The 2018 Spring Gobbler season is off to a great start.

The turkey population appears to be healthy with plenty of turkey sightings around the county areas. When you spy a flock of hen turkeys searching the fields and pastures for insects and grubs, you can be sure the gobblers won’t be far behind.

In the spring time, the flocks of birds that you see are most likely separated into hen groups, young jakes and then the gobblers. There is certainly a hierarchy among the turkey family with always lead hens, boss gobblers, satellite groups of challenger gobblers and then the adolescent jakes.

In the spring hunts in Pennsylvania, the only birds that are legal quarry are the bearded male birds. There is one exception though, every now and then you might have a hen turkey sporting a beard as well and yes, she is a legal spring bird.

I have seen bearded hens frequently in my years outdoors and many have been prolific breeding hens with poults. Unless you have chosen to hunt a bearded hen, I personally would keep on looking for that boss gobbler.

Those of you that are not familiar with turkey beards will be surprised to learn that the beard that I speak of doesn’t grow anywhere near the gobbler’s head! It actually sprouts out of the area above the turkey breast.

The beard is a coarse and wiry group of hair strands that can grow up to a foot long. Younger birds have shorter wispy beards and medium age birds have a 5-6-inch beard. Sometimes a gobbler will lose their beard due to frozen ice, fighting and even mites! The beard will grow back eventually and it doesn’t affect the dominance of the boss gobbler.

Turkey hunters look for mature birds with full tail plumage, a long beard, body mass and long spurs above their feet. Full tail plumage means that all the tail feathers are in place with a measured fan when the gobbler displays it for the ladies!

Younger birds will have uneven feathers that look like they need to grow out a bit more. Mature birds will also have long spurs that jut out of their lower leg area. The spurs point backwards and can be formidable if the gobbler uses them in sparring with predators or other gobblers.

These talons can help you determine your birds age, if it is less than ½ an inch long and blunt he’s a young bird or Jake. If the spur pushes 1 ½ to 2 inches, you have a boss gobbler and a trophy!

In Pennsylvania, the gobbler season is a half day hunt with hunting ending at noon in the first two weeks of the season. At the end of the month-long season starting May 16, the hunting hours are extended until one half hour after sunset.

Hen turkeys are sitting on nests and most of the mating season has ended by this time. The gobblers look a little ragged at season’s end with all the hen chasing and fighting between gobblers. They will likely be missing feathers and beards after the spring scuffling.

If you are going to go out and give spring gobbler season a try this spring, remember to be extra cautious as hunters are in full camouflage and trying to call turkeys in to their position. This means that you do not stalk turkeys because you could be stalking another hunter.

More hunters get hurt in the spring hunt than in any other time of hunting season. I always wear orange into my hunting area and tie an orange band around a tree trunk. I don’t think any turkey is worth the tragedy of an accident.

If you haven’t hunted turkeys before, I would suggest that you find a willing hunting partner who is an experienced turkey hunter. They can assist you in setting up hunting positions, locating birds, calling in birds and using decoys properly.

There is no greater thrill than seeing all of your planning come to fruition when a boss gobbler comes strutting into range of your hunting blind or spot. Experienced hunters will help you determine if you are in the proper range for your shotgun and the distance.

Knowing your firearm is important when gobbler hunting. Patterning your shot is a key to the successful harvesting of a gobbler. The target area is the head-neck region for a clean kill. Shooting at the body is a mistake and will most likely wound a bird that will run away faster than you can believe.

I like to get a bird in closer than 40 yards and wait for a clear look at the head region. If you don’t know how your shotgun patterns, you can easily miss a silver dollar sized target.

Until we meet again, put your back against a tree and keep your eyes sharp for what’s moving about in the woods. Be safe!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle