How Many Hens

[culpeper]

How many hens have you intentionally and successfully argued with as a strategy to draw in the gobbler who was with her and how, with what call or calls did you use to do it?  Is there a certain time of the season where you found this approach to be more successful?

[dejake]

Have tried on numerous occasions. Only worked once. I was cutting.  Buddy of mine does it all the time.  He won't share his secret for calling in hens.

[Happy]

Don't have a hard number but I would say at least a third of my toms killed were in the presence of hens. Early in the breeding I go with a more amicable aproach because the hens dont seem to feel as threatened by another hen. Peak breading I get pretty aggressive with my calling. Whatever it takes to try and get the boss mad enough to head over for a face to face conversation. Sometimes they still head the other way. Several time I have broke the dominate hen off of the flock and had her at fifteen yards while the rest of the hens(and tom) stayed back and listened.  So even when it works sometimes it doesn't work.

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[BowBendr]

I've gotten into a ton of shouting and shoving matches with spring hens over the past 25 years. I have always heard to pizz off the dominate hen and let her drag the tom in. Can't say as I've ever seen it work personally. It is easy to strike up a conversation with them, usually they'll holler back at some sharp cutting but always seem to hold their ground and just holler back at you. I've imitated every call they make, yep, it makes them mad but they seldom make a move to me. In the fall it's easy but they have 2 totally different mind sets in spring vs fall in my experiences.

[culpeper]

Well, I have done it maybe 6 times, once which was my 1st time was most memorable.  I was set up in a favorite strut zone where both gobblers and hens liked to frequent....I had heard a gobbler hammering on his own the day before at 11:45 am, our day ends at 12:00 so I couldn't go after him, but said I'll be waiting tomorrow.

Took my time getting in and was waiting at sunrise...nothing so I fell "asleep" lightly only to waken up at 8:30 by a hen who was cutting her head off.  Once I got my bearing I knew she was behind me out across 2 fields and 3 hedgerows.  Found her in the binos she was about 350 yds out....all by herself with the exception of a gobbler who proceeded to gobble every time she cut, which was often!  I kept checking and no one else showed except the 2 of them.  I got thinking about having read about calling to a aggressive hen....so, out came a glass pot and I cut at her hard, yikes that got her attention, she started cutting more and started my way and the gobbled hammered more!  I would wait and cut again and she would holler back getting even more aggressive each time.  So after 3-5 minutes of this I stopped and she slowly but surely kept moving my way, with him in tow.  Now 15 more minutes pass and she cuts every now and then.  So, I started back up and added in some hard excited yelps with the cuts....well folks, that's all she needed, she was ready to rumble....here she comes and trotting...she cut in the woods at about 100 yds and goes quiet....I waited 2 minutes and hit her hard one more time....thought she was gonna tear the leaves from the trees she was so mad!!!  This ole gobbler was hammering now and my heart was jumping out of my clothes.  She never quit and came straight in,...at 30 yds I saw it, this sweetheart was sporting a solid 8 " beard.  She literally got to within 10 feet of screamin her head off....she finally passed and he stepped out for a peek....ONE LAST TIME.  It was an unbelievable hunt and from that day on I have tried it many times, but clearly you need a willing partner to play the game.

[GobbleNut]

Great story Culpeper,...nice work!

As others have stated, I have had some success with calling in hens,...and a lot of failures.  For me, it is like Forrest Gump and his "box of chocolates",...you never know what you are going to get until you try it. 

I can't say I have any real strategy in conversing with hens, other than just going with the flow depending on what they are saying to me.  I'm not sure that mimicry is the best course of action, but it seems like that is what I always end up resorting to.  Whatever she/they do,...I do it back.  On occasion, it works like a charm, but often we have a nice little conversation for a bit,...and then she decides to go on about her business, whatever that may be. 

Regardless, it is always entertaining,...and if nothing else, is another learning experience for me to catalogue in my ever-expanding list of "now what did I do wrong this time?" turkey hunting outcomes. 
                           

[culpeper]

GobbleNut,

Ditto, can't say since this my hunt that I developed any strategy either, and like you I have experienced very similar conditions where I did what I did the last time to a seemingly similar aggressive hen where she 'entertained' me for a while and went the other way.  Another such story happened last season.

My buddy and I hit a gobbler bout 10:30 am, his response was good, not great, but it escalated soon after where he gobbled on his own about 10 times over a 3-4 minute period so we thought, heck, we better find a tree and get ready...he was about 250 yds out and we had good cover.  Well, apparently his excitement fired up one of his hens and she started tearing it up with cuts and very excited yelps and that in turn got him more worked up in a lather.  We waited patiently for Mother Nature to work her magic and we even jumped into the fray and fired back at her on my long box with some sharp cutting and we could tell they made a decent move toward us.  After 20 more minutes, however, they halted, she stopped and he would gobble only now and then.  We figured she gave him "what for" and told him he'll NOT be wandering over to those hussies if he wanted to finish his "business" with them!!!  That's turkey hunting.

