Question for turkey hunters

I know turkey hunting is an obsession to some, growing up we had no turkeys and no turkey hunting culture, nowadays we are over run with them and aside from shooting a couple during deer season I didn't catch that particular bug.
I have had up to 40 turkeys, mixed flock coming to the house every day for groceries and have been watching them carefully, they come running when they see me outside for more corn, they tame up fast and watch through my windows for movement and holler to get out here and feed us!. so, my question, what do you all consider a "trophy" Tom?

They all seem about the same to me, some a little larger, beards about the same, some more aggressive then others, but other then that they don't appear to be anything particularly different about them, not like a deer for instance...

I read here and there that a "good" one was taken. So what constitutes a "good" one? or a trophy one? Pardon my ignorance, Thanks for playing along.....

A 10" or longer beard and 1.25"+ spurs. If you can hang it from a limb it is a good one. It is called a limb hanger.

Weight, length, spur and beard length. Multiple beards and some big 1&1/2 inch hooks would be a trophy for me.

the rules of fair chase in most places have you working hard and it is exciting when you get them calling back at you , and come into the call and decoy

it is a very vocal type of hunting or can be especially when you have 3-4 gobbling back at you

in the spring only toms can be taken no beard = no kill so you also need to get them close

it's a little like the fisherman with a trot line catching a bunch of 5 pound cats vs the guy with the ultralight pole hauling in a 5 pound cat , one guy has a fish to clean , the other had an epic fight and pictures to take.

I think it is safe to say no one turkey hunts just for the meat it is a spring hunting season , that can be very exiting to participate in.

I am not much of a turkey hunter but I went out a couple weeks ago with my son and his friend who is really into turkey we made 4 stand in a morning and had a couple coyotes coming in to the calls as well .

if you enjoy the hunt , it is a season when the weather is really nice , you can go with friends and call for each other , you generally don't hunt Turkey in the rain or bad weather , it is a rush to get them to come in. and your seeing the woods in a different season.


the sun rises early enough in the spring you can get a days hunting in and be home by noon to take a nap

Be a lot better to just invite me over with my 12 gauge and let me show you up close which one out of your flock looks best.

I agree with all that has been posted above...my youngest son finally connected a couple weeks ago on his first bird after trying for a couple seasons...I was with him and called the bird in...50yd shot from his grandfather's Model 12, 16 gauge...I think I was more excited...22.4 pounds, 10" beard and 1" spurs...currently at the taxidermist.

Pete mentioned that only Toms are taken in his state...Maryland does allow for the harvesting of a bearded hen (doesn't happpen often) which in itself is a trophy, much like a piebald deer.

yes bearded hens may also be taken in WI but no beard= no shot in the spring there is a hen season in the fall

For me, the ''best birds'' are because of the place and the hunt. I've killed jakes I remember more than some longbeards. I've had the chance to kill two bearded hens, but let them walk just because they looked neat.

I'll always remember my first, my first with a bow, and a couple with great friends.

Pete

I got very lucky with my first gobbler on my first morning of hunting in 1988. He had a 12.5 beard, 1.25 spurs, and he weighed at 28.4 pounds. I was hooked! Since then I have killed many birds, some in the range of 25+ pounds, but will most likely never match my first.

I agree with those that judge a "good" bird by the situation/hunt. I have killed Jakes in some really exciting hunts, and some adults that I will always remember as "good" birds. One Jake I took was on the last day of the season in a thunderstorm which, with the ridges I hunt, I should not have been out there. He came through and I nailed him on the edge of a steeply sloped alfalfa field and I rolled him, but when I got near he had a lot of life left in him. I grabbed him by the neck and he and I went rolling downhill through the alfalfa, mud, and rain. When it was all over I yelled out loud "I got a turkey!"

I have had many duels with wily gobblers. One of my most memorable was one that I battled with for about 5 hours, trying to outwit and get in front of him as he gobbled through the woods. Finally did it on a steep ridge. He was a big bird, 26 pounds, and had 4 beards.

