INDIAN HEADS,BRIARS, AND THE 5 YEAR OLD GOBBLER!!!

[quavers59]

In one area, I have to wear my brown pheasant briar pants to get through!! Plenty of Indian Heads to step on as well. When briars, and Indian Heads are near a slough---a 5 year old gobbler is not far away!! Not many hunters walk in areas like this. My best tom of this type had a growth over the top of one eye. Probably could not see too well out of that eye. He kept other toms in the area from gobbling! Glad, I took this guy----public land too. I will repeat post for my friends on Gobbler Nation.  I dont know if there are Indian Heads down south- but very common here in New York wetland areas

[jed clampett]

What's a Indian head?

[davisd9]

It is hard to tell after a two year old. Spurs really do not tell much after a jake or maybe two year old. Best way to tell a 2 year old is whether there is amber color to the beard, if there is then it is a 2 yr old, if there is not then it is a 3 yr old or better. No way to truly tell beyond that.



Sent from the Strut Zone

[Flounder]

I would like to know also. Pictures would be great.

[bigbird]

Geode's?

[WNCTracker]

I would like to know also. Pictures would be great.
[/quote?

[turkeywhisperer935]

I always heard that spurs was how you aged a turkey, if not that way then how I'm curious. Me and a friend harvested one with inch and a half spurs and was told the bird was about 7 years old when we checked it in. I'm just curious, if it helps it was a Eastern killed in TN.

[mgm1955]

In his book, The Book of the Wild Turkey, Lovett Williams has two tables in chapter 2 describing the physical characteristics of the wild turkey. Table 3 discusses the beard and states that if the tip is amber the turkey is 2 years old or less. Table 3 discusses spurs and states that if they are longer than 1 1/4" the tom is older than 3 years, particularly if they are curved and sharp.

[SteelerFan]

Spur Lengths -- How to Age Your Gobbler

-- by Rob Ramsdale --



Spur length is generally considered to be the most reliable characteristic in determining the age of a gobbler. Spurs will still show some wear differences due to the habitat or geographical area a turkey is found but generally they keep getting longer and sharper as the turkey ages. There are also differences in spur length between the different sub-species.

Osceola's usually have the longest spurs on average of the five American sub-species due mostly to their environment. They generally live in swamps and areas with soft dirt and few rocks so they do not wear off the spur tips. Contrary to this, the western subspecies, like the Merriam's, often live in very rocky, or mountainous areas which usually means even very old birds will have spurs that have been worn off to less than 1 inch long.

The photo below shows the typical spur characteristics of some different aged gobblers.



Jakes (1 yr olds) have spurs which are usually 1/2" or less and are generally very rounded. During the spring season, jakes will range from having no more than a bump for a spur to a better defined 1/2" long spur like the one shown in the photo.

The 2-yr old gobbler has longer spurs (1/2" to 1") which are generally still straight and still very blunt on the ends.

3-yr. olds and older birds have the longest, sharpest spurs and they will also have some curve to them.

Again, spurs tend to get longer and sharper as the gobbler ages but there have been proven cases of some very old birds which were tagged and harvested 7 to 8 years later that still had spurs of only 1 inch in length.

There are a variety of differing opinions on spur length in relation to a gobbler's age so I'll present several theories here along with some research stats.

One very interesting study, "Indexes for Aging Eastern Turkeys" by R. Kelly (1975) focused entirely on aging gobblers in Missouri. This paper shows how spur length, beard length and body weight are associated with known age Eastern gobblers.

To begin the study, a group of 50 known age gobblers were trapped as sub-adults, and fourteen "minimum known-age" gobblers were trapped as adults. The gobblers were banded and released in various locations and then were harvested in 20 different Missouri counties from 1962 to 1974. Twenty-five sub-adult birds were randomly selected from the 1973 harvest data in two counties.

Data from the harvested birds was collected and compiled, giving the following table.


         ** - This group of gobblers had a minimum known-age of 5 years.

Length of Spurs and Beards and Body Weights of Gobblers in Known Age Classes
Source - R. Kelly - "Indexes for Aging Eastern Turkeys" (1975)
Third National Wild Turkey Symposium, p. 207

http://wildturkeyzone.com/articles/aging4.htm

[fallhnt]

What's a Indian head?

Arrow head or knife head made by a Native American.

[MDSTRUTNRUT]

IF THERE'S THAT MANY INDIAN ARTIFACTS THAT YOU'RE WALKING ON THEM THEN I'M COMING TO VISIT!

[OldSchool]

IF THERE'S THAT MANY INDIAN ARTIFACTS THAT YOU'RE WALKING ON THEM THEN I'M COMING TO VISIT!

Me too, they're something else I like to hunt. Congrats on your bird quavers, sounds like you earned him.

Bob

[fallsflight]

He is referring to a wild plant...

[quavers59]

I should have wrote more on what Indian Heads are. They are a plant----not sure what the real name for them is. They look just like upside down teacups-without the handle of course. Green leafy flat stalks on the top. If the rain really hits the wetland areas-you can walk on them and not make a bunch of racket in the water. They are everywhere up here in New York. Maybe the South too??
    I did read all the great post above . I still think that a gobbler with those (really curved) and needle sharp spurs would be 5 years old or very near. 3 year old toms still have the (straight ones) . I think that they start to curve after age 4. Just from what I have observed after taking different age group toms.