Bearded Hen...

Bow Life · Post by **Bow Life** » Mon May 21, 2007 1:45 pm

I have been doing quite alot of turkey hunting this year, and i remember when i took the course they had mentioned something about a bearded hen. I have yet to see one, but was wondering the specifics on them. Are you allowed to shoot them and how common are they?

Greylag · Post by **Greylag** » Mon May 21, 2007 3:55 pm

Yes, as long as the turkey has a beard it is a leagal bird.
They are not very common.

V.A.

dschnarr · Post by **dschnarr** » Mon May 21, 2007 4:15 pm

I've seen a couple in the area that I hunt. The one has about a 5 inch beard. Could have shot it but I thought about the nest.

crazyfarmer · Post by **crazyfarmer** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:08 pm

I killed one when I was about 12 during the fall. I didnt even know the hen had a beard since I was just trying to kill a turkey at the time. If I remember right, I think it was about 5inches long or something like that.

Ive seen 2-3 though andf this seaosn while calling for 2 friends we had one with about a 7inch beard 10yards. The guy didnt shoot cause he wasnt sure on the law. I even took out my binoculars to make sure it was a hen and sure enough she had about 15 strands of beard about 7inches long. Either way, not shooting worked out for him since right after the hen went by 2 gobblers came out and it was lights out for one of them

they arent very common, but its quite a few around if you look hard enough

and yes you can shoot them since they have a beard during the spring

Bow Life · Post by **Bow Life** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:43 pm

thanks for the responses guys. very much appreciated.

ecoaster · Post by **ecoaster** » Tue May 22, 2007 6:04 am

They are not very common. After a few trips in the field you will be able to tell the hens from the males pretty easily, so I would not shoot one even though it is legal.

crazyfarmer · Post by **crazyfarmer** » Tue May 22, 2007 4:20 pm

ecoaster wrote:They are not very common. After a few trips in the field you will be able to tell the hens from the males pretty easily, so I would not shoot one even though it is legal.

I believe we had a pie bald(I think thats what a 70% white one is) bearded hen around here once.. not sure what happened to it.. but I'd love to kill that and do the full mount

but like you said, beard or not.. its a hen and I only hen hunt in winter for meat

Bow Life · Post by **Bow Life** » Tue May 22, 2007 6:11 pm

I can tell the difference and have been lucky enough this year to bag a big tom and a jake.. however i was just wondering if they were common and if it was legal or not to do it, i too think about the nest and the birds for next year and personally would never shoot a hen.