spots”? I have a lot of free time this coming month and would like to spend the majority in the turkey woods. I live in Utah county and would like to know what “hot spots” to avoid during the first week or two of the hunt. thanks


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## Mojo1 (Sep 8, 2007)

lol, you read the reports, everywhere is crowded!


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

All I can tell ya, is what most other members will tell ya......SCOUT, SCOUT, SCOUT!!!!


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

Skally, I was wrong to make the comment I did. It is a crowded hunt! I would hope, that those out hunting this coming general season, will have the respect to the hunter that "beat them to the honey hole", to walk away, and find another spot. Let's show some Sportsmans like conduct there guys/gals.


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

taxidermist said:


> Skally, I was wrong to make the comment I did. It is a crowded hunt! I would hope, that those out hunting this coming general season, will have the respect to the hunter that "beat them to the honey hole", to walk away, and find another spot. Let's show some Sportsmans like conduct there guys/gals.


+1 1/8


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## JERRY (Sep 30, 2007)

TEX-O-BOB said:


> taxidermist said:
> 
> 
> > Skally, I was wrong to make the comment I did. It is a crowded hunt! I would hope, that those out hunting this coming general season, will have the respect to the hunter that "beat them to the honey hole", to walk away, and find another spot. Let's show some Sportsmans like conduct there guys/gals.
> ...


+1000 1/8


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## utduckguy (Dec 30, 2009)

The DWR yet agian ruined another hunting oppuritunity when they made it a OTC tag,go back to a draw system to limit the number of hunters so everyone can have an enjoyable experience and better success


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## MWScott72 (May 23, 2011)

utduckguy said:


> The DWR yet agian ruined another hunting oppuritunity when they made it a OTC tag,go back to a draw system to limit the number of hunters so everyone can have an enjoyable experience and better success


-1000 on your comment. There doesn't need to be a turkey behind every tree. If you don't want the competition from the OTC fols, keep putting in for the LE hunts. I've hunted two LE hunts and two OTC hunts here in UT and I'm 4 for 4. The OTC hunts are harder, but frankly, the LE hunts are almost too easy! Notice I said "almost". I'll take a slam dunk hunt for sure, BUT there is no need to go back to strict LE on turkeys.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

utduckguy said:


> The DWR yet agian ruined another hunting oppuritunity when they made it a OTC tag,go back to a draw system to limit the number of hunters so everyone can have an enjoyable experience and better success


Utduckguy, you could not be more wrong on anything! Why do your type always judge the hunt by what you see on opening morning. Sure, the first weekend might be crowded but to make every hunt a LE does NOTHING except limit hunting opportunity for more hunters. I assume that you are a duck hunter, what if we made duck hunting a LE proposition...code for limited opportunity...based on what you saw at Farmington Bay dike on opening morning. What we need to do is STOP ALL LIMITED ENTRY HUNTS and allow hunters more time in which to plan and actually go hunting. Make the deer hunt, for example, last the total combined time that is now used for LE and non-LE hunts. Spred the hunters over a longer time frame instead of a shorter time frame and the the crowding will go away.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

utduckguy said:


> The DWR yet agian ruined another hunting oppuritunity when they made it a OTC tag,go back to a draw system to limit the number of hunters so everyone can have an enjoyable experience and better success


I agree..

Would love to see it go back to LE..


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

> utduckguy wrote:The DWR yet agian ruined another hunting oppuritunity when they made it a OTC tag,go back to a draw system to limit the number of hunters so everyone can have an enjoyable experience and better success


 :O//: Horrible idea. The DWR gave opportunity to the masses when they made the turkey tag OTC. Every state that has turkeys in any kind of reasonable numbers sells those tags over the counter. It is a fine system that provides hunting opportunities to everyone, not just those with connections or money.

I have hunted turkeys twice with general tags and once with an LE tag. I did not get a turkey on my LE hunt, but have tagged out twice with general tags. Strap your boots on and hunt like a man. Winners go out and take what they can get from life. Losers stand in line for a lottery ticket.


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## utduckguy (Dec 30, 2009)

BP,

The opening weekend or day is not the only day that is croweded,your argument to stop all limited entry hunts in my opinion is wrong.When you put in for turkey or big game you have plenty of time to plan your hunting trips.As for waterfowl I pay to be a member of a club to limit the hunters around me for better hunt results.The money it takes and the time you invest scouting and preparing to be ruined by guys on atvs or trucks road hunting and jump shooting at turkeys makes it a complete joke.When it was limited entry for the general season we had great hunts,very few people to compete with and better results.Now we see not only on the opening day what i just stated above,its lasts all month.When we reach a point of being able to take 2-3 turkeys each spring(like CO,GA for examples) then make it OTC tag which would mean greater turkey populations and there range (areas) have expanded which could support more hunters in the field. I remember having to wait 2yrs before you could even be eligiable to draw for the general,did it suck sure but when we did draw it made it that more exciting to plan a trip for the spring with great results.I feel the DWR got this one wrong by going with OTC it was fine the way it was,but I guess $35 per tag they saw lots of green coming there way.

