The quest for 80.
 

Honest to god, I'd sell my soul to kill a natural bird that scored in the 80's. No cheating. 1 beard. 2 spurs. No extra credit.

Once April comes, I'll be in full turkey mode. It's kinda sick - I start leaving for work early and riding the local back roads scouting birds - locating, cold calling, watching, listening, then banging on doors on the way home.The next step is to start glassing them in the evenings with the varmint gun, trying to find that one-in-a-million prehistoricheavyweight tom with true 1.5"+ dagger hooks and a paintbrush rope.

I'd love to leave my name in the record books with a natural 80 pointer.I've taken 2 naturals that scored around 75 or better. Either one, had I had them professionally scored, would've made Page 1 of the NWTF PA records page - but they won't make 80, so what's the point?

Something about those big birds - just like isolating a big buck - it's like you're hunting a different animal.The birds around here are really cautious to begin with, but even with their skittish demeanor in mind, you always know right away when you're into one of the big boys. These birds(if you're lucky enough toget intoone) is borderline unkillable, and those arethe chessmatches that I live for. Those 5+ year old birds are the rarest of the rare in my neck of the woods. They do exist, however.

To be honest, I think I had my80 pointer a couple years ago. I glassed an absolute monster bird in a cut hayfield one spring evening. Isnaked my way into a pasture field200 yards out and zoomed in at 32x. I got one clean look at it when he lifted it out of the grass- a MONSTER hook. The biggest I'd ever seen, by far. So it began. I finally killed this bird after what had to be the most ridiculous hunt I've ever been involved in. He made a mistake and got sloppy with his sight lines - let me swing around on him to reposition - I got in his head- and it was game over.The first thing I saw when I walked up was a left spur that hookedlike a boomerang- pushing 1-3/4" - it was ready to break off (already cracked). Unbelievable. Other spur was broken offclean at 1/2" on the right. The beard was rotted off at 5" and his weight was already down from breeding. So, my "80 pointer" wound up netting out about 50. [>:] I know, the score doesn't dilute the accomplishment...but...

It's just so damn hard to age a turkey in the field. Short of slithering into position and glassing hislegs - it's a guessing game. I can almost always distinguish a 3-year old from a 2, just based on their mannerisms. But in the rare event that you're into a 5+, all bets are off. They might sound raspy - like a jake, their self-preservation instincts are unreal, and they're just so much different. And you only get one tag, so once you pull the trigger - you'd better be sure it's the bird you want. You can look a buck's rack and say "120." But you just can't look at a turkey in the field and say "70+." There's always an element of the unknown.

To me - the holy grail of turkey hunting isn't the grand slam - it's the 80. Anyone with a bank account can shoot 4 turkeys. But can you kill the unkillable?




So? Who here has a natural 80 hanging on their wall?

RE: The quest for 80.
 

The only 80 plus I killed was a 'non-typical' And out of all the other toms ive killed (over 20)only one was in the 70's. 80 is like a B & C buck, only you cant look at him and see it. Spursare the biggest factor for the score and almost impossible to see without short grass, high power spotting scope, and and a steady turkey.


Good luck, Quik! Let us know if you spot one.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Good luck on finding that monster Tom!!! Besides Pa, are you hunting in OH also? The same area you deer hunted is a pretty good area for turkeys also.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

drhntr - you're right... If there was a threshold for a "Booner" turkey - it would be 80. That's a once-in-a-lifetime bird...

Chris - I'll be down there for sure this spring (probably Sundays). That's a great area for turkeys - I saw a lot of them from the stands this fall, including a few nice ropes. Depending on how things go, maybe we'll hook up for a hunt someday this spring.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

If you ever get that "80 typical" Tom, you better go out and play powerball right after, because luck is definitely on your side. Luck plays the biggest factor in high scoring birds. For simple fact, that for the most part Toms cant' be scored before the shot.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

My second ever bird sported a 11.5 inch beard, 1.5 inch hooks and was 20 lbs. Scored 73...To get to an 80 class he needed an extra .5 inches on the beard, 1/8inch on each spur, and 4 lbs. That's asking alot. i know they are out there but that bird was a once in a lifetime bird for me already.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

"What shall it profit a man, should he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?" , and here you are, not selling your soul for the whole world, but just a turkey? Better get back to the good book.:D

RE: The quest for 80.
 

