Change in PA fall turkey regs

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bamaranger

New member
I read where for the coming 1921-22 hunting season, rifles will NOT be legal for fall turkey hunting in the Keystone State.

It seems that turkey numbers are down in PA, as they are in other states apparently as well. Officials in PA claim that a high percentage of fall turkey kills are obtained with a rifle. By legislating the rifle as not a legal turkey weapon, harvest numbers should decline, thus benefitting the flock. I have not read if the issue will be reconsidered in the future and if fall turkey rifles will be ever again be declared legal.

Rifles for turkey in the fall have been viewed as a safety issue for a goodly number of years. But using modest cartridges for fall turkey like the old Bee and Hornet, and even the .22mag, has a long tradition there.

I wish somebody would sell me a good Hornet.......cheap!
 
Rifles made in Hornet seem to vary widely over the years. The last affordable Hornet rifle went away with the demise of H&R. Maybe if enough people ask, Henry will add the Hornet to their single shot line... I think they already make a .223, so it wouldn't be hard for them to chamber them in Hornet instead.

Tony
 
if they are so worried about fall rifle season and the decline of turkeys, make only males legal in the fall as any turkey that comes in hen-jake-old tom will be shot and stop selling extra tags in the spring, its all about the money. extra doe tags-D-map tags, farmer red tags for deer.
 
motives

Eastbank, I dunno what other unspoken motives the PGC might have, I'm simply stating the position as related by the agency in their monthly journal, the "PA Game News", of which I'm certain your familiar. Certainly money drives any gov't agency. Not sure what deer tags would have to do with decisions regards turkey hunting?

You get a gobbler this spring? You got a good Hornet for sale....cheap?:D
 
You don't want to know how much I'm into my Hornet... I'd try turkey hunting if I could use a rifle. Going after turkeys with a shotgun seems like too much effort for too little chance of success...

Tony
 
it just goes to show that money is king and the extra tags are one way to go, weather and preditures have a big effect on turkeys, you can,t controll the weather, but you can controll the preditures if the state wanted to. hawks-owes-fox-coyote take a big toll on young turkeys. yes a nice 19lbs with 8" beard, left several walk away and i,m keeping my two .22 hornets.
 
When I first started hunting turkey here in GA there weren't many. Just barely in huntable numbers. If rifles and a fall season were ever a thing here it was before my time.

I understand the rational of using shotguns and only turkey hunting in the Spring here. In GA the vast majority of hunters choose a shotgun, but archery tackle is legal as are muzzle loading rifles.

With the woods full of deer hunters in the fall it would be too easy to take a turkey simply by chance. I actually SEE more turkey in the fall than spring.

The problem is two fold. That would make a huge dent in turkey populations in a short time. The other is safety. Unlike deer hunters a turkey hunter dresses in full camo and walks around in the woods sounding like a turkey and often carrying turkey decoys.

We've reached the point here where a hunter getting shot is extremely rare. Most all hunting related deaths are either heart attacks or from falling out of a tree. Most of the ones who do get shot do so during turkey season and the survival rate is much better with a shotgun than a rifle.

Don't misinterpret what I say. I'm not opposed to the traditions in other places where they do use rifles and allow turkey hunting in the fall.
 
bamaranger said:
Eastbank, I dunno what other unspoken motives the PGC might have, I'm simply stating the position as related by the agency in their monthly journal, the "PA Game News", of which I'm certain your familiar. Certainly money drives any gov't agency. Not sure what deer tags would have to do with decisions regards turkey hunting?

You get a gobbler this spring? You got a good Hornet for sale....cheap?:D
Click to expand...
Actually I'm thinking about selling my BSA 12/15 Martini in .22 K-Hornet. It needs firing pin work and I'm not sure I'll ever get around to getting it fixed...

Tony
 
The rumors are true.
No more rifle for fall turkey.
I'm usually archery hunting anyways, which bow is still legal.
 
Maybe the PA turkeys moved over the state line to here in Ohio…I have seen quite few this year, including three trotting down the street a block away from me, in my suburban neighborhood.
 
The whole idea behind a fall turkey season is to reduce numbers going into the winter. I'm bettin' the exclusion of rifles is more to do with safety and quality of the hunt, than it is in reducing the kill. The traditional methods of fall hunting(calling/scattering the flock) do not work that well on mature Toms, but sniping them with a rifle is fairly easy, thus maybe the state is looking to reduce Hen numbers and not Toms. I shoot one or two turkeys every fall. Besides the good meal, shooting a coupla hens off my Turkey spots makes that many less real hens I have to compete with come spring. I've found that calling in the fall, teaches me more about turkey language and different calls, than calling in the spring. While calling in a flock of 30 birds is not as exciting as calling in a gobblin' Tom, it still makes for a fun and exciting hunt. here in Wisconsin they have legalized the use of dogs for fall turkey hunting to help control our exploding population......of hens. On pressured ground, Tom/Hen ratios are worse skewed than Buck/Doe ratios on public hunting land. .
 
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