Spring gobbler hunting has always been a popular tradition among members of the Commonwealth hunting community. The spectacle of the spring woods, hearing your quarry, calling to him and finally having the Tom come into range is a goose bump inducing vision.
It’s just this memory that Green Top Sporting Goods wants to foster among young, Virginia hunters with their annual Long Beard Battle.
Now in its fifth year, this youth event continues its popularity with a full field of 100 youths registering for the 2025 contest.
Green Top Sporting Goods has always been ahead of trends and when they introduced a new way for youth and their parents/guardians to enjoy spring turkey season with the inaugural Long Beard Battle back 2021 it was the start of a treasured, new tradition. The Long Beard Battle is a special promotion intended to encourage youth hunters aged 15 and under to participate in the spring hunting season.
Participants hunted the weekend of April 5-6, and were required to bring their harvested birds to Green Top for official weighing and measuring. Top finishers were announced with substantial prizes from sponsors.
We caught up with Todd Sadler, Green Top Long Beard Battle Coordinator and he told W2, “The inspiration behind the event is simple. As hunters, anglers, conservationists, etc., we understand that the future of our collective passions is in the hands of the next generation. Youth involvement is key to continuing the traditions that we hold so close. Events like this will hopefully serve to light that fire in a young person that can grow, and hopefully one day be passed on again. I think as hunters and anglers we understand our love for the outdoors.
“I also believe that most of us would agree, that there are few things more incredible than watching a youngster hear his or her first gobbler in the spring, see that first duck pitch and drop into the decoys or feel that first tug on the other end of the line. This event just serves as a chance to nudge or incentivize some of those adults out there to help make these things happen.”
Some might remember the One Shot turkey promotion championed by past DWR Director Bob Duncan a few years back and note the similarity, and Sadler admits being inspired.
“Having worked with DWR in the past with some of the free fishing events that they put on each year, I was inspired. Having seen firsthand the looks on some of these kid’s faces when they experienced something like that for the first time, it was incredible.”
The rules for the Long Beard Battle are simple: 1) You must be a youth hunter age 15 or under, 2) If you legally harvest a bird on the weekend of April 5-6, that bird MUST be brought to Green Top to be weighed and measured.
According to Sadler, the 2025 Green Top Long Beard Battle had another full field of 100 hunters that brought in 26 birds with the highest scored bird in the five years of the event. Hunters aged four to 15 participated.
Grand Champion Calvin Miller harvested the heaviest bird; a hefty 24-3 gobbler that scored 79.6875 to top all entries. The 10-year-old’s bird had a 10-9/16” beard with 1-3/4”: spur on the left leg and a 1-1/16” spur on the right leg. This was the highest scoring bird in Long Beard Battle history.
Runner up Connor Boothe, also 10 years old, harvested a gobbler that scored 67.25 points. He finished second in last year’s Long Beard Battle AND decided to donate part of his prize pack from this year to the fourth place finisher.
The seven-year-old brother to Connor, Colton Boothe was third with a gobbler that scored 65.9375.
This year’s Young Gun Award went to six-year-old Ella Amos, who harvest her first turkey.
The Longest Beard Award went to 10-year-old Harvey Burroughs. His turkey’s beard measured 10-13/16”.
“I congratulate our top finishers and thank everyone that participated. We were able to partner with some of the best names in the industry when it comes to turkey hunting and included their merchandise as prizes. The prize packs included decoys, calls, and other turkey hunting gear, from companies like Avian-X decoys, Zink Calls, Hunters Specialties, Oaklan Farm Calls and more. There was a swag bag with some turkey gear in it this year for each participant that entered a bird. Trophies were back as well, including the first place Long Beard Battle cup where the name of the Grand Champion of each year is added, with plaques for 2nd and 3rd.”
“All we want on our end is to see a bunch of smiling faces,” said Sadler.
Over 50 kids showed up with their families on Sunday for the raffles and give aways.
“This event isn’t about Green Top giving these kids an opportunity to turkey hunt. It’s about wanting to share their joy and love of the outdoors. It’s about seeing those smiles and proud looks as the adults stand back and watch young men and women weigh in birds that THEY harvested. It’s THEIR opportunity to stand in the spotlight. That is what we want to be. We want to help them share their moment. With that comes prize packs and trophies, and bragging rights. It’s our hope that this will become an annual tradition here at Green Top to start our spring turkey season each and every year.”
