When Hens Are a Problem, Be the Hen

At some point in every season, turkey hunters will complain that they can't call a gobbler because they're all "henned-up." That is, the boys are with the girls, so the hen gobblers are with ("a bird in the hand") is worth more to him than your sweetest calling ("two birds in the bush.")

Peak spring gobbler action arrives when gobblers get lonely. Be there and you’re halfway to success. But more often, gobblers are “henned-up.” They won’t gobble much, they’ll go only where the hens go, and they’ll frustrate turkey hunters from novices to experts.

No hunter has a foolproof solution to dealing with competition from hens. Look at it as a challenge more than as a problem, and your odds go up even when hens have the gobbler’s attention. Here are three scenarios that taught me a lot about how to deal with hens when you’re trying to take a tom fresh off his roost. (Continue reading....)