Here's a link to scoring and measuring.
http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,2654.0.htmlHere's the scoring page:
http://oldgobbler.com/checkstation.htmREMEMBER have picture of you, your screen name, the gobbler harvested, and measurements clearly printed on sheet of paper, ALL in the photo!! I was looking at some other teams threads and came across some excellent information to help in making sure one is prepared to enter, score, and have his gobbler eligible for the contest. I asked Gobblestopper (Lance) of the Head Hunters if I could copy and paste his post/information, and he was eager to pass on his work if it would help us out. I feel he has done an excellent job in organizing and covering the needs for scoring one's bird. Here is a copy of his writing, with some minor edits:
Your CRUSADERS Commitment:
This contest is as much or more about the spirit of competition, the camaraderie that comes with being part of a team and ultimately sharing in the great sport of turkey hunting, as it is about the potential to earn bragging rights for the year.
As a participant in the 2011 Turkey Hunting Contest you have made a commitment to both the Old Gobbler member community and the other 14 members of your team. Your teammates all have the right to expect that every team member will make an honest effort to participate in our online team activities and to contribute more than just a name on their team roster and some pictures in a scoring thread at the end of the contest.
Your Team Score Contribution:
In order to have any chance of being competitive in this contest we need at least 10 different guys out of 16 to successfully harvest a turkey. That is a 62.5 % hunter success rate that would in many states/areas be more than double the average rate. Each successful hunter will need to properly measure, photograph and score their bird's weight, spurs and beard(s); and then post their total score and photo documentation into CRUSADERS 2011 Kill Thread sticky. Each team member has the option of upgrading their own bird score by posting a higher scoring bird during the contest period. Sounds easy, but don't kid yourself it is not. Every year there have been teams whose member's bird scores have been either disqualified or downgraded due to improper measuring, poor photo quality or missing photo documentation. Worse yet, there have even been contestants who appear to have simply not followed through on their contest and team obligations to post their bird.
It is completely understandable and acceptable that for an infinite number of reasons some guys may not be lucky enough to harvest a bird. This is all part of the challenge of turkey hunting and most of us have either been there or come real close. What is not acceptable is to just walk away from your teammates. If you do not get your bird, just be ready to honor your efforts, your quarry and your team commitment by manning-up and posting your results. Then standby to provide encouragement, recognition and hopefully not too much consoling for the rest of your teammates.
Things you will need for scoring:
A reliable Digital Camera, with suitable close-up capabilities, that you or someone else knows how to operate. Ideally, you should make arrangements for someone to assist with taking the measurements and necessary photos. Taking multiple photos of the various measurements and required poses is the best way to reduce the chance of losing points due to a poor quality or missing photo. Download/back-up your photo image files to a reliable storage device and/or your photo-bucket account ASAP to avoid the possibility of camera or even computer hard drive failures and loss of your hard earned pictures.
A Scale that measures pounds and ounces at a minimum. Digital fish scales with a 0 to 50lb.range are a popular and fairly inexpensive choice. Do not short change yourself or your teammates by trying to get by with a spring scale that only reads to the nearest pound. If you weigh in on a certified scale at the local hardware store you MUST have a picture of the bird on the scale showing the weight. A gold embossed, notarized, certified letter from the store clerk attesting to the weight is not an acceptable substitute. If you were planning on using that crusty/rusty old "de-liar" that you inherited from your grandpas tackle box please re-consider.
A Tape Measure with 1/16th of an inch markings. Your steel Stanley tape will be good for the beard measurement, but a cloth-type tape may be a better option for accurately measuring the spurs.
A piece of cardboard, heavy paper or paper grocery bag and a black marker pen.
Photos you will need to take for posting in the team scoring thread:
You will need to write down the following information/measurements in a size that is large enough to be clearly visible in a posted photo.
CRUSADERS
Your OG Username
Date:
Weight: lbs____ oz. ____
Beard length:
Right Spur length:
Left Spur length:
Total Score:________
A picture of your bird on the scale that clearly shows the weight. You need a picture of more than just a foot, or just the scale. The whole bird on the scale is BEST.
A picture of the beard(s) measurement clearly showing the length from the base of the beard to the end of the longest hair. True multiple beard gobblers will have some skin between the bases of their beards get an additional picture showing this skin separation between the bases and photograph the measurement of each beard.
Clear pictures of both the Right and Left spur measurements
Take a Nice picture of you and your bird with a good background setting for consideration in the OG best photo part of the contest.
Things you will need to know:
How to convert ounces to their decimal equivalent of a pound. (ounces X .0625)
The decimal equivalents of an inch for measurements in 1/16 increments.( # of 1/16th's X .0625)
How to use the Scoring Calculator
http://oldgobbler.com/checkstation.htm or the scoring formula multipliers
Tips:
It is not unusual to shoot a bird that has what I call an extra long wild hair or hairs that can be an inch or more longer than the rest of its beard hairs. These longest hairs do count in the official scoring and must be protected from being pulled out during handling and transport from the field to "photo" time.
Thanks Gobblestopper for allowing us to use your works!!
God Bless,
David B.
