Gobbler Nation

Can you look at your beard and antler collection and remember the hunt that each one goes with? Naturally beards are a tougher challenge. I can still place the antlers with the hunt but some of the beards have long ago blended together. I can still remember each multibeard and a lot of the singles, but some I just can't recall anymore. I wish I had kept a journal and maybe marked a number on each one. But back in the day I was more concerned with the next one than the memory of the last one.

I’m in the same boat Ronnie, I can remember the vast majority but some seem to get mixed in with others.....I have started keep a journal of present hunts and a section for prior hunts that come to mind at various times that are triggered by various reasons....one of my biggest regrets is not keeping a journal from the get go.

I regret not saving anything except Spurs 1 1/2 or better.. One thing I do have is pics, bedroom is full and it brings ya back. The places and people mean more than the tangible items

ICDEDTURKES wrote: ↑March 12th, 2018, 12:33 pm I regret not saving anything except Spurs 1 1/2 or better

That pile should be easy to remember. I know mine is

i was thinking the same thing!!

guesswho wrote: ↑March 12th, 2018, 12:21 pm Can you look at your beard and antler collection and remember the hunt that each one goes with? Naturally beards are a tougher challenge. I can still place the antlers with the hunt but some of the beards have long ago blended together. I can still remember each multibeard and a lot of the singles, but some I just can't recall anymore. I wish I had kept a journal and maybe marked a number on each one. But back in the day I was more concerned with the next one than the memory of the last one.

They say the memory is the second thing to go and we don't want to hear about your Viagra experiences next..........................

If the memory was the first thing to go then the rest wouldn't matter. And I have yet to follow the warning instructions on the bottle. The Doctor is the last person I'm calling.

My Wife says I'm just getting older and my memory isn't what it used to be. I tell her my memory is as good as ever. Heck, I can remember hunts that never even happened.

I don’t remember all my kills, but I can recall with great clarity EVERY miss over the last 30 years!!!

Some...yes

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I don’t have pics or beards and spurs of all my birds. I’ve got a lot of them though but I remember each hunt still but I can’t put the beards with spurs. I have my beards on one string and my spurs on another. I have more beards than spurs. I use to toss the spurs and I don’t save the fans either even now unless it’s gettin mounted. . I haven’t got as many as u though Ronnie cause this is a 2 bird state in spring and I don’t fall hunt much but when I do it’s mostly targeting hens. But I do remember each hunt still though.

My brother Gary who passed away about a year ago kept a journal of all the deer he had taken, he had the date, time, a small description of the hunt and pictures of each deer. I would have loved to have had that journal but it went to one of his grandson's who he was very close to which was fitting I think.

Gets harder every year. I started a journal in high school, and got away from it for years. Came back about 15 years ago, but again never kept up with it. I do appreciate what I did write, capturing things that happened in the woods that I had forgotten from long ago.

Excellent post - something we should all do!

I can on quite a few but, as someone else said, I seem to remember the misses more easily & vividly than the hits.
I do keep an online journal that details all of my hunts since 1991. Before that, it's kinda hit 'n miss.

I do remember exactly a rabbit hunt for 1965 when I almost got shot.

I am in the "wish I had written it down" crowd. Have some hunting who buddies who do very detailed notes and its amazing what they can pull out of their journals. Not just hunts, but weather and gobbling patterns and such. I will start in my next life for sure...

I remember all the first kills I’ve been in on.

I remember all the 1-1/4” and better spurs that I’ve killed.

I’ve killed over 100 and seen that many more die. They started running together.

I can recall the hunts, but matching the beards, nope. I need to collect them and at least get them all in one spot. Unless I forget.

I have an excel file I started in high school counting all my deer and Turkey kills. I would add a comment by each about location or any special. I have a separate column for the ones I’ve called to the gun too. It’s not the same as the pictures but I can still reminisce by looking at the good years.

I don't keep a journal or any type of records, sure wish I had. I told a young friend of mine to keep records and he has an album with pictures and notes on location, including temperature and weather conditions and a number for each turkey he kills. He writes the number on the spurs, beard, and fans if he keeps them. Keep some kind of records cause as you get older those memories will fade and you'll wish you had.

Yup, easy on the deer horns cause I quit in 89
Easy on the 2 bearded hens, but when I found and egg in the last one, that was it, on bearded hens
Now the toms beards, well just all pin em' to the wall collection mount boards and make sure to have pics & dates is all

I started one a few years ago, wish i'd have done it much sooner. Both my boys killed their first turkeys last year and I gave them both a journal to start writing everything down in. I lost a bunch of beards and spurs in a move and don't even have them to remind me of a lot of early hunts. A journal of those hunts would be nice to have.......

Be sure to ad pictures to the journals, they tell a story by themselves.

If I had to remember every hunt, I couldn't. when I do remember a hunt, its because either its engrained in my brain, or while hunting/ driving by a place I hunt or hunted, I will have memories pop up.

I too wish I had written down feelings etc from those special moments in time

I don't have enough as many beards as you do Ronnie so it's easier to remember each hunt. When I'm lucky enough to kill a gobbler I take the spent shell and glue the beard into the bottom of the shell. I jot down a few notes about the hunt on a piece of paper while the memory is still fresh and roll it up and put it in the shell with the beard. They are kept in a shoe box so I can pick up each one and as soon as I read the paper the memories come flooding back.

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I journal some seasons and have all the digital photos sorted by dates. I can recall the majority of birds killed by looking at the photos. However, those between 1990 and about 2006 (when I bought first digital camera) werent documented as well. Seems like the photo developer was giving me a floppy disc along with the developed photos back then but I did a poor job of keeping up or labeling them.

I have not kept up with beards and spurs very well. Keeping beards and spurs became less important once I left the Easterns and moved to Merriam's country. They seldom have beards and spurs worth keeping.

I have all my beards on some wall mounts or in a shoebox. there are some that stand out, and I can recall the hunts. [ extra long ones, thick ones, some I shot to pieces ]. but the majority, id have to admit, I can't put with a specific hunt.