Belt buckles are one of my favorite accessories. They are worn with a sense of pride and style. Buckles add a little swagger to your step and attitude to your smile.
Before a buckle earns a spot on my belt it must meet one of two criteria:
1. I won it in a contest
2. The buckle has an animal I have successfully harvested on it
This past turkey season I thought it would be fun to host a little contest among family and friends. I called it: The Buckle.
Here were the rules for the contest.
1. The turkey must be harvested Nemaha County
2. We would use the National Wild Turkey Foundation Scoring Method
3. The highest score wins the buckle
4. Only your first turkey with a shotgun scores
5. Must use the official scale at Rod’s
Bottom Line: Biggest turkey earned you the buckle
Recap of the results:
Last Place: Bailey and Garrett talked a big game about bagging a gobbler, however both ended up eating tag soup. My recommendation for future seasons is get your priorities straight. Garrett spent more time shopping at Cabela’s than in the field, and Bailey put her family before hunting…a rookie mistake.
Sixth Place – Yours truly finished sixth. I created the contest, bought the buckle, and was accused of cheating from the start. The rules stated that the first turkey with a shotgun scored. I harvested a turkey earlier in the season with my bow. At the time the contest didn’t exist and I did not get an official score on it. Other participants (mainly Rod) said I shouldn't be able to participate. Due to the scrutiny I was already under and the fact that an official scorer was not present during my shotgun bird, I errored on the conservative side of measurements.
Weight: 22lbs
Beard: 10 and 1/8 inches
Right Spur: 1 and 1/8 inches
Left Spur: 1 and 1/8 inches
NWTF Score: 64.75
Fifth Place: Carter finished in fifth place. He was the first to harvest a scoreable bird. He had a little dose of Gobbler Fever, however overcame the symptoms and punched his tag. He hunted hard and has become a seasoned turkey hunter.
Weight: 23 and 1/8 lbs
Beard: 10 and 1/8 inches
Right Spur: 1 and 1/8 inches
Left Spur: 1 and 1/8 inches
NWTF Score: 65.875
Fourth Place: In addition to earning fourth place, Hot Rod received Guide of the Year honors. Helping Carter and Ethan harvest their birds, it was challenging for him to find time to fill his own tag. Choosing to hunt with a double barrel .410 Rod has to “get em in close”. Rod has been known to stretch the tape when measuring and there were no witnesses for his bird, however we are taking his word on the measurements giving him fourth place.
Weight: 20 and 1/8lbs
Beard: 10 and 3/8 inches
Right Spur: 1 and 3/8 inches
Left Spur: 1 and 3/8 inches
NWTF Score: 68.375
Third Place: Ethan came in 3rd place. Getting out of bed to go hunt this season was the biggest obstacle Ethan had to overcome. Eventually Rod was able to drag him out of bed and put him on a bird. He had difficulty seeing the tom, however I’ll let the size of his bird do the speaking.
Weight: 24 and 1/2lbs
Beard: 11 and 1/2 inches
Right Spur: 1 inch
Left Spur: 1 and 1/8 inches
NWTF Score: 68.75
Second Place: Ol Zinny came in second. I had the opportunity to call in Blake’s bird, making me runner-up Guide of the Year. This was one of the more interesting turkey hunts I have ever been on. We were hunting behind his Grandpa’s barn and called in a peacock with the wild Tom. It all went down shortly after sunrise. Which is a good thing, due to the fact Zinn has the attention span of a six year old.
Weight: 23lbs
Beard: 10 and 1/2 inches
Right Spur: 1 and 1/4 inches
Left Spur: 1 and 1/4 inches
NWTF Score: 69
Champion: Champion honors go to Tyler for bagging a brute of a bird. Tyler was able to maximize his days in the field with his unemployed status. He called the Tom within feet of his barrell which speaks volumes for his calling and concealment. It was one heck of a turkey.
Weight: 26 an 1/2lbs
Beard: 11 and 1/2 inches
Right Spur: 1 and 3/8 inches
Left Spur: 1 and 1/4 inches
NWTF Score: 75.75
In the end the size of the turkey doesn’t matter. The buckle doesn’t matter. What matters is we all had the opportunity to hunt together, flip each other some shit, and harvest some turkeys to feed our families. The buckle represents more than the biggest bird. It represents a bond among friends.
How Does This Apply to Business
Competition drives growth and innovation. Several of us had opportunities to harvest a jake, however held off for a bigger bird. Business is competition. You will be measured against others, especially if you are in sales. Competitions can bring out the best in people and help build camaraderie.
Even if there is not a competition it is important to track your results. This allows you to determine if the activities you are doing are paying off. If the results aren’t there, you need to evaluate how you are spending your time. Follow these steps:
1. Evaluate
2. Learn
3. Adjust
4. Implement Change
5. Execute
It is pretty simple.
Until next time remember…you’re going to have to earn it.