Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

I was curious, how many of us would shoot a hen with a beard in the spring?

I wouldn't. In a few months she could produce a few gobblers.

Did it one time where legal, that was enough for me.  I see several every spring but it never crosses my mind to shoot them.

Quote from: deerhunt1988 on February 11, 2011, 06:50:06 PM
I wouldn't. In a few months she could produce a few gobblers.

I would agree with that.

Voted yes, just becasue i've never seen a hen with a beard.

Have killed a couple in the fall,but have not put the hammer down on one in the spring and passed on a few.

I'm new to turkey hunting, and as my second bird, yes I would.  Not as a first bird, and not on an out of state hunt.

I'm gonna say no.  I had one come in and was gonna shoot it but she stayed out of range.  Looking back I am glad I didn't shoot.

I would not, 1 reason is I'm not going to waste a good tag on a hen, the 2 reason is someone told me once that bearded hens are what gives you multi-bearded toms, don't know if thats true or not butit sounds good.

Never have.. See them most years...Any time you kill a hen your taking a chance of having ten or so less hatch for the following year.

I did kill one when I first started hunting turkeys ! But I will not (never) shoot another. Theres a voice in the back of my head saying if pop and mom both had beards Jr's going to start shaving early, I don't know if that's true but I cant get away from thinking it .

By the way I see several every year where I hunt most in WV.

I Killed one here in Ontario this fall that had an 8 inch beard!
Didnt think much of it until and friend told me I just cooked a trophy bird!

 :popcorn:

I look at it like this
1 beard in a hen plus 1 beard on the gobbler
Equals chicks with 2 beards
Right? Lol

I would not. First reason is, its not legal in Alabama. Second reason is, Half the meat and no leg jewelry. ;D

I have no interest in killing a hen in the spring, bearded or not.

Killed 1 several years ago with a 5 inch beard.  It was late in the season and when I got to her most of her breast feathers were gone from sitting on the nest.  That bothered me so no I want shoot another one.

No but there is a beautiful smoke phase hen on my place I would like to mount.  But not legal here so she walks.  I can only hope she will produce me a smoke phase gobbler.

voted no only because i can save that tag for a gobbler and shoot the hen in the fall when we have multiple hen tags :mycross:

I dont have any desire to shoot a bearded hen, but it is legal in a lot of places. 

Ive seen one shot, but it was mistaken for a tom.  The tom had just gobbled on the other side of small rise, almost a levy, and immediately a turky come over the rise, turned broadside, and there was a decent beared sticking out there.  It was mine and a buddies first Merriams hunt.  They have a lot more color than an eastern due to the white, so he just did not recognize it as a hen, and a Merriam doesnt have much of a beard to begin with.  We had been trying to kill the tom for a couple days and he wasnt giving him any slack, so when the turkey he just knew was him popped over the rise, he rolled him back.  Imagine his/our surprise when we found a bearded hen.  If I had been the shooter, I would have likely made the same mistake.

I believe that is the only reason some states have made them legal.  They realize the likelyhood that a lot of guys, especially new turkey hunters, will mistake them for a tom.

Never.

Not legal hear.  Don't think I could bring myself to do it if it was.

It's legal here in NY, but I typically would not even consider shooting one in the spring. Bearded hens are pretty common in my neck of the woods and I normally will see several every spring while scouting/hunting.  I have killed two of them, one in the fall several years ago and this one during the Spring '09 season.  The later came in and actually assaulted my decoy like an enraged pitbull putting on a great show for me.  Unfortunately for her, it was the last morning of season...it was about to start pouring out...the longbeard that I'd roosted the night before was a no show and I still had a tag in my pocket.  This particully hen had screwed me up several times that season on hitlist gobbler #1, so the decision to take her out was a personal matter.  She had three eggs inside her but I didn't feel too bad about it.  There certainly hasn't been a lack of hens out there over the past several seasons to compete with...

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/Turkey%20Hunting/dhhh-1.jpg)

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/Turkey%20Hunting/gkgkgk-3.jpg)

Here's a bearded hen that I'd been watching on a buddy's farm for several years.  I didn't see her at all last spring so she may be dead now.  I almost killed her in the fall a couple of years ago but she passed by a little further away than I wanted to shot, so I whacked one of her poults instead (also killed her boyfriend in the top pic...;D).

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/Trail%20Camera%20Misc/MDGC0014.jpg)

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/Trail%20Camera%20Misc/jffhjfj.jpg)

(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/Trail%20Camera%20Misc/MDGC0120-1.jpg)

I voted no. Now if I'm hunting with my bow or it's the last day of the season I may decide to take her but I wouldn't know for sure unless that happened. I have seen a lot of bearded hens during the season while gun hunting and never gave it a second thought as I wanted a gobbler.

NO, I have passed on several bearded hens.