Age standard for fan width? / Rainy morning hunt that the turkeys won.

[HookedonHooks]

I've got a lead on a bird I believe to be seven years old, two of them actually, they stick together and one has a busted fan, that's how I identify them as the same birds. They both always stay just out of gun range, but they're tail fans are some of the widest and tallest fans I've ever seen. I was wanting some of your guys opinions on if there's any way to age a bird from this, or in your experiences are they similar to overall fan dimensions growing with age. To a point obviously, but I'm talking maybe near 36" across and 22-24" tall. Hoping to outsmart this bird this season, as he hasn't been pressured in two years.

[dublelung]

 I don't think the age of a turkey can determined by how large his fan is. His fan also won't be busted up every year, they lose feathers and grow more throughout the year. I don't know that I've ever seen a 7 year old gobbler but I'd be more inclined to think he would be a hermit rather than hanging around with another gobbler. Good luck with him!

[mgm1955]

I don't think the age of a turkey can determined by how large his fan is. His fan also won't be busted up every year, they lose feathers and grow more throughout the year. I don't know that I've ever seen a 7 year old gobbler but I'd be more inclined to think he would be a hermit rather than hanging around with another gobbler. Good luck with him!

[MK M GOBL]

The biggest fans I have came off of the heaviest birds I've killed and in no way would I have been able to age them by the fan. The only way I know of to verify the age of any turkey is if they were banded as a jake and that band was "retrieved" years later. I know a lot of us that guess age by spur length and there are some generals we go by for the first few years of a gobbler life but even then I'm sure genetics, diet and availability of food play a role in spur length.

MK M GOBL

[dejake]

36 inches?  That's a monster.

[LaLongbeard]

I keep all my gobbler fans an I've found the 2 year olds have 16-18 feathers in the fan the 3-4 year olds 18 and the oldest/ biggest have 20 tail feathers. Its hard to count feathers before the shot but when there really big you can tell from a distance. Not sure how accurate this would be for ageing a bird but I've killed a few heavy two year olds that were bigger in every way except fan height and beard spur length of the older birds. I'm thinking as they get older one extra feather per side on the fan which makes the fan wider.

[stinkpickle]

I wouldn't trust any technique using fan size to determine age.  The only way to even verify that would be to test banded birds, anyway.

[HookedonHooks]

Well today I went out sat in the the windy, 42 degree, rain. The rain and clouds allowed me to get in close and I was set up opposite side of the field he was roosting in. He didn't like the decoys the last two hunts and stayed well out of range because of them. With no decoys up today I was sure I was going to fool him as I was set up on the side of the field he likes to work. Of course he works long along the other side, but eventually his hen came straight for me after two hours of sitting in the rain and apprehension. He got to about 50 yards and began to skirt wide on the direction his hen went. I recently picked up a 870 super mag and was shooting a Carlsons Longbeard XR choke with Longbeard #4s. I felt pretty confident but knew it was a poke out there, as I squeezed off I knew I was high, and I proceeded to watch him fly to the next county. Only if you could use rifles in Missouri.... Then again that would make it nearly turkey shooting and not hunting.

[Hooksfan]

What part of Missouri are you from?

[HookedonHooks]

Kansas City area. Was on private today, but have hunted public in the area as well, it's way over pressured.

[fallhnt]

You need to check spur length to age a bird. Over an inch is 3 year old and it's not an exact science from there on.

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