# Shooting a Bearded Hen



## Huggins4510 (Mar 22, 2010)

Whats the law about bearded hens? Are they legal or illegal to shoot? I've seen many during deer season and am just curious.


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## Thunderbeard (Mar 22, 2010)

Yea they changed the wording to three gobblers. Not legal anymore


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## trkyburns (Mar 22, 2010)

I'm not sure but I think they may have changed how the regs read on what is legal to kill.  If not, they should...  I know they used to, and may still, allow bearded hens to be taken.  BUT, the only reason for this is so that someone who honestly shoots a bearded hen thinking it was a jake/gobbler would not be punished under the law.  

There are reasons why it is illegal to kill a hen in the spring.  Hens, whether bearded or not, should never be intentionally killed in the spring.


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## siberian1 (Mar 22, 2010)

You should be able to tell the difference b/w a gobbler and hen  even if neither have a beard!!!  Big Red Head vs Skinny Grey head....


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## jdthayer (Mar 22, 2010)

Saw one Sunday morning w/8-9" pencil beard. She got w/in 20 yards and hung around for 10 minutes yelping more than I've heard most hens before. I just hope she will produce some off-spring w/good genetics! She was entertaining to say the least.


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## HuntNTails (Mar 22, 2010)

I have seen a few with beards and most are about as big around a a pencil.  Kinda of reminds me of a "bearded lady" you might find at a carnival.


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## jdthayer (Mar 22, 2010)

Love the "bearded lady comment". A few of those reside here in Barrow County!


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## ADDICTED2HUNTIN (Mar 22, 2010)

jdthayer said:


> Love the "bearded lady comment". A few of those reside here in Barrow County!



just go to the Wal-Mart at the first of every month after the checks come out and you can see all the bearded ladies you want, if ya are lucky you might even find one with all of their teeth and a mullett


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## mcarge (Mar 22, 2010)

Caught this one on camera a few weeks ago in a spot we hunt hogs on a nuisance permit.

Thought she was kind of cool, and a pretty good beard!


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## jdthayer (Mar 22, 2010)

I see you're from Statham not far from me, so you know all about Wallie World. I try to avoid that place as much as I can. However, it is the closest store to my job, so I grudgingly have to go there to pick up groceries from time to time. Congrats your harvest this year! 





ADDICTED2HUNTIN said:


> just go to the Wal-Mart at the first of every month after the checks come out and you can see all the bearded ladies you want, if ya are lucky you might even find one with all of their teeth and a mullett


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## CuttinNrunnin (Mar 22, 2010)

ADDICTED2HUNTIN said:


> just go to the Wal-Mart at the first of every month after the checks come out and you can see all the bearded ladies you want, if ya are lucky you might even find one with all of their teeth and a mullett



you beat me to it sir!


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## Public Land Prowler (Mar 22, 2010)

illegal


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## ADDICTED2HUNTIN (Mar 22, 2010)

appreciate it jd, yeah i visit the local wal mart to get a good laugh, i took a picture of a poor kid in a buggy the other day, he couldn't have been more than 4 yrs old but he had a mullet that would make Billy Ray Cyrus jealous


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## Dead Eye Eddy (Mar 23, 2010)

Talking about mullets, there is a family in Cumming.  Mom, dad, and teenage son all have super huge ones.  I wish I'd have thought to take a cell phone pic of them the last time I saw them at Chili's.  They belong on the peopleofwalmart site.


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## sbrown (Mar 23, 2010)

Think it is illegal also. Called DNR office about 5 years ago to ask and got an answer from a lady like..It is really up to the warden...?? What kind of answer is that? I told her that wasn't good enough, I needed to know. But I read it as illegal also.


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## Hunter/Mason (Mar 23, 2010)

I have a question for yall. Is it legal to shoot a turkey from the limb during shooting hours? I have had several people tell me it is and several tell me it's not.


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## Todd E (Mar 23, 2010)

Hunter/Mason said:


> I have a question for yall. Is it legal to shoot a turkey from the limb during shooting hours? I have had several people tell me it is and several tell me it's not.



 (On my comment below.)

Boy howdy here comes a legal/ethics battle fer sure.


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## Hunter/Mason (Mar 23, 2010)

Not  or trying to get off topic just trying to get a ? answered.


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## Todd E (Mar 23, 2010)

I understand you are not. Really I do. But that same "topic" has spurred(no pun intended) much debate in the past. Specifically; M Waddell and a show episode.

It goes something like this.................
"Just because it's legal, don't mean it's ethical."

Get my drift


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## G Duck (Mar 23, 2010)

Used to be a loophole in the regs many years ago. I believe it used to read "bearded turkey" in the regs. I think it says now a Bearded Gobbler.


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## Hunter/Mason (Mar 23, 2010)

Todd E said:


> I understand you are not. Really I do. But that same "topic" has spurred(no pun intended) much debate in the past. Specifically; M Waddell and a show episode.
> 
> It goes something like this.................
> "Just because it's legal, don't mean it's ethical."
> ...




I got ya. Thanks


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## BornToHuntAndFish (Mar 24, 2010)

Ya'lls wise acre jokes are killing me.

It's kinda crazy how strange & different the laws are sometimes in various states, and sometimes in different in Fall & Spring turkey seasons in the SAME state.  

