wholelottagobble

I believe for the most part that any two year old tom is as much of a trophy as a 3 or 4 year old. however, i am more proud to kill an obviously older turkey because a turkey thats been through 3-5 hunting seasons is gonna be a whole lot harder to fool than one that' s only been through 2. A hunter that can fool and old old turkey and bag him, has more to brag about than someone who bags a nice 2 year old simply because his bird had survived that many more hunting seasons.

Buckeye Mike

Any turkey that you legally call into gun range and harvest is a trophy. The rest of it is pretty much luck in my book.

trapper T

Trophy is in the heart not the record book. Its nice to see that so many of us in here are true to the hunting spirit and not the killing spirit. But this world we live in" Bigger the better" attitude is in everything we do even hunting. Ijust took my 1st mature gobbler yesterday(as most know from my other posts)but that don' t mean that tomorrow a jake steps out I' ll pass on him to me it is more the experience than the kill.It is almost sad because the day is done then. As happy as I was yesterday packing him out i remember more than once thinking," man now I have to go home" And to see these Big Game perserves they have now, where they grow Elk and Deer like cattle makes me ill. I refuse to watch them on TV,because that is NOT hunting in my book.

SnoBall57

Personally, I do consider myself a trophy hunter, and not because I' ve got a macho, " better than thou" attitude or anything. I' ve killed a bunch of nice gobblers over the years and I' m to the point in my life that I' d rather film or watch them than kill them. I just love to hear ' em and see the ritual. The only time I will carry the ' ol shotgun with me is when I find an old patron that will give me a good run for my money! And I' ve never had the opportunity to have a full body mount of a nice bird, so the next one I kill will either have a foot long beard (or close to it) or multiple beards! And if I get a mount done, I' ll probably never kill another. But I' ll be out there every spring enjoying the season. I don' t have to kill a bird every year to have a great time. I enjoy taking other folks out that haven' t been as fortunate as myself over the years.

who_else

nicely said, who_else

trapper T

You make very good points, Sno Ball

bigcat fhsu

Well you guys have said it all so all that I can say is I Agree. I do have to confess that I am only 19 yrs old and do still have a little competitive blood flowing, and yes my buddies and I do jeer each other, in fun, about who' s beard is longer or spurs, etc. But most importantly we will all be out there again next year having a BLAST!!! And yes I will continue my quest for the older and smarter birds, as others have said due to their wisdom and challenge. Bravo to all who agree and love the hunt not he " Book"

sour01

As far as I am concerned---any turkey you can get to come in range---or that you can manuever yourself into range---is a trophy. It is hard enough to do that without trying to figure out if he really is big enough. Trust me---around here there are some folks who have not bagged a bird yet and our season closes in a week!

I look at it a bit different with deer hunting. I have let bucks walk because I wanted them to grow and here in Alabama we have the option of taking does all season. Having said that---when I decide to take a doe---it is also a big thrill.