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Big turkeys (to you)

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woodsman04

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First of all, let me say this. One thing that makes turkey hunting so great is that points, inches, age or weight literally means nothing. (Not to me anyways.)
It's the only "big game" (if turkey is considered big game) sport in the world where measurements don't matter. Yes the NWTF record books are there, but I think lots of gobblers go unnoticed.
Turkey hunting is purely about the pursuit, and the thrill of the hunt. When I used to ambush or crawl up on turkeys I could kill a big 4-5 year old with 1-3/8" spurs by crawling up on him in a ditch. And then later on I'd call up a regular two year old and be more happy with the one I called up. One day I just told myself, "no more crawling up on one because it wasn't as fun." I had finally learned the thrill of the chase.

Anyways, back to my original post. What is a big turkey to you gentlemen? To me I'm happy with any gobbling bird two years or older, but there's that special rush I get when I see he's got 1-1/4" plus spurs. I like big beards, but weight does nothing for me. Matter of fact my favorite turkey, probably oldest too, has 1-3/8" spurs curved and sharp like a Osceola, about a 8" beard and weighed 12 and a half pounds. Killed him in north Alabama, far from any pure strain swamp Osceola gobbler. And he wasn't just feathers and bones from breeding. He was just a small framed turkey. His legs were 2" shorter than the normal ones.






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If it has a full fan I'm satisfied! Beards are nice but spurs are the first thing I check. Anything over 1" and I'm excited. I'm I 130 or better deer guy but turkeys I just love to shoot no matter the measurements (jakes always get s pass)

One thing that rarely gets talked about is weight. I'm fortunate to hunt a big ag property and early season I've killed a few 26lb birds which is always super cool to see when you pick them up
 
Full fan, full wing patch, full gobble and visible beard is game on. A big turkey in my parts is anything over 21 lbs, or 1 1/8" or better spurs. Most I run across are 18-21 lbs, and 7/8" - 1 1/8", or thereabouts.
 
Full fan and it's fair game. Always wanted to kill one with a 12" beard with plans to have it mounted but did kill one and didn't mount it because the spurs weren't out of this world. I prefer a thick beard over a long one if forced to choose but a set of hooks is nice too.
 
REN":1tht20xn said:
I'm fortunate to hunt a big ag property and early season I've killed a few 26lb birds ......
Click to expand...
That is unheard of where I hunt, which is made up of mainly hardwoods with some scattered cut over, agriculture and pastures. If I kill one north of 22lbs, I've killed a dandy, and it is usually first few days before he gets excessively run down from breeding. I'd like to personally see/hold a 25+ lb wild turkey.
 
I'm a spur man.... hit 1.5 inches and I've got something special.

Back in the late 90s early 2000s, when the limit was 2 and I had more birds than just about any property east of the Mississippi, I wouldn't even shoot a bird that had less than 1.25in spurs. LOTS of birds got called to the gun and passed, otherwise my season would have been over by Sunday morn of opening weekend.

I do like a very thick beard as well, more so than length.

Weight is a bonus, more to eat, but isn't that important to me, even though we have had some big ones in the past. My personal best is 26lbs, but we have killed 1 27 and a monster that went 29!

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Andy S.":2k1n44pn said:
REN":2k1n44pn said:
I'm fortunate to hunt a big ag property and early season I've killed a few 26lb birds ......
Click to expand...
That is unheard of where I hunt, which is made up of mainly hardwoods with some scattered cut over, agriculture and pastures. If I kill one north of 22lbs, I've killed a dandy, and it is usually first few days before he gets excessively run down from breeding. I'd like to personally see/hold a 25+ lb wild turkey.
Click to expand...

It's crazy how big they are at that weight. I've killed 3 out there at the 26lb mark (if my scales are right) and a bunch of 22-24lb ones. It's nothing but corn, soy beans, alfalfa and millet in the ag bottoms. Early season there are some big ones out there. By late April most of them are down to the 22 or below range


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Not going to say how many I have weighed. But I've seen 2 that went 24, one that went 26, and one that went 27. The rest of them on my normal hunting spots weigh on average of 18-20 pounds. Less than 18 would be a light weight, above 22 is for sure a big bird. I usually have to double check myself if I see anything over 23.

