Spring Turkey Contest?

[TheGrovBone]

Last year I posted a little about the possibility of having a turkey contest - is there any interest out there this year? I'm just putting out the feelers early...cause I've got spring fever already! I thought I see if there's interest first and then we could figure out as a group what rules and criteria we'd like!
[signature]

[hooknhunter]

I'd be interested.
[signature]

[chrome_junky]

I was actually pondering the idea the other day actually. I think it would work if we can get enough participants. I could run it like i have the deer contest or if someone else is up for it they are more than welcome to give it a shot. I have a general lay out for some rules and guidelines thought out too. Ill wait to see how many people are interested before we start throwing that stuff around.
[signature]

[TheGrovBone]

Two is better than none! I'll keep begging this to try and generate some interest - I'm glad you've got some ideas on rules, etc. chrome_junky. Let's get this baby started!
[signature]

[hooknhunter]

I like this scoring method.

Weight + (beard length x 2) + (sum of both spur lengths x 10). A really big turkey will get you around 60 points or so.
[signature]

[TheGrovBone]

That sounds pretty fair - I like that! Do you know anyone personally here on the forum that may also be interested?
[signature]

[hooknhunter]

It would appear it's just the 3 of us.
[signature]

[trophyboat]

Count me in. New to turkey hunting but I will give it a try.
[signature]

[flyfish_88]

I would be interested if i draw a tag over here..
[signature]

[TheGrovBone]

Sounds great! Turkey season is coming! Let's keep getting the word out!
[signature]

[PACKFAN]

Is this just for a bird taken in Idaho or can a Utah hunter get in with a bird taken here?
[signature]

[TheGrovBone]

I'm up for it! The more the merrier!
[signature]

[PACKFAN]

Thanks you can put me on the list. My hunt opens 13 April here in Utah for the North East region.
[signature]

[PACKFAN]

I believe I saw that method or something similar used on a recent Drury brothers show on TV with a turkey competion between each brother's team.
[signature]

[hooknhunter]

I believe that is where I got that method of scoring from, A Drury video. Seems like a good system to me.
[signature]

[PACKFAN]

Do you guys have both the Rio and Merriam in Idaho? We have both here depending on where you hunt. We mainly have Rio's where the wife and I hunt. I may have killed a Merriam a few years ago but didn't realize it until the wife and I took pictures with both birds together that we had taken that morning. We noticed the tail feather trim and tips of back feathers on my bird was more white than her bird and that the bars on the wings showed more white than the black bars. Sent a picture to a friend who is a CO in that area and he said it looks like it could be a Merriam. The tail fan now sits on top of my B Mobile decoy and it was good for 3 toms last season. I included a picture of both toms, my bird is on my right, one of you guys that has killed Merriams may know if it is or not.
[signature]

[hooknhunter]

I've been hunting, scouting, and learning about the turkeys in Idaho for a little over 20 years. I've hunted a lot of ground from the Boise area up through the Orofino area. I've read a bit about it and talked with many folks (some qualified to talk about it, and some probably not). All of my combined efforts lead me to this understanding of our populations here.

We have/had 3 species of turkey in Idaho. Rio, Merriams, and Eastern. Over time, they have hybridized to the point where in a few areas you might be lucky enough to kill a bird that has mostly Eastern traits (but it is very unlikely) and in other areas you might kill a bird that has mostly Merriams traits (reasonably likely), and still in other areas you might kill a bird that has Rio traits (highly likely, but only in select areas), but overall, most of the birds in Idaho are a Rio/Merriams hybrid with some tending more to the Rio and others more toward the Merriams.
[signature]

[PACKFAN]

Thanks for the info, I know from the pictures I see the Eastern does not have the colorfull tail feathers that the Rios and Merriams have and not as pretty a bird overall.They are much larger however. My brother-in-law back in Wis. is starting to get quite a few on his farm. He took one last year that he had been after for several seasons that weighed 28 lbs and sported 2 beards, I think he said the spurs were 1 3/4 inches. We never had turkey in Wis. where I grew up, now I guess they are all over the place. The wife and I have only hunted them here for 6 years and between her and I we have taken 7 toms. I set up a ground blind with decoys for her and call. I have taken 3 of my 4 toms stalking them and calling as I get boared sitting in a blind, not quite as much fun as bow hunting elk during the rut but it comes up 2nd in my book. I attached a Picture of the Tom my wife took last year, my buddy mounted it for her.
[signature]

[hooknhunter]

That's a beautiful mount.
[signature]

[PACKFAN]

Thanks, she is quite proud of it and has alot of comments on it hanging over the fire place. I called two toms in from quite a distance with a primos mouth call she ended up taking this one 11 steps from our pop-up blind. It was a pretty neat show as the 2nd tom only ran off a short way then came back and starting kicking the crap out of this bird flopping around until I got out of the blind and he took off.
[signature]