doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Turkeys in Grouse habitat?

There is a 500 acre Carolina Bay that is partially on my land, and only 800 yards or so from my house. There is another 1000 acre one a little over a mile from here, The Savannah river is only about 1 1/2 mi. away, and there are creeks/branches that flow through here into the Savannah. Lots of places for panthers to frequent............ and plenty of deer for them to eat. There are brown ones and black ones here.

Any wild critter that kills deer is welcome on my place.

SRH

there have been multiple sightings of cougars and wolves in northern new england in recent years...all poopawed by fish and game regulators...would love to see a black panther in the woods, but not in my town...

up here, coyotes and bears take a heavy toll on deer, especially new born fawns, in the spring...

Up this way, when an eagle shows up on a road kill (usually a deer), it tends to deter the vultures and ravens. And is also a very common sight.

Surprised no one has mentioned that Ben Franklin wanted the Wild Turkey and not the Bald Eagle as our national bird...

"The story about Benjamin Franklin wanting the National Bird to be a turkey is just a myth. This false story began as a result of a letter Franklin wrote to his daughter criticizing the original eagle design for the Great Seal, saying that it looked more like a turkey. In the letter, Franklin wrote that the �Bald Eagle...is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly�[he] is too lazy to fish for himself.�

About the turkey, Franklin wrote that in comparison to the bald eagle, the turkey is �a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America...He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage.� So although Benjamin Franklin defended the honor of the turkey against the bald eagle, he did not propose its becoming one of America�s most important symbols."

Or maybe the above is a myth, too. However, I saw it on the internet so it has to be true. Gil

I think the turkey is a plenty respectable bird. Like many other introduced plants, birds and other animals, maybe they could range naturally, instead of based on the decision of a small handful of 'experts'. I think it's rare to have any responsibility for consequences and probably just as unlikely to be open to solutions.

In an effort to embiggen the shallow gene pool of the remaining Florida Cougars, they have experimented stocking of Western Mountain Lions around the State. A few have shown up in Georgia, including the one that ran across the road in front of me in broad daylight in the "Pocket" area of the Okefenokee a couple of years ago...Geo

Geo, a while back a S. Ga. Nimrod shot a "cougar" from his deer stand and reported it to authorities. USF&W ran its dna and it turned out to no ones' surprise, a protected Florida panther. It only cost the hunter a $10,000 fine.
As for invasive species, a deceased friend's dad while county agent (think Hank Kimball) introduced kudzu to landowners in an Alabama county to reduce erosion. Experts suggest the best way to rotate the kudzu crop is to sell the land and buy another piece. Gil

Gil, I read about that one. It was over around Columbus on the Chattahoochee. Poor guy was deer hunting; I'd have shot it too.

Someone local killed one with a bow in Echols county and tacked the skin in the barn to dry, along with the radio tracker. Guess what happened?...Geo

From practical point of view decision should be made based on economic well being and overall stability of your county. In USA we prefer wild turkey for simple reason when things collapse turkey provides more meat per bird than quail or grouse. Turkey is larger target which means it's far easier to hit with bow and arrow, cross bow or $1500 arrow shooting "air gun" thingy.

On Wade Plantation, next to me, some years ago a hunter killed a deer and drug him out to the field road but couldn't load him in the pickup by himself. He drove to headquarters to get help, then drove straight back. The deer was gone, but there was a bloody drag mark leading off into the brush and high weeds. They followed it in the dark and found it, covered in leaves and sticks. My friend said he and the hunter backed out very slowly and left without the deer. Wise move, IMO.

SRH