Got a question for you guys. At what point (score) do you think a bird steps up from a nice bird to a real nice bird? I'm not talking about record book score here (I know those are truly trophies) but the level(s) below that. Obviously, a jake doesn't qualify and a 2 year old probably won't but a good 3 year old might. I see some birds posted here with scores in high 60's and low 70's. I would guess they are monsters. Or am I just overthinking it?
I mean, I see 120" 8 points as a nice buck, a 140" ten point as a true monster here. I know in other areas of the country, that is a nice buck, not a monster.
When I pull the trigger he qualifies as a real nice bird. :funnyturkey:
Ive never even scored one.
Quote from: born2hunt on April 20, 2015, 11:06:15 PM
When I pull the trigger he qualifies as a real nice bird. :funnyturkey:
Ive never even scored one.
I concur
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scores mean absolutely nothing to me. every bird I shoot is a trophy to me , some are just bigger. what makes them trophies to me , is being able to replay hunts in my head. the memories is what drives me in this sport. beards and spurs are the bonus. when I look at those , the memories all come rolling in like it happened yesterday.
Most of the birds that I hunt 2yr olds fall somewhere in the 50's so I consider 60 good, 65 real good and 70+ is monster. I'll kill any mature bird if it was a good hunt the big ones are just bonus.
We score them because we have a little friendly competition between our group of hunting buddies.
Quote from: born2hunt on April 20, 2015, 11:06:15 PM
When I pull the trigger he qualifies as a real nice bird. :funnyturkey:
Ive never even scored one.
x3
I like big spurs, but the trophy is the memory and being able to get the bird.
One of the many things I love about turkey hunting is most people aren't obsessed with scoring. Most are more about the overall hunt. If I kill a big bird, I might score him out of curiosity, but rarely mention it when describing the hunt or bird. The what did he score mentality of current day deer hunting has turned me off. Still love to deer hunt, but really don't care to discuss.
Quote from: Muzzy61 on April 21, 2015, 10:04:06 AM
One of the many things I love about turkey hunting is most people aren't obsessed with scoring. Most are more about the overall hunt. If I kill a big bird, I might score him out of curiosity, but rarely mention it when describing the hunt or bird. The what did he score mentality of current day deer hunting has turned me off. Still love to deer hunt, but really don't care to discuss.
:icon_thumright: Well said.
Its about putting in the time and hunting who cares about the score. With the price of meat these days the trophy is up to you. Good hunting.
I have shot some very big toms one had two beards a 10 inch and a 9 inch both thick and heavy with 1,5 inch spurs but I never scored a bird in my life ,,I just look for the toms that come in running to kick the snot out of my pretty boy decoy ,,thems the big boys Dutch
If they have a full fan.
That being said, I have killed a couple jakes that I was proud of, they were either a tough acting bird early in my career or a slump breaker. They tasted just as good!
A nice bird is a dead bird ... and a real nice bird is a deader bird! All taste good to me. :z-guntootsmiley:
Quote from: jblackburn on April 21, 2015, 01:02:55 PM
If they have a full fan.
That being said, I have killed a couple jakes that I was proud of, they were either a tough acting bird early in my career or a slump breaker. They tasted just as good!
I agree with the full fan. I always can't wait to go over and roll him over and see the size of his beard and spurs. It's like being a kid at Christmas and seeing what the present has in it for me. The memories and this excitement is how I "score" my birds not actual measurements
If I'm lucky enough to "win" the game that morning and he comes home with me, that is a great bird to me.
Any bird is a nice bird. To kill a turkey is a great thrill and accomplishment. I am happy each time it happens and never bothered to score one, nor do I want to start. I think that would start to take the fun out of it for me. I relate it to how I view fishing. A friend and I went out fishing one time and we were catching quite a few. My buddy looks over at me and says "I've caught x amount of fish, how many have you caught." I told him, "I have no idea." I was out there to enjoy myself and could care less if he caught more than me or vice versa. It wasn't a competiton to me and hope it never becomes one. Same with turkey hunting.
Any full fan gobbler is a trophy to me.
If I killed a gobbler who possessed a combination of what I believed to be the longest beard ever, the longest spurs ever and was obviously the heaviest bird ever, I would mentally say to myself, "nice bird", and move on to the next one. Finding such a bird would only be a matter of fate, not some awe impressing feat. I hate anything concerning turkey hunting that suggests that the hunting of this great bird is some kind of contest other than the contest between predator and prey.
