Scoring for this years turkey contest

[alloutdoors]

Since the contest for this year hasn't been initiated I wanted to start this post to see what peoples opinions were on the contest scoring system. I would argue for adopting the NWTF scoring system because I believe that the system that has been used in the past puts too much weight on beards over spurs. The NWTF system does a much better job of balancing the two in my opinion. Beards can be too easily damaged, especially over a NY winter, and it doesn't make sense to have a 4+ year old bird possibly score lower than a 2 year old just because of a damaged beard. For anyone who isn't familar the NWTF score consists of measuring the spurs to the nearest 1/16" and multiplying by 10, plus the beard to the nearest 1/16" multiplied by 2, plus the weight to the nearest ounce. The NWTF even has a useful tool right on their website that lets you plug in your numbers to get the score of your bird: http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/turkey_score.html

 

By contrast, the system used for the contest last year awarded 1 point for each inch of beard and one point for each 1/4" of the longest spur. Another way of looking at that is that 1 1/2" spurs earn you the same number of points as a 6" beard under that system. I don't think I need to point out that a 6" beard isn't even close to being in the same ballpark as 1 1/2" spurs.

 

I'll use my two birds from last year as an example. My first bird was a 4+ year old boss, 22lbs 15oz, 8 1/2" beard, and 1 3/8" and 1 5/16" spurs. The beard was a bit thin and had pretty obvious ice damage, but obviously an old dominant bird. My second bird was 18lbs, 10" beard, and 15/16" spurs. Under the NWTF system that's 66.8125 for bird 1, and 56.75 for bird 2. Bird 1 is clearly the older, bigger bird and the NWTF system does a good job showing that. Under the scoring system used for the contest last year both birds scored 24 points because the 1.5" of extra beard on bird 2 was enough to make up for the vastly superior spurs on bird 1. That would be like having a deer contest and having a 130" buck score the same points as a 170" buck because the 130" buck was 40lbs heavier.

 

I would suggest doing one of the following for this years contest:

 

1: Adopt NWTF scoring for both birds, with the only exception being that for multi-bearded birds only the longest beard counts.

2: Use a hybrid system where a persons largest bird uses the NWTF scoring (with the same exception for multi-beards), but a second bird just adds bonus points (something like 10 points for a tom, 5 points for a jake).

 

I'd like to hear what everyone else thinks.

[Water Rat]

You make a valid point in my opinion.

[MACHINIST]

I personally dont see what the big deal is.I have seen deer break racks off at their bases on one side,the bird you shoot is the bird you shoot.I don't care if its a 2 year old with a 10 inch beard or a 4 year old with a 6 inch beard.To me the contest is just a friendly game between friends.Either way though I could care less how we measure how good a bird is.Let me know and I will do it

[ATbuckhunter]

If it makes it more fair then I'm good with it. The only thing is that this contest is simply for size and trophy class of the bird not the age.

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[alloutdoors]

I personally dont see what the big deal is.I have seen deer break racks off at their bases on one side,the bird you shoot is the bird you shoot.I don't care if its a 2 year old with a 10 inch beard or a 4 year old with a 6 inch beard.To me the contest is just a friendly game between friends.Either way though I could care less how we measure how good a bird is.Let me know and I will do it

 

I get what you're saying, but a contest is a contest. If it's worth the trouble of people taking the time to take the necessary photos and taking the time to keep track of all the scores then it is worth having a system that gives proper credit where credit is due. I think every tom entered last year was covered by a 4 point spread. That means everything from a 3/4" nub spurred two year old all the way up to a couple birds that were pushing 1 1/2" only had 4 points separating them.

 

From another perspective, people have donated prizes in the past that represent a certain amount of time or money on their part. Speaking for myself, I'm considering putting up one of my carved wingbones for the contest this year which is an investment of a good 20 or so hours of my time. If I'm going to make that investment I want it to be for a deserving winner, and determining that necessitates a proper scoring system.

Edited March 9, 2015 by alloutdoors

[alloutdoors]

If it makes it more fair then I'm good with it. The only thing is that this contest is simply for size and trophy class of the bird not the age.

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Agreed, the two just happen to go hand in hand most of the time.

[ATbuckhunter]

Agreed, the two just happen to go hand in hand most of the time.

This is true! Ill support the change if everyone else does. 

