Hunters participating in Georgia’s spring 2016 turkey season, which ended May 15, had something new when it came to reporting harvested turkeys, a little practice before the 2016-17 deer season begins.
All turkey hunters, including those under 16 years of age, landowners, honorary, lifetime and sportsman license holders, were required to obtain a free harvest record and to enter date and county of harvest prior to moving a harvested bird.
Within 72 hours of harvest, they had to complete the reporting process through Georgia Game Check. According to the Game Check System, the number of turkeys reported during the state’s 2016 turkey season is 11,224.
Based on previous year harvest estimates, it appears that approximately 40-45 percent of the actual statewide harvest was reported via the Georgia Game Check system.
“It is important to understand that this year’s results from the Georgia Game Check System do not represent the full statewide turkey harvest as this was the first year of required reporting. Certainly, there are some hunters who were unaware of this new system and did not participate,” said Tina Johannsen, Program Operations Manager.
“However, while the number returned represents only the minimum number of harvested turkeys reported, the Game Check system is a real-time tracking of the harvest.”
Beyond minimum reported turkey harvest, the Georgia Game Check System also gives wildlife biologists additional data that provides other real-time information.
This includes gobbler versus jakes harvest of 89 percent gobblers, 11 percent jakes.
Additionally, 98 percent of turkeys reported were harvested with firearms, 1.7 percent with muzzleloader and nearly 0.4 percent with archery equipment. The reported turkeys harvested from public land was 1,461 or 13 percent of total reported harvest.
The final annual estimate of statewide turkey harvest will be determined through an annual telephone survey that follows established and rigorous scientific protocols to ensure accuracy and confidence.
“We have had great feedback from hunters about Georgia Game Check and we anticipate improved cooperation as more hunters are informed and become familiar with the reporting requirement,” Johannsen said. “WRD will continue to educate hunters about Georgia Game Check in advance of the 2016-17 deer hunting season.”
For more information on the harvest record or the Georgia Game Check System, visit www.georgiawildlife.com/HarvestRecordGeorgiaGameCheck.