I don't know if I've ever heard of a true 80 bird?

Many years ago now, when I shot my big one (76 3/4... and thats a true typ bird as well), a gentleman entered a bird in the state contest (I did not) that was a true typical also and scored 77 11/16 or something like that. It was close to 78. Bird had matching 1 7/8" hooks, and was a good piece lighter than my bird. Had a 1/2" longer beard.


BTW: The bird that I shot weighed 23# 4oz, L: 1 5/8" R: 1 5/8" Beard: 10.5" for a total of 76 3/4. I'll never best him in VA. Its a book bird for sure. It was the first turkey I ever killed and was just so pleased with him I had no clue what I had come upon.

Fran if you want a true 80..... I'd suspect he'd be found somewhere in the mid-west. Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio... one of those big cold region 24#+ monsters. Gotta have a place with no rocks as well. Better get him early before he loses weight. That big bird that scored over 77 here in VA was shot on the last day of the season and went 21#s and change. Thats a big one in VA... but to be on the last day... I'd suspect he would have gone over 24 in early April. Very few turkeys killed in this state over 21#s.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

It is good to dream. My best is only 73 and change.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

I can say to shoot a one bearded tom and score over 80 would be awesome. Ive believe I scoredaround 88with a double beard I shot back in 2006. I could be wrong, been too many years. It was entered in the 2006 HNI contest. I still have the pics of it. Its my biggest bird to date. 25lbs 11in and 8 in beards 1 1/4 in spurs.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Haha.... you put "only" in front of 73! Thats not a number you put only in front of, thats a good bird!

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Hunter's Name:
JAMES E. LEWIS

Home State:
KY

Species:
Eastern (Typical)

Harvest Date:
Apr 22, 1999

Harvest Location:
FRANKLIN, KY, USA


Total Score:
104.8125
#1*


Longest Beard:
13.7500"
#4*


Number of Beards:
1


Longest Spur:
2.2500"
#1*


Other Spur:
2.1250"


Weight:
33.5625 lbs.
#2*


Method of Take:
M Firearm


Calls Used:
Slate, M Diaphragm

* Rank for Eastern Typical taken with a Modern Firearm in Kentucky, USA

RE: The quest for 80.
 

How about the quest for 100?[8D]

I had to look that one up, but I knew there was a bird killed here a few years ago that blew away the 80 threshold.


As someone said earlier, one can only dream. Im aiming for a 70 typical bird, then Ill work my way up from there.:)

RE: The quest for 80.
 

In 03, I killed a 26 lb bird with 1-15/16 spurs and 12-1/4" beard the first week of season. Second week, 25 lb, 1-3/4" spurs and 11-1/2" beard. Now I am offering hunts on my place. Macon County, MO is the best for trophy toms in the Midwest, bar none. Maybe I am just biased, but I would rather hunt my place than anywhere in the Midwest.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Mine is the same as MO_Bowhnters since we doubled the day he got his and we both took identical birds, but mine weighed 1 pound more.[8D] If we entered them they would be ranked 61st.

Anyway if you go to NWTF's website you can see all the records for each state and each category. In the 80s would only put you in the top 15, which is still really good. MOs record is 94, which is pretty unreal for a typical.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

I killed a 23 1/2 Lb., 11 1/2" Beard, 1 1/4"and 1 1/8" What would be the score of that Bird?

My Cousin the same age as me and I was with him Killed a 25 Lb., 12", 1 1/8" and 1 1/8" what kinda a score is that?

Is it Lbs. 25, 12"=48, Spurs =18 Total 81?? I just never have scored any birds

TF

RE: The quest for 80.
 

You won't find many 75+ birds in Ohio. I live there and the best hunting is in the rolling hills of the state and those spurs get rubbed down pretty quick. You get a lot of points from the weight and after this winter I doubt a 25+ pounder is killed this year. Saw many birds while I was downin SE Ohioand those birds are looking pretty light. This has been a pretty bad year for the turkeys in Ohio.

