Connected with a hen
 

Went fall turkey hunting for the first time this season on Saturday. Walked around a little bit throwing out some lonesome yelps and kee kee runs but didn't hear or see anything. Went to this ridge where they always come to roost. Again I made a couple lonesome hen yelps and some leaf scratching but never heard anything. It was a beautiful evening though so I was just enjoying being in the woods again and watching the sun set when a cluck to my left snapped me out of it. Sure enough at about 35 yards there is this hen silouetted by the fading sun, and she has me totally handcuffed. So as I'm sitting there cursing myself out for being unprepared she turns and walks behind a tree. So quickly I snap the gun up, click the safety off and find her in the scope. A couple other heads and necks pop up over the hill, all hens but all legal in NY, but at this point they know something isn't right and they turn to leave. A quick series of clucks on the mouth call gets them to freeze and look one last time, so I got a bead on one of them and turned the 870 loose. Well much to my surprise there were more then a couple birds in the group just over the edge of the hill, in fact there were probably 30 because the woods just exploded with turkeys flying and putting in every direction after the shot. In fact there was so much chaos I wasn't even sure if I had connected. So as I sat there dumbfounded I heard the familier sound of leaves rustling from flopping wings, and sure enough just over the lip of the hill there she was. Looks like one of this years Jennys, more of a big chicken then a turkey, but I'm proud as hell of her. It was a great hunt and she'll be great eating. Sorry for such a long rambling post, but that's what happens when I talk about hunting haha, pictures will be forthcoming...

RE: Connected with a hen
 

RE: Connected with a hen
 

RE: Connected with a hen
 

Nice, congrats

RE: Connected with a hen
 

Awesome! Where I'm at, there's only a spring season on turkey, and you can't harvest hens. Unless it has a beard. :D

RE: Connected with a hen
 

Chris - I got her in Upstate, NY. We are lucky up here, we have a pretty long fall season, Oct 1st - Nov 14th, and you can take two birds of either sex. In the spring you can only take bearded birds though

RE: Connected with a hen
 

Not that it really matters, but your turkey looks like a young gobbler. Jakes probably won't have a beard yet. I say this because the head looks like a gobblers. Are you sure it was a hen? Either way, it doesn't matter, both are perfectly legal to take. Congrats on the kill.I bet it will taste real good. I'm out of Wild Turkey meat now and willhave to wait tilSpring to try to get some more[:@].

RE: Connected with a hen
 

Congrats. Nicely staged pix, very nice. (for what it's worth, I kinda agree with superstrutter)

RE: Connected with a hen
 

Nice... she'll eat good!

RE: Connected with a hen
 

Are shotgun season opens here in arkansas this saturday fora week. cant wait

RE: Connected with a hen
 

I agree it looks like a gobblers head. Congrats on a fine bird...

RE: Connected with a hen
 

Nice turkey. I like the picture too.

RE: Connected with a hen
 

yeah I guess it could have been a juvenile tom, it had no beard and no spurs, so i just assumed it was a hen...never checked for genitalia haha.