Fall Forecast: Mild to Moderate
A Chat with Bob Eriksen, NWTF director of conservation operations
Hunting Wild Turkey Hens
Q: I’ve been told you should shoot a hen in the fall season. Do you believe this is good advice? They said not to shoot the jakes or toms. I need facts as to which bird to harvest in the fall.
— Chuck Patch, Smock, Pa.
A: Some spring gobbler hunters maintain that there are too many hens, especially if they experienced a lot of competition from hens last spring. These individuals may actively encourage the taking of hens in the fall. Other hunters encourage the taking of jakes or toms in the fall in an effort to stockpile hens for future nesting. Neither of these approaches is likely to work well. The first birds to come to call in the fall will likely be young birds, jakes and jennies. Jakes tend to weigh more than either adult or juvenile hens so taking a jake will give you more to eat. If you are successful at scattering a flock, setting up correctly and calling some birds in, I would say it does not matter much from a biological perspective which bird you select to shoot. Any turkey called up fair and square is a trophy.
Q: In states where legal, what is your feeling about targeting mature hens during the fall season?
— Doyle Dietz, Orwigsburg, Pa.
A: Some mature hens will inevitably be harvested in the fall season. The taking of a percentage of mature hens in a conservative season structure will not usually do any harm to the population. Remember, though, that mature hens are survivors. They are experienced nesters so they are a valuable part of the population. I would not encourage the targeting of mature hens in the fall season. Rather I would encourage fall hunters to take whatever bird they are fortunate enough to call up. Chances are good in the fall that the first birds to come in will be juveniles.
Q: In some sections of my state, people see turkeys as a nuisance animal and allow hunting on their land to control the population. How does one estimate or field judge a quality hen to take?
— PJ LaPerle, East Montpelier, Vt.
A: It is a shame that folks have misconceptions about wild turkeys. Some people in the agricultural community see turkeys as a potential threat to their crops. Large winter flocks can congregate on farms and cause farmers to worry that all those birds will eat their crops in the spring.
While wild turkeys do eat some crops as part of their diet, turkey flocks are generally small during the growing season and those small flocks usually do not do any substantial damage. Wild turkeys are frequently blamed for crop damage actually done by other species of wildlife.
If a property owner with a large piece of land insists that you take hens in the fall season, the best way to distinguish a hen is to look at head and feather coloration. Hens’ heads are gray or blue-gray in color and can be quite heavily feathered. Adult hens tend to have less feathering on their heads than young hens. However, late-hatched jakes can resemble hens, too. Check the head color and then look at the breast of the bird. If it appears to be brownish, the bird is likely a hen. Leg color is a useful tool for determining the age of he turkey, but seldom can you really evaluate leg color in a hunting situation.