I think any turkey you take legally is a trophy. Some come with a lot of weight, long or multiple beards, and long spurs but some do not. They are truly a worthy adversary when you are able to call them in gobbling, strutting, and pretty much full of themselves. It can be a heart-pounding experience, and I get more excited about taking a "good" bird than I do taking a nice buck.

Good luck and have fun!

Moosetrot

All of this is true, especially the nap part. I might add that it's the only hunting season I can think of that you aren't required to wear blaze orange other than waterfowl hunting.

Fooling the tom and getting him to do something that is not natural to him makes turkey hunting special.

For birds, the male of the specie is the more colorful bird. The females are more drab compared. And the male bird calls and displays their plumage to attract the female to mate. When a turkey gobbles, he is calling the females to come see daddy. When he puffs up to strut and drum, he is putting on a show as saying to the hens, here I am, come get you some. And that is the natural way turkey mating works. The males gobble and display and the hens come to them.

As a hunter, I am making hen turkey sounds, trying to convince the gobbler to come to me rather than me go to him because I can not go to him like a hen can. If he already has hens with him, it is near impossible to get him to leave the real thing. That is just not natural to him.

But on those occasions when you are able to get his attention and get him to come looking for that hen, when he comes in gobbling, strutting, spitting and drumming, if that does not get your heart rate up, I am not sure you are alive.

The stats for a bird are a bonus. 25 lbs or more is a big bird, a 10"+ thick beard is great and sharp spurs 1 1/4" or more are nice trophies as well. But unlike judging a deer antlers before the shot, the beard is about the only thing you can judge on a turkey before the shot. Hard to judge size on a strutting tom and almost impossible to see spurs.

But this is a trophy spur....1 1/2" on one leg, the other leg was 1 1/4" on one of my Nebraska birds this season. Last season, one of my NC birds had 1 1/2" spurs on both legs and my personal best was a NC bird with one at 1 5/8" and the other at 1 5/16" with the tip broken off.

This is where deer hunting vs turkey hunting differ for me. I try and only shoot 140” deer or better, all other get a pass.
For turkeys it’s anything except a jake. I want that full fan and gobbling. Y’all can believe it or not, but I will eat tag soup before I shoot a gobblers that either doesn’t gobble or at least come in strutting. And yeah, I’ve passed on a few that just came in looking.
I want the “game” played my way or not at all. I don’t use decoys or fans, just calling and woodsmanship.
Any bird is a trophy, BUT the first thing I looks at on a downed bird are the spurs. Anything 1.5” or better gets a forever reminder for me. I have an Eastern and Rio with 1.5” spurs, my best Osceola was 1 3/8”, oh so close! I doubt I’ll ever kill a Merriam with spurs like that and may settle for 1.25”.
I could really care less about beards unless the spurs match.
My Eastern had 11.25” beard to match his 1.5” spurs...it’s one hunt I’ll never forget.

we are not required to wear orange for anything but deer , it is a very good idea to wear orange for everything

there was just a reminder email from the WI DNR today about decoy safety ,an orange bag is the preferable way to move a decoy in an out of the field , also how to set up to be safe and if you see someone stalking your decoy , yell loud to them.

when my son is out on public land I make him bring an orange hat to put on when moving from stand to stand and no wearing any red, white or blue nothing looks like a turkey but a turkey and you really need to see the head clear to shoot , but you hear about stupid turkey hunting negligence all the time. better to have a little orange with to pull out

The degree of turkey hunting difficulty directly relates to the amount of hunting pressure put on a turkey population not only during the current season, but the hunting pressure that has been put on the population historically. States that have had high hunting pressure for decades have way harder to hunt turkey than states with relatively new seasons. If you think you’re a good turkey hunter, head for SC, GA, AL, MS, AR. If you consistently kill turkey there I’m impressed. Especially on public land.
Subspecies makes no difference. A hard pressured Merriams or Rio is just as tough as as a pressured Eastern.
Always cracks me up when guys from the Northern and especially Western US go on about how easy they are to kill and how stupid they are.
To answer your question. A turkey from high pressure areas is a “good one”, no matter the size.
A big spur doesn’t hurt either lol

There's always something special about calling critters in.

