The Whats a good bird thread got me thinking..

[Basser69]

Can you see the spurs?

No

In that case, I would smoke him 'cause of the full fan  

[bowhunter84]

Bust him. Then go find someone who is not tagged out and call for them.

[hobbes]

BANG!!!!!!!! and start calling buddies to see witch ones going with me in the morning!

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".

[turkey slayer]

Beard is just for looks...He liable to have some 1 3/4" blades...and that's what i like!

[Reloader]

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

[Basser69]

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.

[4nwtf]

I am a turkey killer, that being said BOOM- nitro to the noggin since he has a full fan

[RutnNStrutn]

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.

[savduck]

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.

[sugarray]

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.

[Gobble!]

let the gobbler hit the floor 

[Timber Chicken]

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.

[catdaddy]

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. 

[TrackeySauresRex]

A gobbiling full fan Strutter...I'm shootin'

[Hognutz]

Full fan = full load of whatever I am shooting that day.