2017 Pee Dee NWR Permit Hunt Harvest Results

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Can anyone add any info for the harvest results for the P.D.N.W.R. permit opportunity hunts? Youth hunt=?; 1st Adult hunt=1 Gobbler; 2nd Adult hunt=2 Gobblers. I hunted the 2nd hunt Thurs, Fri, & Sat and called in only 2 hens & neither saw or heard a Tom.
 

Lucky Clucker

Old Mossy Horns
1 killed on youth,3 killed on first adult, and 1 on second. I hunted it Thursday second hunt seen 2 hens. The turkey down there are about gone not sure why.

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n.d.woods

Eight Pointer
That place is a about the most mis-managed piece of property I have ever seen. The state should do themselves a favor and turn it over to someone who actually knows something about managing wildlife. It could be an amazing place to hunt, but it has been ruined!
 

Helium

Old Mossy Horns
That place is a about the most mis-managed piece of property I have ever seen. The state should do themselves a favor and turn it over to someone who actually knows something about managing wildlife. It could be an amazing place to hunt, but it has been ruined!

Agreed..pure shame
 

n.d.woods

Eight Pointer
For some reason I knew that but truth be told, that explains it even more. If managed properly, people would pay a lot more than $12 to hunt it and have a great chance at a great animal!
 

shadycove

Twelve Pointer
Pee Dee NWR puts approximately the same number of turkey hunters on their draw hunts as Carolina Sandhills NWR does, on about 25% of the acreage.
Be careful what you ask for, you might get it.
Maybe you will get drawn once every 15 years.
Just sayin'.
 
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BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Just curious, how do you think the Fish and Wildlife Svc is mismanaging Pee Dee NWR... wrong crops being planted, too much public access on roads, limited hunting time for Turkey? I have also experienced fairly little Turkey sign for the 3 years I have hunted the draw hunt. Seems like there should be a larger Turkey population. I saw a good number of deer though.
 

PROTECTOR

Four Pointer
Also curious as to what you feel is being mismanaged? What do you recommend as a solution?


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Lucky Clucker

Old Mossy Horns
Its the whole area around the refuge.I have hunted it for several years, I took my cousin down there on some of the first youth hunts and he killed 4 on it in 4 hunts.I have killed and called in gobblers on most hunts I was on.the last few years the turkeys have dwindled there. Too many hunters are drawn for the hunts,adjoining hunt clubs hunting on boundaries, predators, hogs, coyotes take a toll on nesting hens, eggs,poults.farming cutting hay, controlled burns into spring,spraying fields, and bad hatches. It used to be full of turkeys, not a better place t hunt in NC, I have heard over 20. Gobble from one place. I sure wish something,good would happen to get them back like e they were.The whole southern piedmont has had a big drop in population.

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n.d.woods

Eight Pointer
Not sure the exact cause but Turkey population is way down and Hunter population hasn't dropped any. Good management would recognize that, cut back on hunting. Then they would figure out why bird population has declined and try to change causes. As far as the deer hunting goes, once again what it was at one time vs what it is now, no comparison. I would say lock the gates back and cut back on hunter #s. The deer are there but they are pressured, they go from nobody being around but farmers 10 months out of year to people everywhere. That shuts deer movement down and sends big ones into sanctuary's or off to where they are not pressured. That place could once again be a giant deer place. I would rather only draw a tag once every 5-10 years and go be able to hunt a big deer and see a lot of deer vs drawing every year and hunt feeling like you are in middle of circus. However that is me and I understand and respect that some people may feel different.
 

genesis27:3

Old Mossy Horns
I'm not sure if the turkey numbers are down, or if they're just harder to hunt due to pressure, like n.d.woods mentioned.
I will say that the deer hunting isn't the same as when I first started hunting it around the late '80's and early '90's. Lower hunter numbers would be my guess on a possible solution.
 
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Helium

Old Mossy Horns
I have witnessed first hand a huge change in turkey sign and # of gobbles heard during the PD turkey hunts just in the last 7 years. Surprisingly enough, they have increased the # of hunts/hunters and length of hunts.

Just last year one of the rangers at PD was complaining saying he didn't know why they could never have a good turkey hunt pulled off at Pee Dee. I killed a jake that year...only bird I heard in 3 days. Think were was a total of 5 or 6 killed that week out of 50 hunters
 

genesis27:3

Old Mossy Horns
Probably not less birds, but more wary and less vocal birds due to pressure. The "dumb gene" has been killed out of them.
Solution-- we need to just become better turkey hunters.
 
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