# Which would you choose-Northern lower or Southern lower?



## timbrhuntr (Feb 4, 2009)

I was reading some interesting thoughts on another web site on turkey hunting in the northern and southern lower. 

If you had the opportunity to hunt land on either which would you choose. I have hunted both. I find that although there may be more turkeys in the south there are also more hunters out. In the north there are less people but maybe not so many turkeys. In hunting the north I have gotten a turkey every year except the first year when I tried with bow only. However in the south last year I had my hunt interupted 3 seperate days by other hunters. I didn't get a turkey for the first year in a while. 
This year I will start north and if I don't connect I will try south .

Oh Yah good luck to everyone in the upcoming turkey season.


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## Ack (Oct 3, 2004)

I'm really torn between hunting turkeys in the north or south (mid-MI in my case). I hunted big woods turkeys in northern Michigan for many years and had pretty decent success, but it's a totally different game than hunting the flat farmland here around home. I often miss working the birds up north.....roaming the giant tracts of public land, running up and down hills and ridges all day, and maybe filling in a little down time with picking morels or some trout fishing. 

I really enjoyed it, but once the family came along it got tough to get away and enjoy all of that like I once did. The number of birds up north had dropped to the point where it was tough to find birds to work, and the hunter numbers seemed to gradually increase in the area we hunted also. Add to that the long drive and gas prices, and eventually it just made more sense to hunt locally. There were a lot more birds around home, on an average they were larger and easier to access, and hunting them could be worked into my daily schedule instead of only being able to hunt them for a few days up north. Yes, I've been more successful hunting southern (mid) Michigan, but the experience of hunting the northern woods was what made it a lot more enjoyable. Yeah, I came home frustrated and empty handed a few times, but I sure had a blast doing it....hopefully someday I can get back to my roots!


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## flockshot (Feb 23, 2007)

i love hunting south..however, the large, quiet rolling tracts of state land of the north woods are always calling my name..

ps..what kinda tag allows you to start north and finish south?lol


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## Ack (Oct 3, 2004)

flockshot said:


> i love hunting south..however, the large, quiet rolling tracts of state land of the north woods are always calling my name..
> 
> Ps..what kinda tag allows you to start north and finish south?lol



234


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## flockshot (Feb 23, 2007)

Ack said:


> 234


 south of the zz line is south michigan...midland is not the north woods! lol.


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## flockshot (Feb 23, 2007)

wow..disregard...thought 234 was only southern michigan...nevermind..


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## Critter (Mar 3, 2006)

Southern MI for me but that's only because that is where all my hunting properties are.


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## fathom this (Feb 10, 2008)

I won't leave the North woods. Last year I hunted first season ara K
as usual and never had another hunter in the same spots I hunted. Seems everyone has opted to hunt down south. Years ago we had all kinds of hunters, but then we had a bunch more birds. I have several spots in southern area K that I can hunt and they have a abundance of birds but it is farm land and just not the same as the big woods. I used to hunt Caberfe ski area when my legs were still young enough. I could walk all day, day after day calling for all who wanted.


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## Jim Maturen (Jan 23, 2005)

For the past 28 winters chapters of the Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association have been deeply involved in the survuval of turkey flocks during severe winters. All that is needed is support from our fellow turkey hunters. Turkey numbers throughout the nortern lower peninsula have been falling for several years and we have not found out why-yet.:smile-mad


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## brushbuster (Nov 9, 2009)

Last year was the first year i hunted the south half. Or should i say turkey killed? I have hunted the north well over 20 years and i must say i am hooked on the southern half. The wife and i will be back down state on the 18th for turkey killing. Man is it easy down there. At least on the land we get to hunt.


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## Jim Maturen (Jan 23, 2005)

Dedgoose;

I tried to answer your message but could not get through. Hope you catch this. We have not changed our winter survival programs. The habitat remains the same but the turkeys continue to declline in the northern lower peninsula. Becasuse of the lack of preditor control are we experiencing undue predtion on the nests and the nesting hens themselves? Is deiease a factor? The DNR no longer conducts randon testing so we don't know. Is there some other factor involved? This is what the Restricted Turkey Fund is for. Anyway - this is of great concern to our organization. I was not being sarcastic but rather trying to point out to our fellow turkey hunters in the northern lower.


