My personal opinion is that the taking of one hen (Ohio's fall limit, and where the original poster hails from.) from a healthy population will not hurt one thing. It also saves the gobblers for spring. an NWTF study showed that as long as fall harvest does not exceed 10% of the population, population numbers will maintain or increase. Most states come nowhere near the 10% mark as specifically targeting fall turkeys is exceedingly uncommon due to most guys chasing deer, waterfowl etc. You are absolutely right, dead hens don't lay eggs, but the 49 other hens that were with the hen I shot will. I just don't see shooting an occasional hen as a detriment. Yes if you invited 10 of your buddies and you all shot hens, then you may see a decrease. I think habitat effects the population more than any other factor