Hunt Wild PA
Connecting YOU with Pennsylvania Wildlife
Successful Turkey Hunting
We would like to congratulate Sara Hay, Game Commission clerk typist in the Southwest Region Office, on harvesting her first turkey!
Did you know that the Game Commission offers a course on successful turkey hunting skills?
The Successful Turkey Hunting course has two has two components – (1) independent study and (2) classroom/skills training. Students study online or may request a student manual to review before attending class. The independent-study component typically takes four to six hours to complete. When finished with the independent study, students must attend a 1-day, 8-hour classroom session that includes:
Turkey hunting laws and regulations
Safe turkey hunting
Map and compass skills
Safe and effective shot selection
Turkey calls and calling
Turkey hunting methods
Distance estimation
Shotgun pattern testing
*This course does not replace the Basic Hunter-Trapper Education (HTE) training. All first-time hunters must successfully complete Basic Hunter-Trapper Education before purchasing a general hunting license.
There is a current trend in the spring turkey hunting season among some . novice hunters that are making the killing of bearded hens in the spring season trophy status I feel this practice of knowingly shooting bearded hens while knowing it is not a male should be addressed. This practice should be frowned on. While keeping bearded hen mistake kill legal you should be informing the student hunters in both the classes that while legal it is not an ethical harvest when knowing full well the turkey is not male and the reasons why, this should also be printed in the hunting guide book
where bearded hen legality is mentioned.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Yes, although the regulation allows for harvesting of any bearded birds, we expect hunters to use their best judgment. Bearded hens typically comprise 5% of the spring harvest, approx. 2,000 statewide. Some hunters likely think bearded hens do not contribute to the population or may believe that bearded hens produce more bearded hens. From our research we do know that bearded hens do nest and raise young. We certainly will post information regarding this situation to help hunters try to avoid harvesting bearded hens in the spring. -Mary Jo Casalena, Pennsylvania Game Commission Wild Turkey Biologist