You have one tag left and still have days to hunt.. You are in a state that states "male bird" and no requirement for a beard or beard length.. You call up a bird, he busts into strut and has a full fan, yet you double take as he has no visible beard..
Do you kill him?
Shoot the Strutter.
Can you see the spurs?
It would depend on how many other birds are in the area. IF several more NO, if not Yes.
Bust him. Then go find someone who is not tagged out and call for them.
Dead bird........ I know you've heard this before( I'm eat'n um ... And the beard don't taste good)! That being said , I have several tags .....I will save a couple and hold out for a good scoring bird!
BANG!!!!!!!! and start calling buddies to see witch ones going with me in the morning! ;D :you_rock: ;D
:fud:Boom....Out goes the lights!!
Has to have a visible beard in KY.
nope... cause I went for beard and spurs... and thats what i want
:fud:
Beard is just for looks...He liable to have some 1 3/4" blades...and that's what i like!
No way, I'm passing on it until I have something better. Last year I had two tags left and passed on 3 or 4 birds looking for the boss. It took a week to finally pull in the one that was running the show. Got my spur lenth best out to 1 inch.
Looking for 1.125 or 1.250 this year after I get one or two in the bag.
Quote from: younggun on March 10, 2011, 11:09:28 AM
Bust him. Then go find someone who is not tagged out and call for them.
:agreed:
Quote from: Flydown on March 10, 2011, 11:21:05 AM
BANG!!!!!!!! and start calling buddies to see witch ones going with me in the morning! ;D :you_rock: ;D
I don't have half the beards or spurs of previously killed birds, so I can't say collecting them means that much to me. I never can see the spurs berfore I shoot a bird and darn sure can't tell how much he weighs. If two birds come in w/o strutting I'll usually shoot the one with a bigger beard. If one is strutting, I'll usually shoot him given the opportunity. If a full fan bird struts in alone, I seldom even notice the beard beyond "he's got a beard".
Quote from: vicksburg on March 10, 2011, 11:38:04 AM
:fud:
Beard is just for looks...He liable to have some 1 3/4" blades...and that's what i like!
:agreed:
Killed a beardless tom that I almost passed on. He came in fast and I assumed he was a jake until he dang near ran over me and I saw the hooks. The only thing he had where his beard should have been were a few blond strands below the feathers.
Full fan, one tag left, no more days to hunt, BANG. Turkey meat taste good :D
One of the "other" factors that is not posted is what state are you in and how dense is the bird population. I am not trying to start an argument just would like to know all of the facts to make sure that my bust him stands.
I am a turkey killer, that being said BOOM- nitro to the noggin since he has a full fan
That would depend on if I still had some out of state hunts to go on, and how many days I would be able to hunt here at home. If I only had a few days left, then BOOM. If I had several days, and a couple of other trips to go on, I'd let him walk.
DEAD
Funny how everything is a reference to spring gobblers. Bet plenty of the same fellas wouldnt have an issue busting a nice fall hen and calling her a trophy.
Im a hunter, I hunt because I enjoy it, but also to supplement food on the table. Any time I harvest an animal that helps keep my youngins fed it is a trophy to me. I dont try to harvest jakes, but I have and they taste the same.
Why are you hunting and calling if you are NOT going to shoot? If I don't plan to shoot then I find someone to take, heck may even stay home. If I'm in the woods, I'm there to shoot.
let the gobbler hit the floor :you_rock:
Just so he played the game the way I like he is dead. I refuse to let turkey hunting turn into what deer hunting has. Besides it probably got knocked of when he was beating up on a less dominate gobbler.
I would not. I had this happen in Kentucky two years ago and I let him walk. I also would not shoot a buck that had his horns knocked off for some reason.
Now, one could offer up a host of "what ifs". For example, I would shoot a beardless gobbler or a hornless buck in a New York minute if I simply and only wanted the meat.
A gobbiling full fan Strutter...I'm shootin'
Full fan = full load of whatever I am shooting that day. :you_rock:
He's dead.
They all taste good fried up crispy!
He's dead. Beard and spurs don't mean much to me after I know he is a 2+ year old. I am out for the experience of calling up and taking a mature tom, not for his beard and spurs.
Quote from: Hognutz on March 10, 2011, 02:39:31 PM
Full fan = full load of whatever I am shooting that day. :you_rock:
:agreed: :z-guntootsmiley:
This thread reminds me of opening day of the very first youth day here in VA. My nephew had never ever turkey hunted. He had squirrel hunted with his dad but thats about it. He lives about an hour & a half away so he spent the night with us. I had already found some birds earlier so we knew about where they would be. Well on opening morning it was 26 degrees & blowing snow. My nephew still wanted to go so we bundled up & took off.
Daybreak rolls around & we aint heard squat. We decided to go out on top of a big ridge and sit for a spell. I had just run a series of yelps when I heard a gobble. Within a few minutes I spot 5 strutters coming fast right up the ridge to us. I told my nephew to get ready and dont shoot until I say so. I could tell by the fans that 4 of the gobblers were jakes , but the other one had a big full fan. I told my nephew to shoot the one with the full fan. Boom, bird down. It was also a jake with a 4 inch beard & nubs for spurs.
:newmascot:
I'd smoke him. Here's why called in a bird on public land came in strutting full fan no beard. I told myself thats a big bird so i whacked him. Still today he's one of my top three rewarding birds and had nice 1 in hooks to boot. Wax that head i say.
Dead tom.
A long time ago i would have whacked him but its all about the beard and spurs for me.
No free pass here. If he played the game and lost I hate it for him!
I hunt for the rush of getting him to me and me sending good ole fashioned lead his way. I only keep the largest set of spur/beard combo for the year and throw the rest out.
I hunt for the meat though. I enjoy it don't get me wrong, but if he's legal, he's dead!
:fud: :newmascot:
Daman
Situation happened a few years back on public land, full fan noticed no beard but body size and his big ole head was a no brainer he was a good one. Layed him out, joker weighed over 22 lbs and had 1 5/8 spurs. Would have had a paint brush but the beard rot got him.
Easy No Brainer, Dead Bird Walking
:smiley-char092: :smiley-char092: :smiley-char092:
I have let good birds go where I hunt just because it is my home land that I hunted for years and i would rather have alot of birds on it rather than just have a kill for the year.Thats just me,i have heard it time and time again that you cant eat beards or spurs I might not can but a butterball dont cost but the price of 2 shells a lot of people on hear shoot
Full Fan + big head= dead turkey
Strutting HEN.
KA-BLOOOOOOOM!
Had it happen with this one...came in strut'n with a full fan. He didn't have a lick of spurs. Both legs bare as a bone.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v71/Iflytrout/GOBBLERS/20lbjake1.jpg)
I'd give him a ride.
if I already have one in the bag im waiting, too many birds on tons of private property so theres no rush.
:z-guntootsmiley: :z-guntootsmiley:
I probably would have just assumed he had a beard and shoot him anyways. Got a new deep fryer I'm wanting to try out ;D