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Turkey Hunting 101

--Scoring Your Turkey--

...by David Rearick

Bagging a gobbler is what we are all after in the spring season. When it comes time to evaluate your trophy bird, there are four good ways to judge whether you killed a gangster longbeard, or your average two year old. While the largest misconception about aging a turkey is to use the bird's body weight and beard length, the spurs are the only good indicator of just how old a bird truly is. I have killed birds with both short beards and that were light weight that were true monarchs of the forest. With a birds varying diet, changing winter weather conditions, mating activity, and potential sickness all factoring in on how much a bird weighs ot how long his bear is, the spurs are the true timekeeper. NOTE: While these indicators hold true for measuring a bird in the spring season, a late or early hatch the year or years before can have an effect.

• Turkey Beards - While longbeards are nice, they don't truly indicate how old a turkey is. Birds beards can grow at different rates depending on nutrition, and can be easily be broken or frozen off causing them to be short. Also, mites can infest the beard and cause a turkeys beard, even on a 5 year old bird, to be smaller than a first year jake. Factoring all this is makes it difficult to judge a turkey by his beard. In the warmer climates of the South, birds typically have longer beards due to the lack of a major freeze, and can make some impressive trophies with beards up to 16" and beyond being recorded. I have killed two good adult birds with short beards 4", and I am glad I paid attention to the other traits of these birds when I pulled the trigger.
  

• Turkey Weight - A turkey's weight is also not a good indicator of his age. With nutrition and mating season all contributing to a bird losing weight, some of the best birds taken in PA in the spring only go 18lbs and under. Also, weights across the US very a good turkey in the Midwest may go 25lb VS. a 19lb turkey here in PA.

• Turkey Tails - A turkey tail definitely doesn't tell you if downed the dominant bird in the area, but it typically holds true to divide out the set-tail jakes from the longbeards. When you see a full fan and a short beard, more than likely it is at least a two year old bird. I have killed two good turkeys that had short beards, and I was able to identify them by looking at their fan as they strutted into gun range.

• Turkey Spurs - Spurs are the tried and true method of determining a turkey's age. While there is some variation, spurs typically grow at the same rate no matter what the conditions and can give you a solid indicator of how old of a tom you have taken. I have seen some hooks reaching almost 2" in length, but in my book, anything 1 1/4" and over is a good turkey for a pressured area. When you kill a bird with good spurs, you know you did your homework and killed a boss gobbler. Below is a list of quick measurements to determine a turkey's age. Always measure from where the spur meets the leg to the end with a cloth tape measure to include any curve in the spur. NOTE: Some turkey's, especially Osceola's, typically have larger spurs for their age.

• 0-1/2" Spur -1 Year Old Jake- Rounded
• 1/2"-1" Spur -2 Year Old Bird- Pointed Yet Blunt and Straight
• 1"-1 1/8" Spur -2-3 Year Old Bird- Pointed With a Slight Curve
• 1 1/8"-1 1/4" Spur -3-4 Year Old Bird- Pointed With Curve
• 1 1/4"-1 1/2" Spur -4-5 Year Old Bird- Sharp and Curved
• 1 1/2" and Above -5 Year Old and Above- Major Hooks

Before you begin to score your turkey, be sure to note that all measurements are taken in 1/16-inch increments and converted to decimal form. A current NWTF member or another licensed hunter from the state where the bird was harvested must verify all measurements.

Step 1:	Weigh your bird in pounds and ounces and convert ounces to decimal form. See  conversion chart below for decimal values.
Step 2:	Measure each spur. Spurs must be measured along the outside center, from the point at which the spur protrudes from the scaled leg skin to the tip of the spur. Add both spur measurements and multiply the combined length of the spurs by 10. This is the number of points you receive for the turkey’s spurs.
Step 3:	Measure the beard length (a beard must be measured from the center point of the protrusion of the skin to the tip) and convert it to decimal form. See  conversion chart below for decimal values. Next, multiply the beard length figure by 2; this is the number of points you receive for the beard length. If you have an atypical bird (multiple beards), measure each beard, convert them to a decimal number, then add those figures together and multiply by two. This is the number of points you receive for your turkey’s beards.
Step 4:	Add together the weight, the points for spurs and points for beard(s): This is the score you receive for your turkey.

Conversion Chart

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The Author with a PA Eastern Spring Gobbler..

©David Rearick, Game Hogg Hunt Club^TM