How Many ??

[zelmo1]

How many true 70 point birds, only one beard counted, have you actually shot. Easy for me, just 1. Only a dozen or so in the 60's even. Tough to get the spurs and beards to get them that high of a score up here. They have a tough life in these parts, lol. Z

[MK M GOBL]

My best single beard bird went 81.3750, I may have a few 70's mark, and most are in the 60's range.

*Just looked at our WGS Contest from last year and here are the top scores in their categories

Typical Shotgun
George Scott      74.5000
Logan Swenson            74.0000
Tyler Newlun      72.3750

Typical Archery
Brandon Paradis           78.9375
Jen Peak              65.3125
Justin Peak      59.5000

Atypical Shotgun
Billy Degenhardt   70.0000
Dalton Way      67.2500

Youth Contest
Moses Memmer           79.6250   
Haze Memmer           74.5000   
Harper Stenner           71.6250

MK M GOBL

[Tom007]

Only (1) Z. The ridge birds I hunt lack long spurs, the rocks keep them "well manicured". Most of my birds score in upper 50's, low 60's. They all taste just fine though....

[TrackeySauresRex]

They all taste just fine though....

Yup 

I'm not a counter of these magnificent Birds.. However, most times.. you tend to remember the really good ones.
1 @ 72.2pts.. I do remember another I shot, don't have the stats. He was a great one. Could've went a lil bigger.  Last season, I had an another almost, just a Weee bit short.

Like You Z.. 1 or 2 in the 60's 

I always loved the stories of the ones we didn't get. They usually start,
"He was the biggest Gobbler I've ever seen"

[Tom007]

They all taste just fine though....

Yup 

I'm not a counter of these magnificent Birds.. However, most times.. you tend to remember the really good ones.
1 @ 72.2pts.. I do remember another I shot, don't have the stats. He was a great one. Could've went a lil bigger.  Last season, I had an another almost, just a Weee bit short.

Like You Z.. 1 or 2 in the 60's 

I always loved the stories of the ones we didn't get. They usually start,
"He was the biggest Gobbler I've ever seen"

Very true here, the ones I missed looked as big as Ostriches.......lol 

[TrackeySauresRex]

They all taste just fine though....

Yup 

I'm not a counter of these magnificent Birds.. However, most times.. you tend to remember the really good ones.
1 @ 72.2pts.. I do remember another I shot, don't have the stats. He was a great one. Could've went a lil bigger.  Last season, I had an another almost, just a Weee bit short.

Like You Z.. 1 or 2 in the 60's 

I always loved the stories of the ones we didn't get. They usually start,
"He was the biggest Gobbler I've ever seen"

Very true here, the ones I missed looked as big as Ostriches.......lol 

How the H did WEee ever miss them they were HUGE!

[Greg Massey]

After i carried one about 2 miles back to the truck he ended up scoring about 10 points with me ...

Several in the 50/60 's and few pushing more than 60 ...

weight of the bird made some difference ..

[Tom007]

They all taste just fine though....

Yup 

I'm not a counter of these magnificent Birds.. However, most times.. you tend to remember the really good ones.
1 @ 72.2pts.. I do remember another I shot, don't have the stats. He was a great one. Could've went a lil bigger.  Last season, I had an another almost, just a Weee bit short.

Like You Z.. 1 or 2 in the 60's 

I always loved the stories of the ones we didn't get. They usually start,
"He was the biggest Gobbler I've ever seen"

Very true here, the ones I missed looked as big as Ostriches.......lol 

How the H did WEee ever miss them they were HUGE!

I know, I still have nightmares about these Giraffes 

[Hook hanger]

I've have gotten at least a dozen  70+ birds they are not that uncommon around my hunting area. Certain farms are notorious for growing long spurred heavyweight birds.

[GobbleNut]

Great question....and for more than one reason.
Personally, I have killed one "single-bearded" gobbler (Osceola) that scored 70+.  Of all the gobblers I have killed over the years, the only ones that have come close to 70 have been Osceolas, except for one Rio that was close.  Except for that one Rio, from every other subspecies (all of them), the closest I have come to 70 may have been in the mid-60's and there have been very few of them.

In the area I generally hunt, I have scored HUNDREDS of Merriam's gobblers over the years.  Of those hundreds, I can't recall a single gobbler that would have scored 70+.  The average mature gobbler here is lucky to hit 60, and most will score in the low to mid-50's.  The local genetics here, and the habitat type, just are not conducive to growing birds that "fit" the scoring system used.  There is invariably one (or more) of the three scoring parameters that is weak.

The bottom line is that comparing gobblers...even within the same subspecies, but especially across all of the subspecies...is a glaring example of the old "fools errand".  Genetics and habitat are the key ingredients,...and those vary so much in different regions of the country that referring to what a gobbler "scores" in the existing system is quite honestly...and with all due respect to Colonel Dave Harbour, the "system creator",...a waste of time.

The "other" bottom line is that the real "trophy" in turkey hunting is not what a gobbler scores, it is all about the hunt and all that it encompasses.  Any gobbler taken "fair and square" is a trophy equal to any other...   

[Old Swamper]

Of all the gobblers I have called up and killed, I have never once felt the need to "score" one. I'm proud to state that.

[ShootingABN!]

Personally not a single one in over 30+ years.  Even though I hunted private lands. They were all heavily hunted. Few farm lands, mostly woods in the mountains.
However there were a few mentors that killed high 60's to 70's every year. How? I'll never know.  They have all passed.
My Son just killed his first in Hawaii.  Man my heart is full.  He is 12 and making plans for next year.
I told him I would buy him any turkey gun he wants.  He said nope. I want this one. Lol it's my very first turkey gun. Old 870, that is spray painted.  How cool is that?
Stay safe out there. May God bless y'all.

[joey46]

Took a Florida Registry bird in 2008.  Don't remember if it was scored or not.  A few big Ohio birds over the years.  For whatever reason scoring wasn't a big deal when I was in my prime.  In the early days people were scoring deer but turkeys not so much.

[Big Jeremy]

One. It scored 74.55, and weighed a hair over 25 pounds...heaviest one I've killed by over 3 pounds.


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[paintbrush]

None, at least not yet. The vast majority of the birds I have taken over the years of hunting are Merriams, and most of them score in the 50's range. Have a hand full of Easterns that would score in the low to mid 60's, but not in the 70's.