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Turkey harvest numbers by county

Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
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Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
If the numbers are up then I wonder why one of the options on the turkey survey was for Ohio to be a one bird state.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
That is the county I grew up in…and this year was the first year I ever hunted them. I wonder why I didn't have any luck hunting Fayette County? Fuggin retard! Should have done some more research I guess…lol.


It's all about scouting man. Alex and I hunt a county where there's traditionally 13-19 birds killed each year and we're usually responsible for 3 or so.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
I decided about a week before the season I was going to try. And I went solo on every hunt. I felt good about the amount of birds I seen and was able to call in. I just never got a gobbler to come in and I didn't want to shoot a Jake. I also hunted my house and some public land in Highland County. It was very much a year of learning.
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
Not surprised to see Crawford drop. I'm hopeful with the drop the overall bird count goes up. I think the numbers dropped because people have gone to other counties where bird numbers are higher and easier to hunt. Birds here are just so spread out and the flocks are small. I will say there are alot more turkey here now then there was 20 years ago lol.
 

aaronc

Junior Member
17
13
dayton
If the numbers are up then I wonder why one of the options on the turkey survey was for Ohio to be a one bird state.

The numbers are up from last year.....We are way down over what the kill was from the late 90s early 2000's. Birds are trending down in the big picture
 

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
The numbers are up from last year.....We are way down over what the kill was from the late 90s early 2000's. Birds are trending down in the big picture

That might be true in some areas of the state. But there were almost no turkeys to be seen in SW Ohio in the 1990's. Now I see flocks of 60-80 turkeys during the winter leading up till hunting season starts.
 

aaronc

Junior Member
17
13
dayton
That might be true in some areas of the state. But there were almost no turkeys to be seen in SW Ohio in the 1990's. Now I see flocks of 60-80 turkeys during the winter leading up till hunting season starts.

Yes they have no doubt expanded into some areas that they were not in, but the traditional turkey population strongholds are HURTING. 2001 harvest 26,000+. this year 17,000. That is significant. And that's also, with as you stated, having turkeys in areas now we didn't even have them in 2001!!! Your argument furthers my argument in essence.
 

Schu72

Well-Known Member
3,864
113
Streetsboro
The numbers are up from last year.....We are way down over what the kill was from the late 90s early 2000's. Birds are trending down in the big picture

The highest harvest in the 90's was only 14.4K. 2001 was the highest harvest at 26.1K and it dropped 3 years in a row following that record harvest to just over 16K. In 2010 it climbed back to 23k. Lots of ups and downs since 2000.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
The highest harvest in the 90's was only 14.4K. 2001 was the highest harvest at 26.1K and it dropped 3 years in a row following that record harvest to just over 16K. In 2010 it climbed back to 23k. Lots of ups and downs since 2000.

I understand what he's saying however. If you've ever spent any time chasing birds in southern Ohio and spoken to the older people you would better understand. About 8 years ago a buddy and I went to wildcat hollow to turkey hunt. We picked out a pretty remote backwoods area and figured we would put up a tent wherever. We left to hunt that morning and covered miles to hear a bird. By the time we got back to our remote roadside camp at noon there must have been 20 more tents along these pull off camping spots. By Wednesday there must have been 50 hunters in this area. We talked to an old guy that had been coming there since the mid 80s . He told of times where he was still sleeping in his tent and could hear 7-8 birds around camp. Once he even called on in to camp and shot it from his tent. Those days are long gone there. While we have expanded spring turkey season to every county, but your traditional old guard turkey counties are a fraction of what they once were. And we can't look at harvest numbers to tell an accurate story. Back then not a lot of people turkey hunted and the woods were full of birds. Don't get me wrong, there is still some great hunting to be had in SO. But it's nothing compared to the hay day of years gone by.
 

Schu72

Well-Known Member
3,864
113
Streetsboro
I hear what you're saying Joe. Most of my hunting has been within 10 miles of SR 70 and no further south. We didn't have turkeys, well, any significant population of turkeys until the 90's in our county. I would say it's in it's hay day now. East Central Ohio in general is still putting up pretty solid numbers. I am far from an accomplished turkey hunter and have not turkey hunted the same property for more than 4-5 years ever, but almost always seem to find multiple vocal gobblers even on public land. Heck, this year in youth season we had 7 gobblers within 75 yards of us at one time. By far the funnest turkey hunting experience I have ever had. I don't think we have any less coyotes than a few counties south of us. I'm not sure why East Central is holding steady while counties just south of us are trending down. Hunting pressure? Amount of private vs. public land? Not sure, I just know I'm thankful to have a spot to introduce my boys into turkey hunting.
 

aaronc

Junior Member
17
13
dayton
Don't get me wrong, there are still PLENTY of opportunities for good turkey hunting, its just that there are a fraction of the birds there once were in many areas. I have been hunting the same farms for 20 years. It used to be "which bird are we going after"......now its "I hope there is ONE gobbling today" we routinely have to go to numerous farms to get on a bird now. All that said I tagged out on my third hunt this year, but after that I had a lot of trouble getting buddies on birds.