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Post by Bartman on Apr 26, 2008 20:06:29 GMT -5
Relax, one of Osprey's ex-girlfriends didn't get shot, but rather I shot my first turkey a bearded hen. I knew it was going to be a short hunt this morning as I had to be at work in Salisbury by 9. I had 5 different gobblers sounding off for the first 30 minutes. I hit some tree yelps and then a couple of fly-down cackles and they seemed to love it. Got tight-lipped around 6:45. At 7, my buddy comes over b/c he didn't have the thermacell and the sqeets were having him for breakfast. I told him to have a seat next to me and stay ready. About 10 minutes later I heard this bird coming in the leaves. I see it come to the decoys and have a look. I could tell it had a decent beard, but the head looked funny. My buddy didn't have a clear shot so I fired and "she" dropped in her tracks. Yep, she had about an 8" beard. When I cleaned her I found about 4 undeveloped eggs inside her. I had my suspicions when I pulled the trigger. I figured it was a nice jake, but as soon as I saw no spurs it hit me. It was great to finally shake the turkey slump even if I had to shoot a tranny. p.s. Fox said the trannies taste better anyways   |
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Post by osprey on Apr 27, 2008 9:58:50 GMT -5
Now I'm really starting to wonder, you and Fox with all these Tranny turks around! Shooting, them, eating them, just what else did you guys do with them while they were still warm! And by the way, ONLY I wear the beard, I like my girlfriends clean shaven.  |
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Post by Bartman on Apr 27, 2008 11:21:19 GMT -5
Dave, I thought of you soon as I shot it. If it had any eggs inside I was going to save them for you. It actually had 4 small developing eggs, but they were about the size of a half dollar and didn't have a shell yet.
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Post by bucksathome on Apr 27, 2008 14:21:05 GMT -5
Congrats, you and BIG FOX are starting a wierd trend with these bearded hens! I would definetly get that one mounted! Nice job!
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Post by BIG FOX on Apr 28, 2008 5:17:52 GMT -5
congrats man, glad to see i was not the only one with the weirdo turkeys running around
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Post by osprey on Apr 28, 2008 15:10:54 GMT -5
Dave, I thought of you soon as I shot it. If it had any eggs inside I was going to save them for you. It actually had 4 small developing eggs, but they were about the size of a half dollar and didn't have a shell yet. She probably hadn't started laying her nest yet, once they start an egg comes out every 20-26 hours. Would have been cool, my boss still has that one up on me for our life lists of 'things ate'. ;D |
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Post by Hardcorehunter on May 1, 2008 21:41:20 GMT -5
Good job on the bearded hen. I didn't know they were that common. PM me and I'd like to talk about doing a story on bearded hens in the spring edition.
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Post by THE DEER HUNTER on May 2, 2008 10:31:20 GMT -5
I read on NWTF.com that 10 to 20 percent of hens are bearded - I had no idea that it was that common either.
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Post by Bartman on May 2, 2008 13:37:24 GMT -5
I had heard that less than 3% are bearded. I think it varies alot from region to region and subspecies to subspecies. Either way, I've only found 1-2 on the internet with a longer beard. When I saw the beard I didn't think it was a hen.
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Post by THE DEER HUNTER on May 2, 2008 15:09:48 GMT -5
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Post by davep on May 2, 2008 18:21:15 GMT -5
I think it varies alot from region to region Yup. A lot of bearded hens mid-Shore:most in the state, if I recall correctly. They were stocked from an area (Frederick Co, I believe) where a goodly percentage of the hens were bearded. But then again, I've seen women with more whiskers than me there too! ;D |
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Post by nesandhills on May 15, 2008 21:00:43 GMT -5
My understanding on it is, that it varies with breed and region of the turkey.
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