has anybody turkey hunted the swamp this year? have u seen that all the firebreaks closed roads trails etc have been drove to death with vehicles?? apparently the hog dog hunters are allowed to drive any place they like..they are bragging only time they drove on the main grade was to check in an out ...the deer hunters aren't allowed to do this an only the handicappers can drive certain roads...wheres all the game wardens anymore???
I would like to see the hog dog move to after the spring turkey. I spent the first week in the swamp and he is right, there is no road that wasn't drove down. I've seen a big change in the turkey behavior is the past two years after the dog hunts.
Don't expect next years turkey season to be any better, they burned all through the nesting season last year, and this years jake harvest has been low. Count on fewer 2nd year old birds next year.
The real problem with low deer numbers has been a virus know as blue tongue has shown up in GS east and west. I spent 8 days going as hard as I could push myself, and I never bumped or seen a deer.
I really don't understand how you think a few days of hog dogging effects turkey hunting. I've dogged in richloam a lot the last few years and always see good birds. My friends have great luck in there turkey hunting as well. And that place gets pounded 7 days a week during deer season. As far as driving down a road,I have a hard time understanding this law,especially for just a few day hunt. Seriously,maybe try a different tactic.
Like I said earlier in this thread...a dog hunt in Feb has nothing to do with the turkeys response in March. I was on a dog hunt with Skunkape last year in Feb and listening to dogs run and turkeys gobble in the same block of woods. Turkeys are hard to hunt in there, and they are notorious for not gobbling much. GS is a very hard hit/pressured WMA with dozens on top of dozens of people squawking on a box call day in and day out. A friend of mine hunts there religiously and kills two every year in there. He has told me they just are not vocal birds.
If you have an issue with what the dog hunters did, I suggest you take pics and send it up the chain of command via emails and letters. But to blame the dog hunters on not being able to kill a turkey is just crazy.
And for the record, I am not a dog hunter
I never bashed the hog/dog hunters. I'm simply expressing that I have noticed a change in the birds from the last 2 years after the hog/dog hunts......
You want bashing?
I was talking with one of the hunters that hunted the hog/dog. He showed me some pictures of the hogs he took, nice ones too. Good for him, he took them and made food out of them...... He also told me about the kills he was finding where the hunters would catch the hog, kill it and leave it. But hey, worm, buzzards and yotes have to eat too......
When you hear of people wasting game, it tends to give the whole group a bad name, even still hunters are guilty by association because of these type of actions.
As far as using posted closed rds to hunt, swfmud/fwc should change the rules if it's ok for the dog hunters use the fire rds ..... other wise it makes swfmud and the fwc look like they are not in control......As for the comparison with a dog hunt area like Richloam and the swamp. Richloam has established rds for vehicles and closed fire rds. If you tried to get the Dept. of Ag to open Richloam up to a hog/dog hunt right before the spring turkey, they'd have no problem telling you how stupid the idea is.....
hog dog in richloam was jan 18-20. not too far behind greenswamp. last year i didnt have birds moving much until mid april in the area i hunt turkeys in green swamp. i think the january weather in march effected the birds a little bit, and i also think they are in different areas dependng whether the year is dry or wet.