David

RE: The quest for 80.
 

sorry if this is a dumb question but how do you score a bird? All this talk of 80 class birds is greek to me haha

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Weight is 1X
Beard length is 2X
Spur length is 10X each

20 lb bird 10in. beard 1in. spurs (each)= 60 point bird

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Dude I think you and a few others have lost what it is, that makes spring turkey hunting so great... I doubt if Tom Kelly,Will Primos, CUZ Strickland, Toxy Haas, or any of the other great in the turkey hunting world ever scored any of the birds they've killed!!!

Why don't you just be thank full that you have your health and some good places to go turkeyhunting;)

RE: The quest for 80.
 

If you go to NWTF.com they have a scoring calculator to figure your score.

http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/turkey_score.html

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Thanks HomerJ, that scoring system is kinda cool, to me a 20lb bird with one inch spurs and a ten inch beard is a pretty darn good bird. If that is only a 60, an 80 is a real monster!

RE: The quest for 80.
 

As noted earlier - if you are lucky enough to get the drop on a true giant tom - you'd better kill him early - b/c he'll shed weight like an olympic wrestler during breeding.

Deeg - I think it's actually getting harder and harder to find "big" toms anywhere these days. With the rising popularity of turkey hunting, more toms are biting the bullet before they ever have the chance to blow out their 4th birthday candle.

I know from guiding and taking birds myself - my core areas are totally depleted of true limbhangers. Tons of 2 and 3 year olds, but the patriarchs are scarce. Don't get me wrong, a 60-class turkey is a true trophy to most people. But they're not what I'm looking for.

I actually believe that the really old toms are much smarter thanmost huntersgive them credit for. They're very aware of hunting pressure, and they know how to avoid it. They will vacate their harem and relocateif necessary. Self-preservation... They don't get to be 5+ years old by running to every hen they hear or gobbling their brains out all day.

Musselvalley - that is an absolute warhammer of a gobbler. Do you have any pics of it?

Gmil6184 - high scoring turkeys are all about spurs - giant ones. The x10 multiplier really applies maximum credit to the final score, as it should.

MO - Dude, to kill 2 70+ birds in a double - that's awesome! Wow. You Missouri guys truly do have the world's best eastern turkey hunting.

Mr. Longbeard - I don't think any of us have lost appreciation for turkey hunting... Just that we know what it takes to make a once-in-a-lifetime, record-book turkey. For some of us, that's the crowning achievement in turkey hunting. Everybody has different goals: some people want to be on tv, some want the slam, some just want to fill their tag, some want a bird that gobbles like his ass is on fire. I want an 80. That doesn't make me a bad guy or unappreciative. Just look at some of the guys responding on this thread - Deeg is one of the most accomplished turkey hunters on this site. Musselvalley has taken one of the highest scoring birds of all time.

I guess when you think about it - anyone can go out and "luck into" a monster tom... But when you do it consistently, there's a higher level of research, preparation, tactics and understanding going into it. With that, comes a distinct appreciation for what you're doing and the bird you're talking to.

By the way, great discussion so far guys. This is really getting me amped to get out and do some heavy scouting in the upcoming weeks.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Just to be honest, I'll take a horny 2 yr. old anyday... :D





My best bird came from SC... 78.75 24 1/2 lbs. 1.5" spurs and 12 1/8" beard

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Let me know if you get one located! Id love to come show ya how to kill him!:D

RE: The quest for 80.
 

For those of you who want to score a bird you have killed... here is the easy way.

This is a link to the website a good friend of mine runs. He is a turkey travel agent so to speak. Just follow the link, enter the info and hit submit. Score will pop up. He even gives you a table of fraction to decimal conversions so you don't have to try and guess at it.


Ryan Tucker's Website/NWTF Score Calculator

RE: The quest for 80.
 

70 3/4 would be your score.

Kinda shows exactly how critical spurs are. Figure that your bird weighed 4 ounces more than mine, and had a longer beard by an inch..... but my best bird had matching 1 5/8" spurs and that gives it six more net points for only about 1/2" more spur per side. Thats where trophies are made... in the hooks.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Looking at the NWTF records, an 80+ turkey was shot in the county right next to mine this past spring.

Goochland Co. VA, taken 4/20/07...... #1 turkey for the year too......

