What is a trophy Turkey?

A legal TOM that you had to work for.

Anything with a beard.

I have shot several mature gobblers and they all look the same to me. Don't get me wrong I prefer to kill a mature gobbler but truthfully I shoot the first legal bird I have a chance to shoot even if its a jake, bearded hen or a legal hen in the fall of the year. I guess I hunt em mainly to eat.

I haven't shot a jake in years, although I was sorely tempted down in KY a few years back. There was a gang of 7 jakes that run every gobbler off the field.

I pretty well look for the long beard. If two comes in I'll usually try and pick out the biggest and bushiest beard OR if one is doing all the strutting I consider him dominant and take him..if I can. Long spurs are nice, but they are an after thought. Unless one has a bird REAL close it is pretty tough to judge spurs..my eyes aren't good enough.

Ditto...I get a kick out  of these guys who say they can see the spurs on a birds at distances of 20, 30-40 yards in grass, leaves, woods or otherwise...It's not like a whitetail buck with a rack.....I have a switch in my head and it says " mature bird, full fan, good beard , SHOOTER"....dead bird...then after I retrieve my bird if he is a trophy  ,well that's just icing on the cake...but I have never been able to see spurs on a live bird before the shot...enough to say exactly how long they are to judge a trophy, from one that is not a trophy...BS to those who claim they can...most times they kill a bird , walk up to it and realize it's a trophy then try and BS everybody in to thinking they are some supreme hunter who only shoots trophy birds...I've known some very good turkey hunters in 25 years chasing these birds and collecting turkey calls, and some of these men who have written books on turkey killing techniques, biology etc. I have also sat down and talked at great length with a few legends in the turkey hunting World ..these are guys who have been hunting turkey since the 1940's,...and if they can't judge the length of spurs, or see 6 beards on a bird before the shot, or know the weight of a birds before the shot...then I highly doubt anyone else can....I know I can't...Pure and simple BS IMO

Obviously trophy birds are different to each hunter. For me, I'm satisfied filling a tag each year and don't shoot jakes. However, the bird I am waiting on to mound is one with nice long spurs. My first turkey, doubled with my good buddy in Greene County on my second trip down, had both a long beard (11")and long spurs (1 1/4"). I left it down there to be mounted but the taxidermist freezer had gone out while he was away and my bird, among others, had gone to waste. I have yet to top that bird. I am not able to judge a bird as it's strutting or waltzing by, nor do I have the large # of birds to allow me to be picky, so as long as it has a long beard, I take the first ethical shot it gives me.

I just want to get a bird with a real nice fan to put up on the wall.

...especially if I called him in with my beautiful slate Kaiser Kall!