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Good or better

Started by Clif Owen, April 20, 2015, 10:53:55 PM

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WildTigerTrout

Any full fan gobbler is a trophy to me.
Deer see you and think you are a stump. The Old Gobbler sees a stump and thinks it is YOU!

silvestris

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.
"[T]he changing environment will someday be totally and irrevocably unsuitable for the wild turkey.  Unless mankind precedes the birds in extinction, we probably will not be hunting turkeys for too much longer."  Ken Morgan, "Turkey Hunting, A One Man Game

Greybeard11

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!!
"Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway."  -John Wayne

VaTuRkStOmPeR

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....

cutt down

I only scored 1 bird in the last few years & that was because he had 5 beards & 1.5" hooks. I was curious!

Snoodsniper

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.

mgm1955

Any trophy to you should be all that matters.

darn2ten

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.

daveco

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.

budtripp

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.

chatterbox

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"+!

dejake

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

jblackburn

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.
Gooserbat Games Calls Staff Member

www.gooserbatcalls.com

Genesis 27:3 - Now then, get your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me.

Mike Honcho

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.

g8rvet

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.
Psalms 118v24: This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.