Encountering a henned-up gobbler is a situation that is prevalent through a significant portion of the early turkey hunting season. It can extend for a considerable time, enough that hunters should learn to cope with it. Understanding what’s going on biologically can help hunters understand what’s really going on and how to best respond.
Charles Ruth, deer and turkey project supervisor for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources said there are some very specific facts about the link between gobblers, hens and South Carolina’s turkey seasons.
“Setting spring turkey seasons is a balance between providing hunters with an opportunity to hunt and kill adult toms during peak gobbling without sacrificing the breeding success of hens,” Ruth said. “Some hunters are confused by the fact that the season begins after the first “minor” peak in gobbling in mid-March. However, this first peak is related to the break-up of winter flocks and is not the true peak in spring gobbling.
“Following this minor peak in gobbling is peak breeding. This period, during late March and into early April, often offers poor hunting opportunities because hens are with gobblers for breeding purposes and thus, gobbling activity is sparse and inconsistent. This is commonly referred to being henned up. Also, since hens are spending considerable time with gobblers, they are vulnerable to inadvertent or illegal harvest, an issue that has repeatedly been documented through studies.
“Biologically, the optimal time for spring gobbler season occurs once hens begin to lay eggs and incubate,” Ruth said. “Gobblers can be killed without concern for the stability of the population since they are no longer needed for breeding. Hens are usually out of the picture, making them less vulnerable to inadvertent or illegal kill, and their absence also stimulates the longest and most-consistent peak in gobbling.
“Finally, although the tendency in an unhunted area is for peak gobbling to last nearly a month, hunters should remember that hunting pressure impacts gobbling activity. Today, with nearly 50,000 turkey hunters in the state, there is no question that hunting pressure during the first 10 days to two weeks of the season impacts gobbling. Responsive gobblers are killed, and survivors become “buggered-up”. Therefore, hunters should manage their expectations related to the duration of strong gobbling activity.”
Ruth said that all things considered, April 1 is the ideal date for the spring gobbler season to open in South Carolina. This date affords hunters the opportunity to hunt during the natural peak of gobbling without sacrificing the reproductive success of hens. However, the 12 counties that comprise Game Zone 6 (the Lowcountry) have a long tradition of a March 15 turkey season opening, and there is no proposal for a change to the opening date.
“If the season is set correctly, the greatest proportion of gobblers should be harvested during the first week of the season because a high percentage of hens are nesting resulting in gobblers without hens that are responsive to hunter’s calls,” Ruth said. “Harvest by week of season demonstrates that the April 1 framework offers better hunting, because 43 percent of gobblers are taken during the first week compared to 27 percent during the first week of the March 15 framework.”
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