Jump to content

Longbeard down = tagged out!!!

WNY Bowhunter

By WNY Bowhunter,
in Turkey Hunting

 Share

Recommended Posts

WNY Bowhunter Experienced

WNY Bowhunter

Posted
Posted

Decided to go for broke this AM and get right into where these birds have roosted everytime I've hunted this place. I ended up in the middle of three gobblers. This one was roosted behind me...I actually walked right under him this AM!!! He was so close that I didn't even sit down for fear of spooking him. He was the first to fly down @ 5:45 and proceeded to circle around to meet up with his two buddies. I didn't have a great shot (had to buck a little beech brush) but it was the only one that I was going to get. The hevi-shot pulled through for me again. No much of a story really...no calling involved...just knew where they've been roosting and where they've been going to.

17.5 lbs (all "rutted" out with no breast left)

10 3/8" beard (2 year old with lots of orange/amber color on the tips)

spurs were 1" & 3/4" (broken tip)

IMG_1447kk.jpg

IMG_1399ii.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

Posted
Posted

Where I hunt is barren........

bar·ren (babreve.gifrprime.gifschwa.gifn)

adj.

1.

a. Not producing offspring.

b. Incapable of producing offspring.

2. Lacking vegetation, especially useful vegetation.

3. Unproductive of results or gains; unprofitable: barren efforts. See Synonyms at futile.

4. Devoid of something specified: writing barren of insight. See Synonyms at empty.

5. Lacking in liveliness or interest.

n.

A tract of unproductive land, often with a scrubby growth of trees. Often used in the plural.

[Middle English barreine, from Old French brahaigne, perhaps of Germanic origin.]

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pygmy Experienced

Pygmy

Posted
Posted

Nice bird, young feller... CONGRATS.....

With inch spurs and a beard that long , I'd call him a 3 year old..Two year olds nearly always have spurs under an inch, usually 1/2" to maybe 7/8"...

You and yours certainly have had a banner week...I hunted the last seven days and heard one gobbler..

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

Posted
Posted

Nice bird, young feller... CONGRATS.....

With inch spurs and a beard that long , I'd call him a 3 year old..Two year olds nearly always have spurs under an inch, usually 1/2" to maybe 7/8"...

You and yours certainly have had a banner week...I hunted the last seven days and heard one gobbler..

I find it hard to believe you only heard one bird on Mahogany Ridge? <grin> (as I sip my very cold Bud Light)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WNY Bowhunter Experienced

WNY Bowhunter

Posted
  • Author
Posted

If you are undecided about a turkey's age...hold it's beard over a light source you can instantly tell whether he is two years old or if he's 3 years plus. On a jake, the tips of the beard strands will have a distinct orange-amber color to them due to a lack of melanin. At two years old, the beard hasn't grown long enough yet to wear these "jake tips" off and they still show the orange coloration. By the time he is three years old, a gobbler has grown over 15" beard and these amber tips will have broken off. Thus, a turkey with a 10" beard with orange tips is a two year old. If you have a 10" beard where the tips are jet black when viewed over a light...he is at least three years old. This may sound like a load of BS (I didn't make it up) but it you candle the beards of a bird with 1.25" spurs versus one with 3/4" spurs the contrast is extremely evident.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
WNY Bowhunter Experienced

WNY Bowhunter

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Here's a photo of what I was referring to in my previous post:

IMG_1474.jpg

The beard on the left is from friday's bird. Notice all of the orange coloration on the tips = 2 year old.

The beard on the right is from one of last year's birds. He had 1.25" spurs and was definately 3-4 years old. Notice there is no orange tint at all beacuse his beard has had an extra year to grow and the intitial "jake tip" portion of his beard has been worn off.

Edited by WNY Bowhunter
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lawdwaz Grand Master

Lawdwaz

Posted
Posted

congrats, nice looking bird. Me and my dad tagged out as well about a week ago. They just came in screaming, which was something we didnt predict for this year. But we do have a handful of spots, and know how to play the game.

Congrats!

Details............ Any pics? Where are you hunting? How big were your birds?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tjm08803 Newbie

tjm08803

Posted
Posted

I have never seen the orangest tint on beards. A 2 year old has spurs that come straight out and are very blunt at the end. Average beard for them are about 7-8 inches (could be longer). A 3 year old has spurs that are just starting to get some definition in hook to them, with a beard about 9-10 1/2 inches. The more the spurs hook and get sharper, generally thats the older the bird is. My dad took one this year that had very sharp hooks (you didnt even wanna touch em), and the bird weighed around 26 pounds. He had a 10 inch beard. We would age him no younger than a 4 year old.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...