Any turkey shot thru both lungs with archery equipment is a trophy...

More than the beard length or spur, I remember individual turkey behavior more. For instance, the only time I hunted Law Dogs Black Hills, I shot a great 11.5 inch beard. What made it memorable was the bird came to calls from over 1\2 mile away, gobbling every few minutes. He traversed two huge ravines on the way in, each at least a hundred feet deep. He must have gobbled a hundred times by the time he got into range he was hoarse. before I shot him, he walked up to the blind, looked inside at my buddy who was polishing of the last of a side of ribs from the previous evenings supper from a dynamite little restaurant down in Hot Springs. Never forget that turkey or the ribs!

Anything make you think the ones in your yard eating corn like chickens, are any smarter or dumber than any other turkeys?

Most of the perception that they are super smart is due to hunters making one mistake or another. Spend a lot of time outdoors with them and draw your own conclusions.

Winter time turkeys and I can stand in blaze orange doing jumping jacks and they couldn’t care any less...

Spring time turkeys, dressed in full camo head to toe, and they spot me blink at 100 yards...

can get yourself a turkey for dinner each week. Use the feathers or what else you can use off of them for projects.

Everyone's definition of a "good" one is vast. Analogous to trophy deer hunters & can't eat the antlers guys. Personally, if I can fool one close enough and it's beard is sagging, the hammer is down. Turkey hunting is so interactive, it's even more about the hunt experience than the measurements.

Thanks all for the education.
Gotta admit, "MY" turkeys don't seem like the brightest bulbs in the chandelier, just about have to kick them out of the way, but I have them up at my hunting camp that have been hunted by predators their whole life that pay closer attention to detail... When they're not following a manure spreader.... I guess location DOES matter,

I still enjoy turkey hunting in Eastern NC where a 20ld bird is a good one. Now I live in a senior condo property in Asheville, in the mountains, and I have a turkey that frequently comes to our door to be fed sunflower seeds. Last few years we have given them names. Only one tom bird this year. His name is Giblet. I expect he will weigh about 22-23 lbs. A very nice turkey. I could catch him in a cast net. When my wife shakes a plastic solo cup with sunflower seeds, he comes to our patio. He will not eat from her hand but will eat from a bowl about four feet away.

I still enjoy turkey hunting in Eastern NC where a 20ld bird is a good one. Now I live in a senior condo property in Asheville, in the mountains, and I have a turkey that frequently comes to our door to be fed sunflower seeds. Last few years we have given them names. Only one tom bird this year. His name is Giblet. I expect he will weigh about 22-23 lbs. A very nice turkey. I could catch him in a cast net. When my wife shakes a plastic solo cup with sunflower seeds, he comes to our patio. He will not eat from her hand but will eat from a bowl about four feet away.

I agree with everyone else on turkey hunting most important part is the experience. My best bird(1.5" spurs and 10" & 11" beards) was one of the most forgettable hunts I've experienced. Flew down and landed right next to my decoy. He had moved trees on me during the night as he wasn't were I had roosted him the evening before. I got into position super early and once he started gobbling, I couldn't even call because he was so close on the limb.

I had a similar situation about 10yrs ago with my best friend. He had hunted hard and it just wasn't working out. We had a bird pitch out off the limb onto the side of the ridge we were on to about 20yrds. Only problem, bird was below the ridge and just out of sight. The old boy did a looky-loo up to where the "hen" was and my friend sealed the deal. Hunt was about 3 mins. One of my most memorable....it is all about the experience.

I had a bird limb hop on me before. I watched him fly up and knew exactly which limb he was on. Wasn’t I surprised when it started breaking light and I couldn’t see him. I jumped like crazy when he gobbled dead above me!! And NO, I never got that bird. As far as I know he died of old age!

