My wife got her Fall Turkey this morning. It was another "light wing" and it was a Bearded Hen. It's missing a few feathers, because she only wounded it - there was no way we could get close enough to sluce it with another shot - let alone catch it. So I got Casey boy out and had him make the retrieve. He caught the bird by it's tail feathers just as it was becoming airborn. He spit a few feathers, regripped it and made the retrieve. This is a bird that would definitely have gotten away (and died) without a dog. Although we aren't allowed to "HUNT" Turkeys with dogs, I certainly saw nothing wrong with Casey making the retrieve.

Tell the wife congradulations!!! That's a neat bird. There seems to be a lot of bearded hens in your neighborhood. At least more than I was use to hearing about back home. Technically you weren't hunting with the dog. You already new where the bird was, he just made the recovery. Somantics.