Just this morning...
 

Scott Kittregge just sent this pic of the longbeard he shot this am.

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That is excellent! Georgia season ends on Friday. Not sure if I will make it back out or not.

Thanks Dean.
Shot it with my sterlingworth 30 in. 20 ga. At 25 yds with 1 oz 6 s. 18 lbs, 8 in. Beard and 1 spur at 1/8 in. I was robbed on spurs. Darrell C. Wanted me to try my fox. This 20 shoots very tight patterns.
Scott

I can vouch for the tight patterns on that Sterly. Scott let me shoot it in the backup event on the New Year’s Day Shoot at Major Waldron’s in NH. Daniel “Woodcock Survey” was backing me up and was surprised at how seldom he needed to shoot.





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That gun has some mighty long barrels, or Dean is really good, i think a combination of both.

I think it's a combination of the barrels and the chokes... and sometimes I get lucky.





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I do not care what the gun is if it is not pointed in the right place it can't do it on it's own. So many look for that magic gun and forget the other part of the equation. Face facts Dean, your good, on that day, in that place , at that time.

Just thinkin'. Maybe we should have a "Big Turkey" contest next year. Honor system, Length of beard+ the length of each spur=high score wins. Will disregard the weight, as many may not have access to an accurate scale( I don't). Mutiple beards, a clear advantage.
Must be shot with a vintage double--or limit it to Parkers only.
And what does the winner get?? Well, he gets to wear the mantle of "Parker Big Turkey" or some such nonsense for the year, and who wouldn't want that.
Waata, ya think?

Sounds like a good idea. What bird can we put in ? I nh we are allowed 2 birds.
Scott

Your biggest bird, enter multiple times (legally of course). In my neck of the woods, some people hunt 3 states WV, OH, and Pa. because they are in such close proximity--I think you can shoot 2 birds in each state.
BTW, congrats on a great season!!

I watch The Hunting Public on Prime Video or Netflix (I don’t remember which) and they have a contest of length of the bird from tip of beak to tip of tail laying on its back. I think it is a great idea!

Actually, we have a few subspecies of turkey in this country: Eastern, Osceola, Merriam, Rio Grande and maybe another. Some are genetically bigger than the others so the contest should be separated into those sub-categories.




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What about a Parker Gobbler Pin, just as we have a Doubles Pin? How about it B.O.D.?

I like it 👍
Scott

How about a handicap system for using a smallbore (20,28 and .410) ?

You would get a smaller pin.:)

But Scott, your Sterly gobbler of this morning wouldn't qualify...:shock:





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I was thinking you oughtta plunk one with your 28 :cool: I’ve got a friend that lives here that’s plunked two of the swans down in North Carolina both times one shot from a Parker 28 :whistle:

That's the plan Craig. The next one will hopefully be with a new to me 32" 20 Sterly and hopefully the 28 is next. Might have to wait until the fall/winter season though.

I'd be in for a long bird contest next year!

Maybe the pin is smaller but I guarantee the smile on my face would be huge.:):bigbye:

And my friend Lenny in Denmark, ME just sent me this text... and I replied...

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Had one below me and one behind me this am. Had the hammers cocked! Heart ❤️ was thumping! A hen flew out of a tree 20 yards below me and I could see them breeding! Pretty awesome but I’m still here and they gone ��

My friend with the 28’s on swans picked up an Ithaca NID 20 gauge 3” with 32” vent rib barrels last week he said its choked pretty tight . He laughs at me playing with 10’s and told me this 20 would be his turkey gun . You oughtta give consideration to the 28 with buckshot and or slugs for a deer this coming fall . I’ll carry my one and only Parker 28 out again all be it in a gunsock until I’m situated in the tree . I’ll have a home cast slug in one barrel and hand loaded buckshot in the other . :whistle:

I would love to try a slug in my 28's Craig but they are both choked F/F, M/F respectively so I'm not sure what kind of accuracy I could achieve with them. I've never fooled with loading slugs and they are rare on the shelves in stores.
How is your 28 choked?

As far as buckshot, they are not legal here in MD where I hunt.:crying:

Mines full and full . I got about a two inch group for three shots from the right barrel at 25 yards within an inch or so of point of aim . The left barrel grouped almost as well but not that close to point of aim . I loaded #1 , #2 and #3 buckshot for the 28 and they did okay at 25 yards . So if I have it out it’s loaded with a slug in the right and buck in the left all shots to be thirty yards or less . I’ve got a bunch of the Gactory loaded Brenneke slugs also but I don’t think I’ve tried them yet . They’re a bit pricey at about $2 a shot dealer cost , but I got ten boxes that oughtta last my lifetime .

These were the home cast 28 slugs at 25 yards . I did forget to write on the label that I fill the cavity in the bottom of the slug with hot melt glue or wax , reason being it keeps the 410 card wads and or the 28 gauge CB wad from becoming caught in the bottom of the slug messing with what little accuracy one gets .

My three buck loads .

I would be happy to run the "Big Turkey " contest next year, since I brought it up in the first place. For simplicity sake however, I think just the beard and length of each spur.
Yes we could give handicap scoring with gage, and how about with hammer guns? You could really score big with a 28 or .410 hammer gun.
Anyway, the fun part is just seeing the pictures of those birds with our Parkers.

Here is my Grade 2 Hammer 12 with one of the birds I took this spring.

I would think you’d do it in a three measurement thing measure beard , both spurs and not exactly a measurement but the weight so let’s say your bird weighed 22 pounds , 9 1/2 inch beard and the two spurs combined were 2 3/4” . So your total would be 22+9.5+2.75 for a total of 34.25 . Just my opinion and I don’t even pursue hobble birds anymore .

I did not include the weight as many, myself included, don't have a way to get an accurate weight. I absolutely agree with you however. I have run big turkey contests for our sportsmans club in the past, and when asked the weight you could tell people just made up a weight, they really didn't know.

Another of my past collecting obsessions . I bet I have about 120 sets of scales/balances here :whistle:

I think this will be a great new adventure. How about a new Parker Turkey Slam....410,28,20,16,12,10, My 20,16 and 10 will be Parker Bothers, the other two of the 5 gauges will have to be Parker Reproductions if that's O.K......SXS Ohio

Or just a Parker turkey pin with each specific gauge recognized. Not all of us have each gauge, or will in the future.

Yes....one for each gauge and a Parker slam for them all...(-: