Kayankee
Button Buck
And New to N.C. from NY. I’m trying to learn what I can and give a shot at Turkey hunting next spring. Thank you all for having me.
New here
- Thread starter Kayankee
- Start date
Welcome to the forum. A lot of knowledable folks around here. NC has a healthy population of birds for you to chase. Best of luck!
nchawkeye
Old Mossy Horns
Welcome!!! Check out the Uwharries, they are loaded with turkeys if you find the right area..
oldest school
Old Mossy Horns
you may want to go back to NY for your spring hunting. everyone i know that has hunted NY raved on it's birds.
NC not so much. of all the states i have hunted it's by far the worst for killing one. our harvest records prove that point.
But welcome to the board.
NC not so much. of all the states i have hunted it's by far the worst for killing one. our harvest records prove that point.
But welcome to the board.
There are plenty of areas to find birds here in NC. My experience has been in the piedmont and mountain/foothill region and I’ve never had a problem getting on birds. Public lands can get crowded but there are birds to be had with a little worn boot leather. As nchawkeye stated Uwharrie is a good area to check out. There are also permit hunts available that you can apply for so look into that. Good luck!
Kayankee
Button Buck
Thank you I was hoping I didn’t have to go back to NY to hunt. I look forward to the legwork and learning curve, I’m much more interested in the challenge. I am finding the prospect of finding areas a bit daunting. Everything in NY is over regulated, here I understand the challenge of finding private land. But I’m not understanding the difference in game lands and public land. If I’m sure an area, say in Union county, is public( and I’m properly licensed, can I just set up and hunt? So what is different about the areas outlined in N.C. Wildlife maps as gameland( I understand some are permit\lottery. Thanks for the patience.
turkeyfoot
Old Mossy Horns
The way many N.Y. county bird numbers have plummeted you may be surprised by NC if you find right spots. As far as if its public just go to WRC site they have interactive map pretty easy to see boundaries when you decide on public spot go to reg book it will lust it and tell you if its permit only if so then you must draw a permit if not then its legal it will also tell you if archery or not there is 1 or 2 that is archery only and some have archery only sections
exactly,,,,,birds are here,,,good hunts to be had,,,,enjoy the learning curve of new territory
turkeyfoot
Old Mossy Horns
I'll add if you've hunted public land much don't let tales of pressure scare you public is public just use courtesy and common sense and you'll rarely have problem. If your not experienced with hunting public may want ask few questions
And...I’ll add that in working to gain access to private grounds.... offering to help bail hay, mend fences, and getting up cows goes a long way in building relationships with farmers. This is a year round commitment and don’t go into it expecting an immediate return... but cultivating those relationships with farmers can payoff on the eventual strutter you spot on the pasture hill.
Dont do it man,,,,I tell ya if u get on a bird you will be hooked!! ,,talkin bout a rush!!good luck and I found it to be extremely helpful to go with someone experienced theres alot to learn for sure,not as easy as they do on tv or you tube!!good luck !!
Welcome from SW Stokes County. We had a farm in Cayuga County (outside Auburn, NY) until last summer when we retired to our place here. Where in NY are you from?
I don't know why anyone is knocking NY turkey hunting or turkey populations. A good part of the state has a four bird bag limit. The biggest tom I toted out of the woods was 23 lbs but there are bigger toms there for sure.
Lance
I don't know why anyone is knocking NY turkey hunting or turkey populations. A good part of the state has a four bird bag limit. The biggest tom I toted out of the woods was 23 lbs but there are bigger toms there for sure.
Lance
Depending on where in the area you live, keep SC in mind. For those on the south side of Charlotte, SC offers some good opportunities: an earlier start and more tags.
So are you new to turkey hunting or just new to NC? If you have turkey hunted before, then it's just a matter of finding properties with good numbers of birds. My experience in has been that turkey numbers in NC vary widely from one property to the next, and even from one season of the year to the next. They are not evenly distributed at all, and some properties get used in only certain seasons.
So are you new to turkey hunting or just new to NC? If you have turkey hunted before, then it's just a matter of finding properties with good numbers of birds. My experience in has been that turkey numbers in NC vary widely from one property to the next, and even from one season of the year to the next. They are not evenly distributed at all, and some properties get used in only certain seasons.
turkeyfoot
Old Mossy Horns
I don't think anyone is actually knocking it but it is true the numbers in NY have been on the decline for some time reason they cut the length of fall season in half as well as cutting the harvest to 1 bird to try curb the decline. Of course still birds to be had just not as many They are not only state several in same situation
oldest school
Old Mossy Horns
yep with continuing poor hatches, declining kill rates, wonder if NC follows and reduces season and limit?
eliminate youth week, take out that last week, bag limit of 1. that sounds about right.
it's coming might as well adjust now.
