Turkey Opener Washout ?

[canvasbacksca]

Congrats on the 2 gobblers, Singlemalt! Two-yr-old gobblers have spurs that are 7/8" or less and a gobbler with 1" spurs is a 3-yr-old, 1-1/8" is most likely a 4-yr-old. After that, aging gobblers by spur length becomes less precise primarily because of wear on the tip of the spurs, but you can be sure that a gobbler with 1-1/2" spurs is an old bird.

 

[singlemalt]

Thanks Canvasback I am surprised that ageing could be that accuate by spur length. As I said in my post despite being shot 60km from each other these two birds were virtually identical. I use a very high quality digital fish scale to weigh them and they were within 7/8 of an oz. of each other. Both had spurs of at least an inch and creative measuring might stretch that to 1 1/16".

I love the late season, it seems that big boys like this which always have hens with them early often get lonesome and stupid as May draws to a close.

 

[canvasbacksca]

It's common for 2-4 brothers, especially 2- and 3-yr-old gobblers, to be together in the spring although one of them usually will be the dominant gobbler. When you see a group of jakes they are almost certainly brothers as well. Similarly, groups of hens are likely to be sisters and / or first cousins. But, somehow, I doubt that 2 birds shot 60km apart were closely related.