I may be the odd ball, but I'd rather kill a 15 pounder than a 25 pounder. Just something about it seems more wild. I know they the same thing, but to me just something cool about killing an old raw boned, acorn and grass seed eating, southern turkey. But it was quite a sight the 27 pounder I had. I don't pluck and smoke whole turkeys anymore, but I did that dude and it was awesome.


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Anything at or over 1.5" Spurs is a giant to me. Don't see many mountain birds that are truly over 21 pounds. You do hear of a lot that get guess weighed at 30 though lol


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Talking about weight. My dad and I have killed several jakes in the 20-22 lb range. The biggest gobbler went 26 buy only had 7/8" spurs. 2 yr old. This was my grandads old farm. No ag fields to speak of within 3/4 of a mile. They were just bigger than average birds


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I've been so blessed in my turkey career to kill some true monsters, and that's all about spurs. Nothing else matters. Beards are thick, beards are thin, beards are super long and some are shorter none of that tells a birds age. Weight to me matters even less, as I've killed big fat two year olds and super thin 4+ year olds.

I honestly don't care anything about stats though. If a bird plays the game I want it to play it is a trophy in my eyes.

Sure it's cool to roll,one over and see 1.5" daggers, but I've gotten just as much if not more satisfaction killing a 2 year old after a 5 hour duel.

In some ways turkeys are all trophies each one. They're so cool, unique and insane. They're not deer and gauging them on stats cheapens the sport imo. When hunted the traditional way it's so personal, so intimate to literally engage in a conversation with a wild animal and ultimately dupe him into coming to you. That makes them all trophies, even jakes when taken with a call and a gun
 
Spurs matter to me. Anything over 1.25 are hooks around here. Those MS river bottom birds get big. I mean real big. I don't know what it is, but the beards are even bigger on the ones I have killed here, compared to the ones I have killed in MId TN. Between my father and myself, we have killed 1 @26 that was 4 yrs old. All the rest have been under or right at 24. The 2 yr olds seem to weigh more than the older birds.

Something that was odd to me, one specific bird I remember is a 16 lb bird that looked like a runt. I mean even the full fan was small. But he had a 11.5 in beard that was massively thick and had 1 in razor sharp spurs that could cut metal. It was an odd bird.
 
Every bird is a trophy to me being deaf in one ear and can't tell directions of sound. If it wasnt for good friends and blind luck, I might not ever kill a bird. As far as big bird, everyone but a jake
 
Setterman":3tq19nlx said:
I've been so blessed in my turkey career to kill some true monsters, and that's all about spurs. Nothing else matters. Beards are thick, beards are thin, beards are super long and some are shorter none of that tells a birds age. Weight to me matters even less, as I've killed big fat two year olds and super thin 4+ year olds.

I honestly don't care anything about stats though. If a bird plays the game I want it to play it is a trophy in my eyes.

Sure it's cool to roll,one over and see 1.5" daggers, but I've gotten just as much if not more satisfaction killing a 2 year old after a 5 hour duel.

In some ways turkeys are all trophies each one. They're so cool, unique and insane. They're not deer and gauging them on stats cheapens the sport imo. When hunted the traditional way it's so personal, so intimate to literally engage in a conversation with a wild animal and ultimately dupe him into coming to you. That makes them all trophies, even jakes when taken with a call and a gun
Click to expand...

I am just like this.


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First bird I killed was back in Chuck Swan with an old bolt action goose gun, darn thing had a 36" barrel and hung on every branch when using the sling, that bird weighed 21lbs. I like to see a big thick beard when I walk up to them, nice spurs are a plus. Like most have stated, the way the game played out means more to me than anything. If he was a real vocal bird or it took several hunts to figure him out before success, those characteristics stick with me longer than fans, beards, and spurs. Still waiting on the one with spurs that make your eyes bug out. One thing I find terribly hard to do is to trash all those beautiful feathers after cleaning one, seems like such a waste. I do save some for fly tying but only need a few.
 
Any bird that is not a jake is fair game for me but I do like the long spurs,hope everyone has a fun season!! :D :D :D
 

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