For example, turkey hens are legal in Pennsylvania's Fall hunting season.


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## silvers31 (Mar 24, 2010)

I knew this guy back in college who shot a bearded hen....what an idiot he was! He thought it was a jake...he should have been able to tell the difference.


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## robertyb (Mar 24, 2010)

I have been turkey hunting since they made it legal in my neck of the woods. I can't remember the regs ever readin anything but Gobblers on the limits. It has never been legal to shoot a hen in Georgia during my lifetime and I am 60 years old.


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## G Duck (Mar 24, 2010)

Never said it was legal.. Just the way the regs read, "Bearded turkey". I dont think the writers intended it to mean a hen. It left a gray area. I believe then and now, you would get a ticket. That is my opinion. At least thats how I remember the regs and the discussion at the time. I may be wrong, Someone may have another story.


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## coryo (Mar 24, 2010)

The reg may say Gobbler , but what does the DNR say a gobbler is? (Bearded turkey or a Male turkey) Just woundering.


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## G Duck (Mar 24, 2010)

I think it reads just Three Gobblers.  I dont know if it is further defined.


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## bowbuck (Mar 24, 2010)

My first turkey was a bearded hen, I smoked her when I was ten years old.  I went hunting by myself on my folks land on a saturday morning cause my father had to work. She came to a box call I was using with one hand since my arm was in a cast.  My shoulder needed a cast after pulling the trigger on the 12 gauge I shot her with.  The funny thing now is that there was a gobbler strutting 30 yds to my left, but she walked in front and had a beard.  I had never heard of a bearded hen.  I had to carry her a little ways and then go back and get my gun since I only had one arm. I stopped to rest during one of these trips and realized she didn't have any spurs. I figured it was a jake. lol lol.  My dad came home from work and helped me clean her, and didn't tell me it was a hen for probably 8 or 10 years afterward. lol.  I can remember the year they changed the law, I asked my dad "what difference does that make."  He said well now you can't kill a bearded hen like the one you shot for your first one.   It's still a great memory.


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## Resica (Mar 24, 2010)

BornToHuntAndFish said:


> Ya'lls wise acre jokes are killing me.
> 
> It's kinda crazy how strange & different the laws are sometimes in various states, and sometimes in different in Fall & Spring turkey seasons in the SAME state.
> 
> For example, turkey hens are legal in Pennsylvania's Fall hunting season.


Bearded hens are legal in the spring in Pa. too.


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## G Duck (Mar 24, 2010)

Hunter Mason, yes it is legal. Ethical?, you have to decide.


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## donald-f (Mar 25, 2010)

coryo said:


> The reg may say Gobbler , but what does the DNR say a gobbler is? (Bearded turkey or a Male turkey) Just woundering.



The key word is GOBBLER .  I NEVER HEARD A HEN GOBBLE WITH OR WITHOUT A BEARD.


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## turky93 (Mar 25, 2010)

I have. Wonder if I could've counted her as a gobbler?


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## dawg2 (Mar 25, 2010)

donald-f said:


> The key word is GOBBLER .  I NEVER HEARD A HEN GOBBLE WITH OR WITHOUT A BEARD.



Hens can gobble, but it is rare.  They will also strut like a male, again not really common. I have seen a hen strut.

They KEY is the head color.


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## silvers31 (Mar 25, 2010)

Im still not understanding why anyone would even care to shoot a hen with a beard or without? I don't know about the rest of you but when I hunt I trophy hunt and a hen with a beard or without a beard is defenitly not a trophy in my opinion...


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## tony32 (Mar 25, 2010)

jdthayer said:


> Love the "bearded lady comment". A few of those reside here in Barrow County!



see you have meet my aunt !!


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## turky93 (Mar 25, 2010)

silvers31 said:


> Im still not understanding why anyone would even care to shoot a hen with a beard or without? I don't know about the rest of you but when I hunt I trophy hunt and a hen with a beard or without a beard is defenitly not a trophy in my opinion...



Why wouldn't a hen be considered a trophy? 
Better yet, what defines a trophy in your eyes?


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## coryo (Mar 25, 2010)

donald-f said:


> The key word is GOBBLER .  I NEVER HEARD A HEN GOBBLE WITH OR WITHOUT A BEARD.



I have not ether, but I have heard of hens gobbling before. Just ask around.   

It kinda like a deer, a buck has horns. if you kill a doe with horns what is it considered in the eyes of the DNR?  There are loop holes in everything I'm just wondering how the DNR define a Gobbler.


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## Resica (Mar 25, 2010)

coryo said:


> I have not ether, but I have heard of hens gobbling before. Just ask around.
> 
> It kinda like a deer, a buck has horns. if you kill a doe with horns what is it considered in the eyes of the DNR?  There are loop holes in everything I'm just wondering how the DNR define a Gobbler.



We have antlered and antlerless seasons here, kinda takes care of that problem.


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## BPR (Mar 25, 2010)

coryo said:


> I have not ether, but I have heard of hens gobbling before. Just ask around.
> 
> It kinda like a deer, a buck has horns. if you kill a doe with horns what is it considered in the eyes of the DNR?  There are loop holes in everything I'm just wondering how the DNR define a Gobbler.



A gobbler is a male turkey.  It has nothing to do with a beard or not.  The determining factor is on the other end.


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