I hunt in Southwest Va and fear another strange year like last year. I heard some gobblers Saturday morning gobbling at some crows, and have not heard them since. Last year was the quietest year I have ever had in terms of hearing gobblers. I know they are there, see them in the fields but they do not gobble. Is this the result of old gobblers and no young gobbler competition? Is there any hope for turkey season going back to the way it was two years ago. I heard at least two every morning. It is getting hard to get the younger crowd interested when the action is low. Could it be the area I am hunting or is anyone else experiencing the same?

I agree with you. Last year was one of the worst years in recent history according to the game department records and survey. In my part of the woods there are a lot of older birds and very few young birds. And, there are all kinds of hens for them to play with. That makes for some tough hunting. Most of the birds I heard last year hit the ground and fell silent. But, this year I am going to try some new tactics, and hope they work.

Thats prety much the way my year last year went. I hope to hear more this year, so far its been quiet around here, not much gobling

Folks.. 3-4 (depending of the area)yrs of below avg hatches across much for the state ... means few 2yr olds..... that added to the fact of the fall hen harvest reduction the past several yrs plus a good hatch last spring means lots of hens and gennys... and a fair amount of jakes.... this basically means the older birds dont have to gobble much because they will most likely have plenty of(hen) company...this means low gobbling...and henned up birds a tough combination.......I predict a season in general as tough as last year maybe worse...............the bright side...is good hatch last spring means the jakes that survive this spring will be next yrs 2yr old birds...Also if you get a longbeard under the gun he will most likely have some good hooks......just my $.02..Good luck everyone!!

Last year, in the area of Tenn that borders SW Va , I had the worst hunting I have ever had in that area. There were some places I hunt which have had birds every year for 35 years...they were gone. AndI am not sure they are back either, which is really difficult to imagine...but I am not seeing sign, and hoave not seen it during the grouse season...friends I know in Lee Co va have built meccas fro turkeys on private ground and their birds are way down to gone...

I'v been out two mornings up here in Northern VA listening and have yet to hear a gobble.. and This morning was a beautiful morning .. I would have bet you I would have heard one this morning before I went..

At least I heard some hens and saw some strutters in WV this past weekend..

I hope they start soon.. Not looking very good for the youth hunt though if they don't get it cranking ..

I was out this morning in PA...beautiful morning and I should have heard 15-20 birds gobbling throughout the areas that I checked but I only heard two. As with VA my area of PA has had a number of bad hatches in a row, and although there are a bunch of jakes this year longbeard numbers are low. The food is there (excellent mast crop last year) and we had a mild winter (per PA standards) so there is no excuse this year except low numbers.

The good news is I believe one of the birds I heard this morning is the same old bird I chased last season. I look forward to picking up where we left off last year! It was like seeing (or hearing in this case) and old friend I hadn't seen in a while...warms the heart and gets the blood pumpin.

-Eric

many factors as you know affect gobbling and breeding:
spring green up period
physical condition of hens/gobblers in the spring time
hatch success from 2-3 previous years
hunting pressure - pre-season calling pressure
prevalence of predators
prevalence of free ranging dogs (really not good!!)
population density of the turkeys in the areas you're hunting

any one, or all, or combinations of the factors above can and will influence the amount of gobbling...but believe me when i say, it will have little effect on breeding...remember if you were only permitted the company of the fairer sex 1 time of the year...you'd be pretty serious about it, no matter what the conditions...you just might alter the way you played the game a little is all.

so what are we to do about any of this...simply GO HUNT! adapt to the situation at hand and be prepared to have different tactics to try. a while back on this board someone posted a question about the most important attribute to being a successful spring gobbler hunter (success defined as calling gobblers in consistently to within gun range...not necessarily killing one)...the best answer to that question was ADAPTABILITY.

Every season is different; nothing ever remains constant and every gobbler and gobbler hunt are unique...which is why we love this sport so dang much.

We have an early opener and a late spring, they'll come around. Probably turn on explosively!