x 2

Although what I originally said was apparently not fully taken as said, and it doesn't take much to get a rise out of some . . . . .   

Below is a re-quote, but part of what I was trying to say is that OFTEN you CAN distinguish an OLD Tom from a 2-yr-old one ("old" not meant to be limited to a 3-yr-old bird, but hopefully an "older" one).  A long, thick and DANGLY SWINGING BEARD is highly suggestive of a 3-yr-or-older bird, while a shorter "stiff" non-swinging beard is highly suggestive of a 2-yr-old bird.

Never meant to imply I was good at distinguishing a 2-yr-old from a 3-yr-old Tom, but am saying can often distinguish a 2-yr-old from an older one.  Am sure I've let an older Tom or two walk simply because I didn't like his beard.   

As with buck deer, it's challenging to accurately distinguish 2 from 3, but we can be right more than wrong when distinguishing 2 or younger from 4 or older.