Weight:23.68# One beard only: 12.68" Matching 1.6250" spurs (thats 1 5/8")

Total score 81.5625


Also says that the No. 1 bird all time in the state had 8 total beards! Weighed in at 20 1/2#s and only had spurs that were 1 1/8" long! Total beard length was 59.37"! That will do it! Net score was 162.37.... taken in 1996.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

imho. I would rather run and gun ona gobblin 2-3 yr. old than to pattern a 4-5 yr. old monarch and sit and wait for him. Not saying they will not come to the call but the odds are way down there.

Good luck in your quest. Nothing like setting goals and then making them come true. Keep us posted.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

IMO 70 is way above average let alone 80.It would be like taking a 200" whitetail,a goal most will never accomplish.It's always good to set goals,but not always easy.Good luck on getting him.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

i agree with you on both of those statements. especially the missouri comment;)
i pattern the same turkey and watch my flocks throughout the entire year,and i have noticed that as birds get older their habits do change. and alotthat can probably be chalked up to maturity and experience. But regardless of where they get it. It does make that certain bird more of a challenge.
And I believe that is what your aftermaybe more than the score. Regardless of what it is i support your goal and hope you succeed.:D

RE: The quest for 80.
 

I have three in the high 60's, 2 in the 70's(71,74) but never in the 80's. Had a chance possibly last season but I set up on him wrong and tried making a shot off handed-never drew a feather. I know what you mean, if I had an extra 5,000 I could grand slam with the best of them.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

I'd love to kill one like that. I've been after one specific bird for a couple of years. I've named him Dr. Tom. I hope I get him before old age does.

As far as selling your soul.....I've heard that it can be arranged:eek:

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Thanks quicksilver! Unfortunitely it happened way too early in my turkey hunting career. I was only 20 at the time and Mo_Bowhnter was 19. It was my 3rd turkey and his 2nd. He killed a jake that year also the week before in the same spot. And note that this was on public land as well. I guess this shows that even on public land we really do have some of the best turkey hunting for Easterns in the world!

RE: The quest for 80.
 

i forgot to say congrats on that double youscored on MOmightymite an Mo_Bowhnter good luck to ya this year.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Other than on here, Ive never even heard of scoring a turkey, Ive taken some great gobblers in my life, and a couple that will go 70+, although I have nothing but the beards left and the memories, I never put much stock into the spurs except the last few years, but my heaviest bird weighed 27lbs, and I have 2 26s and several 23-25lb birds. I have always hunted our family farm, and all but 2 of my birds were 20+. I wish I still had the measurements of the spurs and weights all together so I could score some of them. We do have some fantastic birds here in Missouri.. I wonder if scoring the turkeys is a lot like scoring deer, I know of so many that are huge, and will make record books, but dont know of any that were actually entered into the books. Also when talking of typical and non-typical, is nontypical a multi-bearded bird?? I got pics of one a few years ago with 4 big beards on him, I have tons of pics of him, for a few years, but have only had one opportunity to kill him,, but he came in with two other birds and they ended up getting head on to me, and moving around a bunch, and I shot the wrong bird[&:]so he got away that time. What kind of scores are great for nontypicals?

RE: The quest for 80.
 

well the #1 record a typical in missouri had 8 beards and scored somewhere around 194 i believe.
i took a 3 bearded turkey last year and it scored almost 88
here is the link to the online scoring calculator for the NWTF http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/turkey_score.html
your can also search records for certain states
and a 27 lb bird that is awesome man. we missouri boys got it good

RE: The quest for 80.
 

So, Im guessing, if the bird has multiple beards, you can add all the lengths together, and then double it? I have taken a few double bearded birds and one triple beard. I have trail cam pics of one with 4 but havent gotten him yet.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

yes you add all the beard lengths together. or spur lengths i have heard of birds with more than one spur on one leg. spurs is still where the big points are.

RE: The quest for 80.
 

Wow! I was at a buddies house and he has a big gobbler mounted, I figured up a score for it and it is a monster! It was a 24 lb bird, with an 11 inch beard and 2 inch spurs!!!If I added right, thats and 86?? Right? The most impressive thing on this bird is the spurs, they are fantastic long hooks, I guess thats where he gets his high score.