yes but the question was how you decide which one before. A bird gobbles in the tree as you set up in darkness...or you see a strutter across the feild. Anyone who says they sit there and decide whteher it is an old gobbler worthy of that duel is loony. Sometimes the wary, hard hunted, public land jake can be a test of your skill and patience! You may not pull the trigger when that obvious age determination is made but fun all the same.

Looking at a trail cam pics of a bunch of gobblers and trying to decide which one to target makes no sense to me whatsoever either. That's deer hunter talk that makes no sense in the sport of turkey hunting IMO. You call to a gobbling bird through the timber...how are you supposed to know whether it's that one from the trail cam pic? Even when he comes up within that gun range how do you really know?

I mean if it's an "easy" flash hunt and he comes running, who is to say he isn't the oldest, wisest bird in the county and you caught him at the perfect time and hit him with what he wanted to hear?

It just plain silly to assess turkeys like this. Old, young, spurs, beards. That's bunk IMO. Save that thinking for the fall and have fun chasing big g2's and split brows, long main beams and drop tines.

A turkey is a turkey is a turkey.

Heck this is the point Mr longbeard makes all the time. It's about the challenge of the hunt he feels he's faced with that makes his perception of his self. lol

I completely agree that sometimes you face a tough bird. You may hunt him all season. And in the end if you kill him you hope that you are rewarded with those great trophy attributes. I love long beards and sharp spurs. I love a big heavy mature gobbler. I do figure the score of my birds and think it's a neat bonus when I get a good scoring bird. I just never alter my hunt like walking away from a lone longbeard in a tree to go after another one. That's silly........