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## timbrhuntr (Feb 4, 2009)

Thanks for the responses. I usually end up with the 234 because I never get drawn in the early seasons. I guess I am lucky to have the time and the access to spots in K and ZE. Last year was the first time I bought the ZZ and hunted south. I was wishing I had purchased the 234 so I could go back to K where its like Ack said . I have usually gotten a bird in K but enjoy hunting there so much over ZE that if I didn't get one it wouldn't bother me as much. Yah it seemed like more birds in ZE but the hunt was more like a job and the K hunt was more like a vacation.


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## timbrhuntr (Feb 4, 2009)

Jim Maturen said:


> For the past 28 winters chapters of the Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association have been deeply involved in the survuval of turkey flocks during severe winters. All that is needed is support from our fellow turkey hunters. Turkey numbers throughout the nortern lower peninsula have been falling for several years and we have not found out why-yet.:smile-mad


I usually try and support that by buying a membership not sure if that helps. I would like to assist with the winter feedings but the distance I need to travel would pretty much cancel that option out.


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## Scottygvsu (Apr 19, 2003)

I hate to whine because i'm fortunate enough to live where most people vacation or retire but the turkey hunting up here is getting harder every year. The birds aren't around like they used to be and to me running two tracks on state land for days on end gets old in a hurry. Last year it took almost the whole season to get my bird. Only a 5" beard, but I logged a LOT of miles of two tracks to find him! Just once i'd like to have a chance at one of those big ol' cornfed butterballs you guys have down there.


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## flockshot (Feb 23, 2007)

south sucks..stop coming!!!!!:evilsmile:lol:


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## michhutr (Jan 16, 2009)

timbrhuntr said:


> I usually try and support that by buying a membership not sure if that helps. I would like to assist with the winter feedings but the distance I need to travel would pretty much cancel that option out.


Thanks for your support. Being a member always helps. 

Due to the distance I also cannot be involved in the actual feeding program as far as physically helping out. However, I decided to help out financially by becoming a raffle ticket sponsor. A few friends and I have a raffle ticket drive each year and these proceeds are used to help provide the feed needed. So in our own little way we feel we are giving back to the hunting community. If you would like more info please pm me and I'd love to talk.

As a reward to ourselves we also try to attend the MWTHA Rendzvous. We have a great time and have made many new friends who share the turkey hunting bug. Hope to see you there and much success.

banjo


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## old graybeard (Jan 19, 2006)

I'd say it's easier in the south as long as you have somewhere to go but it's far more rewarding in the north country. Guess it revolves around what your after, a filled tag or the experience.


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## FireDoc66 (Oct 9, 2005)

I wish someone would inform some of the Old Gobblers I chase down here that they are supposed to be easier, graybeard! :lol:


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

I've never hunted southern Michigan. Have always wanted to, but never had the time or the opportunity. When I have I hunt other states, and haven't found anything close to what we have in northern Michigan...and I've hunted Ohio, Kansas, Florida, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont. 

Nothing better than northern Michigan, and all our public land. 

If you know where the turkeys were fed last winter you should know where the turkeys will be this spring. It's that simple. 

As for those who would like to be involved in the turkey feeding programs but can't get up here, don't worry about it. Send us a check, even if it's $10 we appreciate the help, and your $10 will help one bird make it about half way through a winter. Two people send $10, that's one full bird that made it. 

I think the decline in the turkey numbers is due to two things-not all turkeys get fed, because they either can't be found by the people who are doing the feeding or there is no feeding program in that area.

There's still pockets of decent numbers of birds up here, unfortunately, a lot of those are on private property. Again, directly related to the feeding. 

But you can still find birds on public lands that move out there in the spring from the private lands if you do your homework.

By the way, the Area J crew is trying something different this year instead of the usual hunter's workshops, which aren't doing very much for us here in J the last few years. Maybe most people who hunt turkeys are already seasoned hunters who don't need to attend the workshops to improve their skills, I don't know. And we don't have the tradition of the Rendezvous. 

So, we will hold a dinner later this summer, don't have dates yet, and a golf outing, probably in late August or early September. We will have our usual raffle, tickets should be available soon.


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## fathom this (Feb 10, 2008)

timbrhuntr said:


> Thanks for the responses. I usually end up with the 234 because I never get drawn in the early seasons. I guess I am lucky to have the time and the access to spots in K and ZE. Last year was the first time I bought the ZZ and hunted south. I was wishing I had purchased the 234 so I could go back to K where its like Ack said . I have usually gotten a bird in K but enjoy hunting there so much over ZE that if I didn't get one it wouldn't bother me as much. Yah it seemed like more birds in ZE but the hunt was more like a job and the K hunt was more like a vacation.