turkeyfoot
Old Mossy Horns
Dont see any of that the population is stable possibly still growing in someceadtern spots. Even so we have no fall season and that is usually states step when their numbers decline only couple have reduced spring limit. Its not just eastern turkey Ks has tinkered their fall as well
Ol Copper
Twelve Pointer
The problem with NC is that our turkeys are so unevenly distributed that biologist don't know what to do with their own info. You can't tell the difference a place that has never had birds from a place where the birds haven't expanded into yet (all things being equal). It's either feast or famine it seems, especially in western NC where we hunt. Either you are in them big time, or its a ghost town. I know of many places where you can barely find one hen, while 3 miles down the road, your friend is covered in birds all season, and both properties are on the same level as far as habitat structure. I don't think that the ncwrc has one clue about what to do about the turkeys because of the diversity of this state and its conflicting data. From Murphy to Manteo you will get 1 million different stories. One guy sings the blues while the next guy is hollering glory, glory !!
We will never get a handle on what is going on until the state stops dumping us all into the same barrel. I've never seen birds in pockets the way they are here in our state. It blew my mind many years ago when I first went oos to other places where birds were firmly entrenched statewide. Just my humble $.02,,,,,,,,,
oldest school
Old Mossy Horns
well as it has been said, no issues with teh turkey population, our flock size estimated at 265,000 way more than VA and SC.
va at 190,000 Sc at 130,000.
https://www.outdoorlife.com/turkey-hunting-forecast-2018#page-12
we got the birds so no worries. my bad.
va at 190,000 Sc at 130,000.
https://www.outdoorlife.com/turkey-hunting-forecast-2018#page-12
we got the birds so no worries. my bad.
Ol Copper
Twelve Pointer
Thats a bunch o birds my friend. They all down there at that jordan lake place I keep hearing about...gonna have to borrow me a pirogue and get after 'em ??
turkeyfoot
Old Mossy Horns
We need to head east 200,000 them gotta be east of us.
oldest school
Old Mossy Horns
well you gotta get drawn first. Good Luck with that.
lasttombstone
Kinder, Gentler LTS
You will never hear me complain about anything that the WRC says or does. The people I have met over the years from the main office to the field people are the most informed and caring people I know in regards to wildlife in NC. Each are has it's own problems or benefits and to lump the whole state into one pot is a major mistake. When I left Franklin Co. 25 years ago I had never even seen a turkey track, much less a bird, dead or alive. Now it has one of the highest harvest rates in the state. At that same time, Granville Co. was a Mecca for turkeys and now the numbers are not there. If everyone acted and hunted like a biologist I think those numbers would change but we leave it all to the WRC to fix the problems when the answer is many times within our own control. Any little bit of habitat improvement on the individual's part is a big plus. Even if you don't have the property to work on yourself work can be done on the areas you hunt, if it is private. Discretion in what is taken off a given property will only help one's situation. Increase in the number of hunters, pressure on any given piece of property, disease, the reasons for declines can go on and on. Take away the work of the NWRC and see where the population of all wildlife goes.
Ol Copper
Twelve Pointer
Great post and I agree 100%.
Dont get me wrong, I do not fault the ncwrc for anything. I just believe that our state is so diverse from one end to the other that it presents a unique set of variables that are hard to understand and manage if you look at it as a whole. You are correct, we could have nothing, but we dont, we are blessed in many ways and a lot of what we do moving foward lies in our own hands.
Homebrewale
Old Mossy Horns
oldest school
Old Mossy Horns
there you go kayankee, permit hunt on Jordan. easy peasy turkeys. you get drawn I will help you. been on that lake bottom before it was a lake.
of course being a northern invader like you , homebrewale should really be the one to get you going.
of course being a northern invader like you , homebrewale should really be the one to get you going.
Homebrewale
Old Mossy Horns
there you go kayankee, permit hunt on Jordan. easy peasy turkeys. you get drawn I will help you. been on that lake bottom before it was a lake.
of course being a northern invader like you , homebrewale should really be the one to get you going.
Although I appreciate oldest school recommendation for me to get you going since we share the northern invader background, I have never hunted turkey. Oldest school would be a better choice as long as you can ignore his "yankee go home" mutterings.
oldest school
Old Mossy Horns
that's a tad harsh. just a tad. almost fair.
homebrewale just remember like all biased tribes, what you see and hear from NC natives is just the tip of the iceberg.
We cover up our true feelings fairly well amongst non natives.
long running discussion kayankee on the positive impact immigrants to NC have made. Sorry to hijack your thread.
homebrewale and I don't agree on the impact.
But homebrewale all you gotta do is tell the man which creek those birds are in. he can take it from there.
Homebrewale
Old Mossy Horns
Now I'm not a turkey hunter but from I've been told, turkeys in the winter (when the photo was taken) are not in the same location in the spring when they're getting ready to mate. As far as I can tell the small stream nearby does not have a name. All I can say is that it's east of the Crosswinds Campground.
Last edited:
Ol Copper
Twelve Pointer
All ya gotta do is draw a permit...that's the easy part, right ?
hawglips
Old Mossy Horns
Welcome!