[growalot]

This is how the contest my teams incharge of is doing it...not complicated just a fun thing between hunters and encourages mentoring..this is country wide, so to even things out a bit, no weights and only longest beard...plus the other ways to add points

 Point System

Beards:
1/4 point for every 1/4 inch of beard on the longest beard. Additional beards on the bird are not counted. Measurement starts at the place where the white wrap around the beard meets the breast skin and goes to the longest hair. Beards must still be attached to the bird in the photo.

Spurs:
1 point for every 1/8” of spur length. Feet must still be attached to the bird in the photo. Measure only the longest of the 2 spurs. Spurs are measured with a ruler straight up from the base of the leg to the tip of the spur. Not with a soft tape following the curve of the spur.

Weight:
No points are awarded for weight

Bonus Points:

If you harvested your turkey with a bow or crossbow you will be awarded 2 bonus points (this does not count if someone you are calling for kills with a bow or crossbow)

If you call in a turkey for someone and they harvest the turkey, you will be awarded 1 bonus point

If a member does not harvest at least one turkey himself / herself by the end of the championship, no bonus points will be counted.

 

 

Edited March 9, 2015 by growalot

[Paula]

Since the contest for this year hasn't been initiated I wanted to start this post to see what peoples opinions were on the contest scoring system. I would argue for adopting the NWTF scoring system because I believe that the system that has been used in the past puts too much weight on beards over spurs. The NWTF system does a much better job of balancing the two in my opinion. Beards can be too easily damaged, especially over a NY winter, and it doesn't make sense to have a 4+ year old bird possibly score lower than a 2 year old just because of a damaged beard. For anyone who isn't familar the NWTF score consists of measuring the spurs to the nearest 1/16" and multiplying by 10, plus the beard to the nearest 1/16" multiplied by 2, plus the weight to the nearest ounce. The NWTF even has a useful tool right on their website that lets you plug in your numbers to get the score of your bird: http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/turkey_score.html

 

By contrast, the system used for the contest last year awarded 1 point for each inch of beard and one point for each 1/4" of the longest spur. Another way of looking at that is that 1 1/2" spurs earn you the same number of points as a 6" beard under that system. I don't think I need to point out that a 6" beard isn't even close to being in the same ballpark as 1 1/2" spurs.

 

I'll use my two birds from last year as an example. My first bird was a 4+ year old boss, 22lbs 15oz, 8 1/2" beard, and 1 3/8" and 1 5/16" spurs. The beard was a bit thin and had pretty obvious ice damage, but obviously an old dominant bird. My second bird was 18lbs, 10" beard, and 15/16" spurs. Under the NWTF system that's 66.8125 for bird 1, and 56.75 for bird 2. Bird 1 is clearly the older, bigger bird and the NWTF system does a good job showing that. Under the scoring system used for the contest last year both birds scored 24 points because the 1.5" of extra beard on bird 2 was enough to make up for the vastly superior spurs on bird 1. That would be like having a deer contest and having a 130" buck score the same points as a 170" buck because the 130" buck was 40lbs heavier.

 

I would suggest doing one of the following for this years contest:

 

 

If your able to come up with the prizes why not run the contest, that way it can be done the way you would like 

 

1: Adopt NWTF scoring for both birds, with the only exception being that for multi-bearded birds only the longest beard counts.

2: Use a hybrid system where a persons largest bird uses the NWTF scoring (with the same exception for multi-beards), but a second bird just adds bonus points (something like 10 points for a tom, 5 points for a jake).

 

I'd like to hear what everyone else thinks.

 

[alloutdoors]

Paula, this isn't meant to be confrontational, nor is it a criticism of how the contest has been run in the past. Heck, I won last year's contest so it's not like it didn't work out for me then. That said, there's no reason to not at least have a discussion about making chages. Also, if you take the time to read my follow up post above you'll see that I am considering adding to the prize pool this year. I suppose I could do that as a separate contest but that seems a little silly don't you think? Do you have any thoughts on the actual topic at hand other than passive aggressively attacking me for expressing an opinion?

Edited March 9, 2015 by alloutdoors

[Paula]

I was not being passive aggressive, relax and don't be so sensitive. It was just a thought of mine.

[alloutdoors]

I was not being passive aggressive, relax and don't be so sensitive. It was just a thought of mine.

Ok, I'll take you at your word. Still interested in hearing any opinion you may have aside from suggesting I start my own contest if I don't like the rules...

[Paula]

Sorry, that was my only suggestion.

[G-Man]

I personally don't do contests ,but weight is a tough thing nwtf uses a certified scale, most hunters here aren't going to one I would drop weight and multiable beards.

[landtracdeerhunter]

Don't change a scoring system that has worked for 3 seasons. It's simple and effective!