You echo my thoughts timbrhuntr. We have shot well over ( well I am not going to venture a guess ) as many as eight birds in one weekend and as many as 15 birds in a season. We have hunted turkeys from our cabin in the Irons area since day one. I for one have enough fans and spurs and I don't find the wild turkey to be that good to eat. (makes fine jerkey). It is the experience for me that I enjoy. We used to have a saying up there that the birds were fed or dead in the winter. I am not shure what has caused the steady decline in birds but I have been whitness to it over the years. Years ago I could always find atleast five different groups of birds to hunt in a given season but if I find three now it involves some driving. I am the only one who hunts turkeys out of our cabin any more. I have down state property to hunt but I find the birds to be a lot less challenging. If you want an experience try hunting the hills of Missouri and the Black Hills of South Dakota.


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## sbooy42 (Mar 6, 2007)

I have always hunted the north but may try heading south this year.. The numbers around here are going down...

Can someone point me in the direction of this feeding program? I along with the neighbors use to feed all the time until the bait ban went into affect for deer..


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## Jigin-N-Grinin (Jan 22, 2008)

old graybeard said:


> I'd say it's easier in the south as long as you have somewhere to go but it's far more rewarding in the north country. Guess it revolves around what your after, a filled tag or the experience.


You nailed it graybeard. 
My buddies go up by Mio every year....kill birds most years, sometimes they dont. They have a great time and its a tradition for them.
I used to go with them but drawing first week and time off work was an issue and hunting the big woods with competition in the area sometime requires a few days or more to get it done. 9 years ago I decided to hunt by home in the thumb....well, let me just say 8 longbeards later (had one bad year:rant I choose the Lower
This year is the second time ever I have drawn the General first week hunt. The kid and I are fired up!!!!


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## double lung (Sep 7, 2007)

Man, it's strange for me to read this thread. I have thought a million times about how vastly different northern Michigan turkey hunting is from southern Michigan turkey hunting. I am spoiled with big numbers of birds down here these days but I sorely miss the freedom to roam the national forests up north.

I run a small turkey guiding service in the SLP so I have a ton of experience hunting and killing birds down here (I watched 15 of them die last year). Killing turkeys is FUN, and even though I still get my tail kicked by a bird once in a while down here I like to think I'm getting half-way decent at it. 

But I cut my teeth hunting turkeys up north. Back then there were hardly any turkeys downstate. When I was a young kid Dad, Grandpa, my brothers, a few buddies and I would head north a few weekends a year and whomever drew tags would hunt. The rest of us would help locate birds, call for a hunter, or whatever else we could to to feel a part of the hunt and convince ourselves we were actually helping:lol: 

As I got older high school and college track seasons ate up all my spring weekends and I didn't re-discover turkey hunting until after college. A buddy, who happened to be a college track teammate, and I went north several years in a row and put mile after mile on our legs on northern 2-tracks. We even brought mountain bikes one year, just to cover more ground. We slept in the bed of my truck under a truck cap, and woke up every morning to our layer of ice covering the inside of the cap due to our breath freezing on the surface. We froze while getting dressed, and continued to freeze in our long-sleeve T-shirts for the first few hours of the day just so we wouldn't have to carry a jacket later in the day when it got way too hot for any sane person to be walking all those miles. We walked or biked all day and lived on a sandwich and a candy bar for lunch and a cold can of soup for dinner. Looking back, we didn't have a clue what we were doing but man did we have fun. All those square miles of public land were our big playground and it was a blast. We were a couple of cocky just-out-of-college early-20's know-it-all dummies who thought we could just work harder and harder and will ourselves to kill birds and boy were we WRONG!!!!! The only birds we ever called up were a couple of jakes I called up on a scouting trip (I told you we were dummies!!!). We never even called one up while we were hunting, let alone kill one

I still regret that I never killed a public land bird up north. Since those days I have killed birds in six different states in every kind of terrain from western mountains to big woods to steep wooded ridges to flat farm country and everything in between. I and have lost count of the number of birds I have killed, and couldn't even begin to count the ones I have called up for others to kill. But the fact remains that NORTHERN MICHIGAN PUBLIC LAND BIRDS KICKED MY TAIL!!! Still, some of my best turkey hunting memories are of our state's northern national forests.

My little brother has a place near Gaylord now, and every year my brothers, dad, and I talk about going to Craig's place for a weekend to turkey hunt just for old times' sake. 

Dang, that might have to move up the priority list a little higher this spring


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