I’m a spurs guy

[Meleagris gallopavo]

So I'm in the turkey hunting contest again this year and I had the pleasure of harvesting the first bird I could hang from a tree limb (1.5" spurs).  To me the spurs are like antlers on a deer, they're the first thing I look at when I approach a shot turkey.  I get crazy excited about spurs regardless if it's my bird or one someone else killed.  Obviously a nice beard and full fan are important to me, and the weight of the bird is something to talk about, but they are all secondary to the spurs for me.  Any other spur lovers out there?


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[Lcmacd 58]

Beard 1st for me.... then spurs
Weight is last

[soILstrutter]

Definitely a spur guy myself. The first bird I killed this year had 1 5/8" spurs. I had never truly broken the 1 1/2" mark, so I was pretty ecstatic. I also enjoy the little surprise I get when I flip him over to check out the spurs. Unlike with deer, the "hardware" is all a surprise after you pull the trigger, and to me this is a definite positive about turkey hunting.

[JeffC]

Want a quality hunt first and foremost, but after I pull the trigger and actually hit him, I look at his spurs 1st, best are 1 9/16", I believe they show age of the Tom. 

[roberthyman14]

Breast guy.  They taste so good.   Then beard then spurs.

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[Greg Massey]

The hunt is my reward / trophy after that whatever else he's sporting is icing on the cake... weight, spurs and beard... I just like those special memory hunts...

[Beardedbird]

I'm a spurs guy as well!

[Haypatch]

Yep i LOVE a big set of hook's! Spurs guy myself also!

[Yoder409]

Spurs here, too.

So, don't look at my contest entry.....

[WV Flopper]

Spurs

[Happy]

Spurs are cool, but I am a beard guy.

Good-looking and Platinum level member of the Elitist club

[Dr Juice]

Spurs over hooks for me. I'm used to our mountain beards wearing down their spurs and to get one with over 1" is truly a trophy to me.

[DUCKDIGGLER]

GUILTY! 

[GobbleNut]

As others have pointed out, the trophy is in the hunt.  Within reason, spurs are a great indicator of a bird's age and we all like to think that killing an older gobbler is somehow better than killing a younger one. With that being said, I am more of a beard man myself...and here is why...

In all but the rarest of cases where someone might have the good fortune of being able to actually SEE a gobbler's spurs before pulling the trigger, I suspect the great majority of gobblers are killed without the hunter having a clue as to what kind of spurs a bird has before walking up to it. 

Regarding the analogy of the comparison to antlers or horns on a big game animal, it would be valid if a hunter could not see a buck or bull's antlers and basically had to walk up to the downed animal to see what kind of rack it had. That is essentially the circumstance that exists with turkeys and spurs.

Beards, on the other hand, can be evaluated right then and there on the bird without the "box of chocolates" surprise factor that accompanies the guesswork of assuming the size of a gobbler's spurs. Now, don't get me wrong, I like finding long, hooked, and sharp spurs when I approach a downed gobbler as much as the next guy...but I have made the assumption that the bird I just shot was an old granddaddy gobbler only to walk up and find he was a young'un too many times to make the claim that I can tell the difference when they are "on the hoof". 

[Bottomland OG]

I like spurs and beards. But I'm in the same boat as DJ, I'm used to mountain birds too. I kill a good many with chipped or broken spurs. But it's more about the hunt to me. I like big hooks but will take a 2 yr old any day of the week.