Any bird taken legally and ethically is a trophy. If you have someone special with ya, even better!

Coming from a clown who shoots squirrels with a 12 gauge.
You probably shoot fox pups in the summertime.

Was thinking about the game feeding part all day I remember the old guys on the evening news hand feeding deer, food can tame about everything if you play it right.

I didn't read the thread.

Spring turkey hunting is my favorite thing to do.

I read where guys think they're dumb and easy to kill. In states that don't get a lot of hunting pressure or with Jakes and some two-year-old birds that can be true.

Heavily pressured birds two-years-old and up can be some of the wariest creatures you'll ever encounter.

If you play by the rules; hunting by calling only here in Pa, educated gobblers can be very difficult to kill.

To me, those are the trophy birds.

The bigger the challenge they present, the bigger the trophy I consider them.

I often spend days working the same bird.

When they get that cautious they are more likely to die of old age then from a hunter's shotgun.

When you give them names after a few cat and mouse chases, you got it bad

I d


I’ve spent a season chasing a gobbler before and would have eaten tag soup had a 2 year old come up gobbling behind me. At first I thought my bird had circled around me. After the shot my bird gobbled again. Never did get him. Hope he sired many more like him.

I like stupid birds, but I absolutely love those old cagey birds. The ones you chase and think you have figured out and then they throw another surprise at you. You know the ones I’m talking about. You spend days watching him. You know what tree and even limb he roosts on and which direction he flies down every morning.

You finally get in and set up on him. As day breaks you’re at 100 yards or less watching him wake up and start gobbling. You don’t make a sound, there’s no need, you’ve done your homework. This will be one of your quickest hunts of the season. He’s gobbling out in front, hens are behind you, and to even further help seal the deal, another gobbler sounds of farther behind you.

Your watching him start walking limbs and even tree hopping down a few limbs for an easy glide out straight in front of you. It’s time...except he glides down farther out in front of you. You’re not in panic mode yet. You’re hid. Hadn’t even had to make a call due to the hens behind you and the other gobbler letting out a gobble every now and then. You wait. You’re assuming he hit the deck and just standing there strutting, waiting for the hens to work to him.

You let out some soft calling...no answer. You let out a little louder calling and he answers...200 yards farther out in front of you and heading away. You wait longer as the hens are flying down and he’s letting it rip because he hears them as well. You wait, and wait some more. Everything eventually goes quiet and you’re left wondering what went wrong...been there way too many times, lol.

That’s why I love/hate these birds!!

Have to relate a story I call "The Bombing Range Gobbler".

We hunt about 10 miles from a major military training ground. When they do the practice bombing you can hear the concussions. There was a big gobbler that would shock gobble when they were bombing.

The first time I saw/heard him he came in to my cutting running full tilt which threw me off a little, and when I shot I blasted the life out of a small tree instead of him. My son had pretty much the same experience with him. He had outwitted both of us. I finally took a different bird but still had a tag as did my wife.

I took her out to the same spot a couple days later. We were sitting there and then the bombing began and I heard a gobble way off in the distance. I started cutting and when the next bomb dropped he was closer. It continued and I told my wife "That's him!" and I set up in the brush nearby as I figured he would take either one of two trails we were sitting between. The bombing, cutting, and shock gobbles continued for a long time, the gobbling getting closer every time...then things went quiet.

I took a quick look through a hole in the brush and out in the field where my wife was watching to see him standing there big as could be and in her range. I did my best silent whisper "Take him!" and BOOM, she rolled him. I stood up and he started running so I finished him off. She was still shaking but proud as could be.

One of those fun hunts on a "good" bird.

Moosetrot

If Shotgunning bushytails was good enough for Tennessee Ernie Ford then it’s good enough for me! Now scatter gunning pup fox sounds like an activity for those sorrowful beings that prefer their twig and giggleberries intertwined with other likeminded individuals carry the same appendages...