judging gobblers

[snapper]

Best way to judge the age is by measuring the spurs. Since they have to be pretty close to see the spur on a live bird...I personally judge a bird by his beard, then hope he has some large hooks on his legs. The beard isn't a good judge for aging a gobbler because some gobblers break the beard in snow/ice. And others may break because of disease.

There is alot of useful info. on the NWTF site if your interested.

[James7xChamp3]

Re: judging gobblers

I judge them by the beard also, but Snapper is right about breaking or losing the beard. Two years ago I was scouting in my home town and came across two gobblers in a back field that were gobbling and strutting. The bigger bird had no beard whatsoever, not even a remnant. They passed by at forty yards and he had the biggest spurs I've seen on a turkey. Per Maine laws, you need to shoot a bearded turkey, so he was out.

That same year I took a pretty nice turkey with an 11" beard, but his spurs were deformed almost 1/2"around, about 3/4"long and they looked like they were melted on the ends like a candle. Not sure what that was all about. He was also missing a toe on each foot which I'm guessing was from frost bite.

[kooter]

Re: judging gobblers

to go along with the different size beards one thing I always look for is the tail feathers to all be in line, if the middle feathers are longer, then I know it is a jake not a mature gobbler.

[maytom]

Re: judging gobblers

Like kooter, I always check for the "full Fan" first, then I look at his beard. Spurs are most always a suprise after you walk up onto the bird after he's down. If a gobbler has a full fan, and a dandy beard, his spurs most likely won't disappoint you!!

[Strut10]

Re: judging gobblers

I judge my gobblers mostly by how much of a thrill he gave me to hunt him.

To actually field-judge a bird before you decide to take him is hard. The most definitive way to judge a tom's age is spur length. But you will most likely not get a look at the spurs until he's on the ground, flopping. First thing I look for is the full tail fan. That's the sign of a 2-year old bird or older (although there ain't no shame in shooting a jake if you want). Next thing I look for (if there's more than one tom) is the strutter. In a group of toms, one will often be dominant and he will do the vast majority of the strutting. If the strutter's got a good beard, he's my target. If one of the others has a noticeably better rope, I'll consider taking him instead.

[Squirrelhunter91]

Re: judging gobblers

I've never shot a bird before, so if it is bearded, its going down... LOL Bearded Hens included.

[Rhino]

Re: judging gobblers

[ QUOTE ]

I judge my gobblers mostly by how much of a thrill he gave me to hunt him.

To actually field-judge a bird before you decide to take him is hard. The most definitive way to judge a tom's age is spur length. But you will most likely not get a look at the spurs until he's on the ground, flopping. First thing I look for is the full tail fan. That's the sign of a 2-year old bird or older (although there ain't no shame in shooting a jake if you want). Next thing I look for (if there's more than one tom) is the strutter. In a group of toms, one will often be dominant and he will do the vast majority of the strutting. If the strutter's got a good beard, he's my target. If one of the others has a noticeably better rope, I'll consider taking him instead.

[/ QUOTE ]

I basically do the same thing as Strut. Jakes aren't legal here so we have to look for 2 year old or older birds. An older bird's head will be filled out more than a 2 year old bird but it's rare to be able make that sort of judgement too so I almost always go about choosing the shooter in a group of 2 or more gobblers the same way that Strut does.