Aging gobblers

[Borden811]

So, what do you guys go by to age your gobblers? I know some people go by beards, but that seems unreliable at best to me, especially in climates where snow and ice is prevalent in the winter. In my opinion(and many other peoples)spurs are the best indicator of age. But what is the cutoff between a 2yr old, and a 3 yr old, or 3+ years. I know spurs can be worn down, etc. So, what do you guys use as a general rule? I think the two birds I killed this year were 2 and 3 years old. I'll post up a pic of the spurs and beards from each, and see what you guys think. The first bird on the left, had a beard of 8 3/4, 7/8 inch spurs, and weighed 19 lbs. The second bird on the right had a beard of 9 3/4 inches, 1 1/8 spurs, and weighed 20 lbs.

[drenalinld]

I think spurs are the best indicator. I would have aged those birds at 2 and 3 just as you did. In rocky, mountainous terrain they can wear them down and never grow to that long hook but it is possible to see the spurs get a little heavier.

[davisd9]

Spurs is what I go by.  Looking at the bone structure of your two birds would confirm the one on the right is older than the one on the left and I would agree with the one on the left being 2 yrs old and the other 3 yrs old.  Congrats on some good birds!

[neal]

According to Lovett Williams the tip of a beard will be amber colored when hes a jake and a 2yr old then after that its the spurs you go by, I don't think there is any exact science to it but in my area those two birds would be a 2yr old and 3yr old.

[Borden811]

davisd9, could you elaborate a little more on the bone structure, such as what you look at to determine if it's an older bird. I can see that the 3yr old bird has heavier leg bones, and the ridges are more pronounced. Is there more to it? What are the traits I should be looking for? Thanks!

[Nimrodmar10]

There is only one true way to tell the age of a turkey. You have to count the annual growth rings in their teeth. They're hard to find though. They're really rare on the hens.

[longbeardlife.com]

spurs for sure...  i would say your guess on your birds would be correct..  congrats on birds...

[Borden811]

Nimrod, the only problem with that system is, in my area when the gobblers get really old, thier teeth fall out from old age. Then you're right back to using the spurs again.

[TRKYHTR]

According to Lovett Williams the tip of a beard will be amber colored when hes a jake and a 2yr old then after that its the spurs you go by, I don't think there is any exact science to it but in my area those two birds would be a 2yr old and 3yr old.

Neal is correct. Look at both beards under good light or in the sun. If most of the ends are amber color it's a 2 y/o. There will probably be a few that are amber even with a 3 year old or older because new beard/hairs are continually growing. I would bet your guess is correct with a 2 and a 3 y o.

TRKYHTR

[davisd9]

I just happened to notice the difference in the bone structure of those two birds and it was the same thing that you stated.  I would not use that as a way to guess an age just a way to say if one might be older than the other.  There may not be a difference in a 3 yr old and a 4 yr old, but to me there is a noticeable difference in those two birds.  I might start just looking at that from now on just to observe if there are other major differences in birds of different ages.

[Scout24]

IMO you can only judge minimum age based on spurs and agree they are the best indicator past two years old. I've seen plenty of two year old birds with 10" beards coming off farmland with lots of green fields. Woods birds here average 9.5" beards mostly and I think it's due to wear from increased scratching to eat.

This is what I believe is accurate for the area I hunt here in SC where we have rocky soil (quartz and red clay mostly):
My take is 5/8" to 7/8" should be at least a two year old bird.
1" to 1 1/8" should be a 3 year old bird.
Over 1 1/8" is a 4 year old bird.
Agree totally with this, our turkey biologist years ago told me 5-7/8" is 2 year old, 1" or better a three, beards are not reliable, nor weight. Largest spurred bird ever seen, 1 5/8" only weighed 16 pds but aged at 6 or older.
Toms from sandy soil areas from our lowstate always seem to sport longer spurs.

[paturkeyhntr]

This is great info guys!!!!!

[drenalinld]

I don't know about bone structure for age comparison. I would think it would be as different as it is in humans. The largest leg bone and foot I have ever seen was from a hen I shot in the fall.

Where is the amber on the beard from the bird we all think is a two year old?

[davisd9]

Not saying you should age one by bone structure.  I just happened to see the difference and thought it was neat.  You may not be able to tell that much different on most birds but to me those birds bone structure is very different.  Birds in agriculture areas probably have a different bone structure than those that have to scratch acorns in an oak hollow.  Just an observation on my part.  Like others have said, spurs is the number one way to guesstimate an age of a gobbler and I just learned about the amber tips of a two year old from 2ounce6s on a hunt this year.  I have yet to kill a two year old, but when I do I will look for that.  I have not been hunting turkeys long, 5-6 years, and have only killed 2 jakes and two 3 yr olds.  This is a very interesting topic and I hope more information and opinions will be put forth.

[drenalinld]

I can definitely see the difference in the leg bone size. I'm not real sure when a turkey's skeleton is fully mature? I would guess by two years old but that is just a guess. If the bones grow into the third year like deer it may be an indicator for age?

The bone center of the spur being the best indicator makes some sense to me. It is not hard to pull the dark sheath off of the bone leaving the spur the same color as the leg bone. I wouldn't think it would wear down or be as likely to break off like the outer sheath can.

I just wish I had more of those 1-1/4" spurs to try and figure all this out!!