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Few pleasures compare to those found in the great outdoors. From chattering squirrel to the majestic elk or from bluegill to blue marlin, our forests, rivers and oceans are where a true life of adventure can be found.
Whether you're a seasoned sportsman or just starting out, the learning never stops. Hopefully, you'll find this site to be of some help along your journey.
Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2008
This turkey's for the record books!
By Brad Harvey
When it comes to the sport of hunting, there aren't many people in our area who are as knowledgeable and experienced as Clover's Bobby Abernathy. In fact, during turkey season, the now-retired taxidermist logs more time in the woods than most anybody I can think of. That's why I wasn't the least surprised when he called me late Wednesday morning to tell me about a great turkey that he had harvested a few hours earlier.
However, I was quite surprised to learn just how special a bird it was.
"Whadja get?" I asked.
"A six bearded turkey," he replied.
Now, I'm all the time having buddies rub my face in their success stories (most of which are exaggerated a bit) but Abernathy is not that type. Still, I said, "You've gotta be kidding me." After all, a multi-bearded turkey is fairly unusual but six is ridiculous.
"No, this thing really has six beards and big spurs to match," he continued.
"Bobby, just please tell me that you haven't cut that thing up yet!" I pleaded.
Thankfully, he responded, "Not yet. Why, you wanna see it?"
Of course I wanted to see it but, more importantly, I knew that this had to be a "record book" turkey.
The National Wild Turkey Federation maintains the records for all state, national and world record turkeys that are harvested. A scoring system was developed years ago, so my first move was to find out exactly what we had to do to score this one. After a couple of quick calls and discussions with the good folks at the NWTF, I knew what we had to do.
Upon my arrival at the Abernathy home, Bobby, with his usual humbleness and "aw shucks" attitude asked, "You really think this thing's a record?"
"Well, we won't know until we score it," I said. And so we did.
The NWTF scoring formula requires you to take all measurements to the closest 16th of an inch and convert it to decimal form. You add your spur measurements together and multiply the total by 10. Then you take the total inches of beard and double it. Last, just add those two numbers to the turkey's total weight to come up with a final score. In the case of Abernathy's turkey, the measurements were as follows:
Weight- 20 pounds
Left Spur- 1.375 inches
Right Spur- 1.375 inches
Beards- 45.5 total inches (11, 8.125, 6.25, 7.125, 7.375, and 5.625)
With a final score of 138.5, Abernathy has harvested, and York County has produced, the fifth best turkey ever taken in South Carolina.
On a personal note, I can't think of anyone more deserving of a trophy such as this. Abernathy started turkey hunting around 1973 and has been hard at it ever since. Through all of the years of pursuing his outdoors passions and staying extremely busy with his taxidermy business, he always found the time for the kids. I couldn't begin to count the number of nights I stayed at his house or hours I spent in his shop as I was growing up.
My first tree stand was passed down from Abernathy. My first bow? Another "Abernathy hand-me-down." Though I no longer use them, I still have them both. When I shot my first deer that was worthy of mounting, he even let me work in his shop to cover the cost. And I'm just one of many that he treated the same way.
Now, his unselfishness continues. Instead of keeping this "once in a lifetime" trophy, he's hoping to donate the bird to the NWTF's Winchester Museum at their headquarters in Edgefield.
I've always heard that good things happen to good people. This past week went a long way toward proving to me that it's true.
Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2008
This turkey's for the record books!
By Brad Harvey
When it comes to the sport of hunting, there aren't many people in our area who are as knowledgeable and experienced as Clover's Bobby Abernathy. In fact, during turkey season, the now-retired taxidermist logs more time in the woods than most anybody I can think of. That's why I wasn't the least surprised when he called me late Wednesday morning to tell me about a great turkey that he had harvested a few hours earlier.
However, I was quite surprised to learn just how special a bird it was.
"Whadja get?" I asked.
"A six bearded turkey," he replied.
Now, I'm all the time having buddies rub my face in their success stories (most of which are exaggerated a bit) but Abernathy is not that type. Still, I said, "You've gotta be kidding me." After all, a multi-bearded turkey is fairly unusual but six is ridiculous.
"No, this thing really has six beards and big spurs to match," he continued.
"Bobby, just please tell me that you haven't cut that thing up yet!" I pleaded.
Thankfully, he responded, "Not yet. Why, you wanna see it?"
Of course I wanted to see it but, more importantly, I knew that this had to be a "record book" turkey.
The National Wild Turkey Federation maintains the records for all state, national and world record turkeys that are harvested. A scoring system was developed years ago, so my first move was to find out exactly what we had to do to score this one. After a couple of quick calls and discussions with the good folks at the NWTF, I knew what we had to do.
