The PA Spring Gobbler season opened up this weekend and turkey hunters were out in force in their attempts to bag a wily bearded turkey.

The reason that I didn’t say a tom turkey is that a bearded hen is also legal to harvest. The likelihood of a hen turkey having a beard is not high, but it is also not uncommon, either.

Just because a hen turkey sports a tuft of hair from the breast feather area does not mean that it can not be a reproductive mother turkey. One hen turkey that I personally observed raised many broods of turkey poults over the years.

She was legal game, but I never would have harmed a feather on her body as she was a tremendous mother turkey.

Gobblers have quite a confused season to sort out with the early spring and now the leafing out of the underbrush, freak snow storms, downpours and hot days. Hunters will need to be extra careful and be sure of their targets as the woods are becoming greener by the day.

Mature gobblers generally start to seek out hens in April, but March was so beautiful I believe that the season was way out of its normal schedule.

Many turkey hunters pattern their gobblers by getting out into the woods at daybreak and listening for the morning gobbles of a turkey. There is nothing in hunting like a boss gobbler calling out his challenges and attempts to locate rivals and hens.

Turkey talk is unique and an accomplished turkey hunter can talk with a gobbler better than the real deal. Challenge calls, locator calls, response calls and here I am an alluring hen calls all can be highly effective at the right time.

The reason calling is so important in Spring Gobbler is that a hunter must sit still once he’s located a likely area. Stalking a bird is illegal and down right dangerous as this season is one of the highest times for accidental shootings. Camouflage covered hunters blending into the flora of the woodlands with a wary quarry makes a good recipe for accidents.

All hunters should be aware that wearing colors that are found on a wild turkey should always be avoided; these include the colors of black, blue and red which are common on a gobblers’ head area. In the spring season fluorescent orange is no longer required, but I’d highly recommend it while moving through the woods. No turkey is worth getting shot at, accident or not!

Hunters may use shotguns or bows to hunt in the spring, but shot gunners must limit their shell capacity to three shots of number 4 lead/or other non-toxic shot or number 2 steel shot.

Twelve-gauge shotguns in 3” to 3 ½” magnums are most common with some 10, 20 and 16 gauge shotguns used.

A prime target area for a gobbler is in the head/neck area, the closer, the better. Taking shots out past 45-50 yards are not recommended and wounding game is disrespectful to the animal and poor sportsmanship in general. Many a gobbler has escaped a hunter due to poor shot selections and a failure to be close enough when shooting.

The use of manmade turkey blinds is legal; using logs, rocks and branches is illegal. In general, I would find a tree large enough to cover my back and give me a good vantage point of any other hunters approaching my location.

I like to set a few decoy hens out in front of me to get a gobbler’s attention while I am calling to him. Live turkeys and electronic calling or the use of a bird dog are not allowed in the spring.

The display of your license is no longer required, but it must be on your person along with a legal form of identification. Good luck as the spring season lasts through May 31. The first two weeks require hunters to cease hunting at noon. From May 14 through May 31, you may hunt until one half hour after sunset.