I agree with the posts above, any bird I am fortunate enough to kill is a trophy. I've killed a few jakes that mean as much as any of the others. If it makes you happy it's a trophy!!
Any bird with better than 1.25" hooks and an 11"+ beard.
I'm all about fullfans and long beards but anyone who denies the thrill of rolling a bird over and seeing serious hooks is a liar. They are not all created equal....
I only scored 1 bird in the last few years & that was because he had 5 beards & 1.5" hooks. I was curious!
All my birds get scored because I do some local contests. Ive had a couple real good years and won some cash but I honestly couldn't tell you what any of them scored. Numbers don't matter much to me.
Any trophy to you should be all that matters.
Only reason I have ever scored a bird was because of the last however many years I've been on a turkey team. That's only a few out of 20+ years. I've been fortunate to kill some nice birds for the team, but I've killed a few in the past that would have scored better and have no idea what they scored. Have a triple beard bird with 1 3/8" spurs mounted that I've never scored. Really makes no difference to me. If a 2 yr. old plays the game and makes for a memorable hunt I'll shoot him in the face just as fast as I would a 3+ yr old. As I said, score means nothing, but I do like big spurs. Beards don't really give any measure of a bird to me. I've killed 2 yr olds with 10" beards.
Personally, I value any bird I kill, and the quality and difficulty of the hunt dictates the amount of enjoyment in harvest. Having said that, I do love to kill long spurred birds, as it indicates older birds. The trouble with trying to age a turkey by spur length, is that birds living in rocky country tend to have their spurs worn more, than birds living in areas of sandy soils, for instance. But if I kill a bird with 1.5" spurs or better, that represents an older bird, and that is always icing on the cake, for me.
Quote from: Spitten and drummen on April 21, 2015, 08:18:54 AM
scores mean absolutely nothing to me. every bird I shoot is a trophy to me , some are just bigger. what makes them trophies to me , is being able to replay hunts in my head. the memories is what drives me in this sport. beards and spurs are the bonus. when I look at those , the memories all come rolling in like it happened yesterday.
:z-winnersmiley: I couldn't have said it any better myself. It's about the memories, not some arbitrary numbers.
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on April 21, 2015, 11:52:08 PM
Any bird with better than 1.25" hooks and an 11"+ beard.
I'm all about fullfans and long beards but anyone who denies the thrill of rolling a bird over and seeing serious hooks is a liar. They are not all created equal....
This^^^^^^
I love the full fan, but the first thing I look at are the spurs. I haven't broken 9/16th's yet, but it would be exciting to see some 1"+!
A good bird is any full fan I call to the gun. A great bird is a bird I identify before the season, hunt him, and kill him
Quote from: chatterbox on April 22, 2015, 01:22:32 PM
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on April 21, 2015, 11:52:08 PM
Any bird with better than 1.25" hooks and an 11"+ beard.
I'm all about fullfans and long beards but anyone who denies the thrill of rolling a bird over and seeing serious hooks is a liar. They are not all created equal....
This^^^^^^
I love the full fan, but the first thing I look at are the spurs. I haven't broken 9/16th's yet, but it would be exciting to see some 1"+!
I do agree, I posted full fan and that is my true passion, but the first thing I do after killing a full fanned bird is check the spurs. I have never seen spurs then shot.
If I score a bird it is just for my own curiosity and kind of fun to keep track of the biggest ones I've taken. I don't score them unless they weigh a ton, have a huge beard or really long spurs.
My biggest tom scored 80, be cool if I top that someday but no problem if I don't.
My 10 year old grandson shot his first bird last weekend, an old , old tom and it had 1 1/2" and 1 5/8" hooks , so I scored it for him...71 6/8"...gives him something to rib his older brother (15 yr old) about who has taken a ton of birds.
The bird I score the highest was a bird that I knew was there because I kept finding his tracks and his strut marks. He never gobbled a single time (at least not that I heard). I called him in to the shot at 11:30 after hunting since daylight. Had seen2 jakes and 4 hens all morning and I just knew he would be along. Strangely sure that morning. I have no idea what he scored, he was a mature bird over 10" beard, over 1.25 spurs, but can't tell you much more (I still have them, but don't know which are his). I call him my best bird.
My nephew's first bird was 11.75 beard, 1 3/8 and 1 3/8 spur. Was around 60th place in the Florida Eastern Registry. He went without a bird the next 8 years, but killed one this year. It was a HUGE bird, massive tail fan, dwarves all the others we have.
You can score a Turkey???