Upon my arrival at the Abernathy home, Bobby, with his usual humbleness and "aw shucks" attitude asked, "You really think this thing's a record?"
"Well, we won't know until we score it," I said. And so we did.
The NWTF scoring formula requires you to take all measurements to the closest 16th of an inch and convert it to decimal form. You add your spur measurements together and multiply the total by 10. Then you take the total inches of beard and double it. Last, just add those two numbers to the turkey's total weight to come up with a final score. In the case of Abernathy's turkey, the measurements were as follows:
Weight- 20 pounds
Left Spur- 1.375 inches
Right Spur- 1.375 inches
Beards- 45.5 total inches (11, 8.125, 6.25, 7.125, 7.375, and 5.625)
With a final score of 138.5, Abernathy has harvested, and York County has produced, the fifth best turkey ever taken in South Carolina.
On a personal note, I can't think of anyone more deserving of a trophy such as this. Abernathy started turkey hunting around 1973 and has been hard at it ever since. Through all of the years of pursuing his outdoors passions and staying extremely busy with his taxidermy business, he always found the time for the kids. I couldn't begin to count the number of nights I stayed at his house or hours I spent in his shop as I was growing up.
My first tree stand was passed down from Abernathy. My first bow? Another "Abernathy hand-me-down." Though I no longer use them, I still have them both. When I shot my first deer that was worthy of mounting, he even let me work in his shop to cover the cost. And I'm just one of many that he treated the same way.
Now, his unselfishness continues. Instead of keeping this "once in a lifetime" trophy, he's hoping to donate the bird to the NWTF's Winchester Museum at their headquarters in Edgefield.
I've always heard that good things happen to good people. This past week went a long way toward proving to me that it's true.
Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2008
This turkey's for the record books!
By Brad Harvey
When it comes to the sport of hunting, there aren't many people in our area who are as knowledgeable and experienced as Clover's Bobby Abernathy. In fact, during turkey season, the now-retired taxidermist logs more time in the woods than most anybody I can think of. That's why I wasn't the least surprised when he called me late Wednesday morning to tell me about a great turkey that he had harvested a few hours earlier.
However, I was quite surprised to learn just how special a bird it was.
"Whadja get?" I asked.
"A six bearded turkey," he replied.
Now, I'm all the time having buddies rub my face in their success stories (most of which are exaggerated a bit) but Abernathy is not that type. Still, I said, "You've gotta be kidding me." After all, a multi-bearded turkey is fairly unusual but six is ridiculous.
"No, this thing really has six beards and big spurs to match," he continued.
"Bobby, just please tell me that you haven't cut that thing up yet!" I pleaded.
Thankfully, he responded, "Not yet. Why, you wanna see it?"
Of course I wanted to see it but, more importantly, I knew that this had to be a "record book" turkey.
The National Wild Turkey Federation maintains the records for all state, national and world record turkeys that are harvested. A scoring system was developed years ago, so my first move was to find out exactly what we had to do to score this one. After a couple of quick calls and discussions with the good folks at the NWTF, I knew what we had to do.
Upon my arrival at the Abernathy home, Bobby, with his usual humbleness and "aw shucks" attitude asked, "You really think this thing's a record?"
"Well, we won't know until we score it," I said. And so we did.
The NWTF scoring formula requires you to take all measurements to the closest 16th of an inch and convert it to decimal form. You add your spur measurements together and multiply the total by 10. Then you take the total inches of beard and double it. Last, just add those two numbers to the turkey's total weight to come up with a final score. In the case of Abernathy's turkey, the measurements were as follows:
Weight- 20 pounds
Left Spur- 1.375 inches
Right Spur- 1.375 inches
Beards- 45.5 total inches (11, 8.125, 6.25, 7.125, 7.375, and 5.625)
With a final score of 138.5, Abernathy has harvested, and York County has produced, the fifth best turkey ever taken in South Carolina.
On a personal note, I can't think of anyone more deserving of a trophy such as this. Abernathy started turkey hunting around 1973 and has been hard at it ever since. Through all of the years of pursuing his outdoors passions and staying extremely busy with his taxidermy business, he always found the time for the kids. I couldn't begin to count the number of nights I stayed at his house or hours I spent in his shop as I was growing up.
My first tree stand was passed down from Abernathy. My first bow? Another "Abernathy hand-me-down." Though I no longer use them, I still have them both. When I shot my first deer that was worthy of mounting, he even let me work in his shop to cover the cost. And I'm just one of many that he treated the same way.
Now, his unselfishness continues. Instead of keeping this "once in a lifetime" trophy, he's hoping to donate the bird to the NWTF's Winchester Museum at their headquarters in Edgefield.
I've always heard that good things happen to good people. This past week went a long way toward proving to me that it's true.