[jblackburn]

I've done it a few times.  Seems to work well on Rio hens. I try to mimic exactly how she is calling, it really seems to piss them off, often they come in aggressive purring ready to stomp a noisy lady on their turf

[guesswho]

Zero.  I have killed a handful of gobblers that came in while I was having a loud discussion with a vocal hen though.  But never called in a vocal hen with a gobbler following her.   I doubt if I ever will.  Simply because that tactic is way down my what to try next list.

[Bowguy]

The way I see it you work the gobbler. When that doesn't work cause he's w hens or going to hens there's nothing to lose. (Barring you aren't hunting same area tomo). I don't use every trick every time.

I often use fight scenes n it's brutal on some birds. Often the gobblers come running in. Often the hens come in first dragging the Tom head bobbing like kids going to a brawl they know they'll win.
Not my first option but a chance nonetheless n it has worked.

Knowing where the roost is n getting between toms n hens is the best option but calling hens is another weapon.
When they call, especially cutt do a little more. If she cuts back you may have her. Another option not many guys use it seems n one that's worked is kee keeing in the spring. 
You can also use lost yelps but I feel fights n cutting are the best options.
Besides cutting is great for gobbler locating n often you'll hear another bird far off that is more willing to come in

[EZ]

I've worked the hens (successfully) so many times over the last 30 some years I couldn't begin to count. Our season in Pa. comes in at a time when the mature birds are henned up a good percentage of the time, so you better learn how to deal with them.

Remember, most hens are jealous and competitive. Often, when they hear another aggressive hen (you), they take the gobbler the other way. When I know or suspect a gobbler has hens, I will usually just soft yelp, soft kee-kee, and purr and cluck to pull in the whole flock. If that doesn't work, I go aggressive. Sometimes that gets the dominant hen wound up, sometimes you can pull the gobbler away from the hens, and sometimes you can pull in a "satellite" longbeard. Either way, the gun goes bang!!!

[culpeper]

EZ, we aren't too far from each other, I am in Upstate NY so I am all too familiar with a late season and breeding...your response has weight, however, your prowess with wingbones might give you an advantage  LOL with your ability to soft call and sweet talk the flock.  To my mistake I find myself getting too aggressive (mimicking) too soon with a hen to fire her up....I will take your softer approach 1st from now on.

BTW, presuming you are the EZ I believe, your wingbones are crazy strong!

[greencop01]

              Two years ago I was hunting with my friend working for a tom we were after for a couple of years on the same cranberry bog on the edge of a state forest in SE Mass. The tom flew from the roost and landed about 40 yds or so from us. He was joined by 5 hens. They ignored our calling and wandered away from us. We walked back to my friend's truck and drove down the road and watched the birds with binoculars. They were heading slowly towards an old cart road at the far end of the bog. We drove to a gated road in the state forest, parked and walked about a half mile to the cart road. At the end of the cart road I scooted on my butt along the edge of a berm on the far end of this bog. I peeked over the berm and saw the tom in strut about 40 yds from us. I scooted to the near end of the berm and raised my gun to my knee and got into a shooting position. My friend was 10 yds behind me. All of a sudden I had 5 hens come around the corner about 10 feet from me and they started putting, I froze and My friend scatched in the leaves behind him because the hens were too close and would see the movement and the hens looked at me. I was wearing a leafy suit and a slight breeze moved the cloth 'leaves' and they started to cluck softly and started scratching. I watched the tom come into view and had to wait 'till he came into a half strut and shot him at 20 yds. I couldn't have done it w/o some luck but most of all w/o my friend helping I wouldn't of had success. So yes I consider scratching calling if it helps bringing in a tom in range. It is a sound and I consider it a call and more often than not helped me to finish a hunt. By the way it was the last day of the season.

[WildTigerTrout]

Calling in the hen with the intention of having the gobbler follow does indeed work.  I have been successful with the technique about three times.  It fails more often than it works but I keep the idea tucked into my bag of tricks.  One absolute in turkey hunting is there are NO absolutes.  Another word that should be removed from the turkey hunter's vocabulary is NEVER!

[EZ]

EZ, we aren't too far from each other, I am in Upstate NY so I am all too familiar with a late season and breeding...your response has weight, however, your prowess with wingbones might give you an advantage  LOL with your ability to soft call and sweet talk the flock.  To my mistake I find myself getting too aggressive (mimicking) too soon with a hen to fire her up....I will take your softer approach 1st from now on.

BTW, presuming you are the EZ I believe, your wingbones are crazy strong!

Yep, that be me. Been hunting Otsego Co. for around 20 years. Where are you at?
And don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid to get real aggressive with them.......WHEN it's time to get aggressive.