BirdDog, "not those with connections or money" what??? So your saying paying for a $35 tag for turkeys in a limited entry for early season or general season you have to be mega rich or have certian connections to draw out? I have neither and never had a problem drawing out for the general season when I didnt get limited entry.


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

utduckguy said:


> The DWR yet agian ruined another hunting oppuritunity when they made it a OTC tag,go back to a draw system to limit the number of hunters so everyone can have an enjoyable experience and better success


would you like them to tie the birds to the tree for you also? :roll: seriously dude, get real. its a hunting opportunity that everyone can participate in and have fun with. and if you know what youre doing, your odds of filling a tag are real good! every time i get in the hills, i consider it to be an enjoyable time! even the times i get stuck, freeze my butt off, dont even see the critters im after or a combination of them all! ive had 3 LE tag, 2 GS tags. filled all 5 permits within the first 2 days of the seasons. IMHO, its harder to fill a GS deer permit than it is a turkey tag in this state. this state has ALOT of birds. in some areas, they might not be behind every tree, but just about every other tree you atleast see tracks if not the actual bird! im betting the only thing you liked about the LE hunts was the turkeys werent near as smart as they are now...?  at the very least its entertaining to watch the masses of utards running around the hills, showing off their turkey hunting "skills". i'll have a GS tag every year i dont draw a LE tag. i love hunting utah birds.


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## birdman (Nov 21, 2007)

Put me squarely in the same corner with BP. Get rid of the LE tags and go total OTC. Were talking about turkeys here, not big game. High mortality rates don't make for growing trophy animals. Lets get away from the big game, trophy animal, LE entry mentality and enjoy the experience of getting to hunt every spring. 
Yes, if you hunt areas near the cities your going to see more hunters. When I chose to hunt close to home I plan for hunter interference and tend to go on bad weather days when others stay home. Frankly, I usually do not see anyone else when I'm out as I usually get way off the beaten path. Staying away from roads definitely eliminates the road hunters for me. You could choose to use an outfitter or pay a trespass fee if you want your limited opportunity experience but do not saddle me with that. Honestly, we are spoiled here. Tons of public access and minimal hunter numbers. I guess the grass is always greener as they say.


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## JuddCT (Sep 7, 2007)

utduckguy said:


> The DWR yet agian ruined another hunting oppuritunity when they made it a OTC tag,go back to a draw system to limit the number of hunters so everyone can have an enjoyable experience and better success


You are funny!

The turkey hunt should be OTC (we maybe don't even need a LE season for turkeys most years).


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## JuddCT (Sep 7, 2007)

utduckguy said:


> As for I pay to be a member of a club to limit the hunters around me for better hunt.


Go pay for private turkey ground then. It is out there. Don't take our opportunity away and say it is "better" for everyone.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

JuddCT said:


> utduckguy said:
> 
> 
> > As for I pay to be a member of a club to limit the hunters around me for better hunt.
> ...


I agree with Judd. I hunt private turkey ground every year with my OTC tag and have a blast! It just sucks when one of the other hunters on the land draws a limited entry tag then harasses the birds two weeks before I get my turn...


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## newt_man1 (Apr 25, 2012)

This is my first year turkey hunting here as well. I'm from the midwest, Missouri to be exact, and I'm in the same boat. The best bet I can tell you from my experiences is; do some scoutin, find'em, put them to bed (roost) and come in the next day at 0 dark 30 and wait. A good hunter will pass on a spot already taken (I did) and move to the next. Call 'em in and take'm down.


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## Stickbow (Aug 27, 2010)

Just from my personal experience this morning..... there are not turkeys behind every tree.... but.... there is a hunter sitting in front of every one lol


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## mack1950 (Sep 11, 2007)

i have hunted the otc tags myself and i would like to see it go back to the draw simply becouse i do think there are enough birds to warrant a otc tags system. the three draws we had were long enough to have a good hunt and even the last hunt the birds were not as stressed as the seem to be know sure after a week are so the hunters will drop off but the hunting preasure on the birds from day one has already done the damage. but again thats just my opion and im sure there are folks who love the system the way it is today. by the way just got back from wyoming on a turkey hunt that was a real eye opener compared to what we have in utah two birds in a day and a half with my compound


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Mack50, you're probably right. I think maybe 6-7 permits per county might do the trick. After all, we wouldn't want to stress the birds to the point that they would go into hiding and make it impossible to shoot two or three a day. The very idea of more hunting opportunity for the masses is ridiculous and should never be an option. Turkeys should be easy to kill and anything that makes it harder for us to harvest them needs to be stopped! I suggest that we offer no more than say a 100 turkey tags for the state of Utah and we should give the outdoors expo people at least half of them to insure that they get distributed fairly. I agree with you mack50, Utah has made some huge mistakes in the handling of the turkey hunt here.


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## utduckguy (Dec 30, 2009)

I guess BP your the only one who is right on this forum,how dare anyone else have an opinion or disagree with you.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

So utduckguy, does this mean that you have finally come over to my way of thinkin


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