# Whats the biggest turkey you've ever killed?



## Arrow3 (Jan 22, 2005)

I guess we could go by several things here...Weight, beard length, or spur length...

I never have weighed my turkeys much..I killed a bird in Madison county in the late 90's that was a hoss!!  He weighed 24lbs, had a double beard 11 and 9 1/2..He had one spur that was 1.5 inches long and the other had been broken off to a nub..

Ive killed 3 different gobblers with 1.5 inch spurs...

Longest beard was this past season hunting with S. Freeman...I killed a bird with him that liked 1/16 of an inch being 12 inches long..


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## Jim Thompson (Jan 23, 2005)

My biggest would be...ok so I have never killed one.

Jim


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## Glenn Ryan (Jan 23, 2005)

*Boss Gobbler*

I shot a good'un in Wilkinson co in 1999. 23lbs , 11 1/2" beard, 1 1/2 spurs.

Best so far.


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## Jody Hawk (Jan 23, 2005)

This old public land Monarch !!! This bird had long 1 1/2" pink daggers with black tips. They were sharp as pins. The local warden saw this bird and estimated his age as at least five years old. I'm proud of this bird but to take him on public land where he had been hammered with call after call, every spring morning of his life, makes him extra special !!!!!!!


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## Briar (Jan 23, 2005)

*Mine*

was 11.5 inch beard and 1.5 inch spurs taken this last spring on a friends farm .


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## HT2 (Jan 23, 2005)

*Brandon.........*

It was a 20 lb. Butterball!!!!!!!!

No spurs, no beard.......

But, it sure was good!!!!!!!!!


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## Mrs. Arrow3 (Jan 23, 2005)

*Well...*

He was a unique turkey...about 6'2"...blonde hair, blue eyes...big ol' gobbler...I didn't kill him, but I sure bagged him pretty good!!!


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## Greg Tench (Jan 23, 2005)

*A3s girl*

Must ve been that pretty "yelpin"!!


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## Greg Tench (Jan 23, 2005)

*Biggest turk*

22 lbs, 3 beard, 1 1/2 spurs


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## Gadget (Jan 23, 2005)

Heaviest was 22.1 lbs
Beard 11 1/4 inches.
Spurs 1.4 inches

All three were different birds.


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## Carp (Jan 23, 2005)

I've killed two that weighed 22 lbs. This one I killed last year in Screven County hunting with Broadhead , TBorck,and Echo. He had an 10 1/2 in. beard and 1 5/16 & 1 3/8 in spurs.


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## matthewsman (Jan 23, 2005)

*Blanton Creek*

A public land 22 1/2 lb 11' beard was my first and biggest,pic later


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## Arrow3 (Jan 23, 2005)

Arrow3's Girl said:
			
		

> He was a unique turkey...about 6'2"...blonde hair, blue eyes...big ol' gobbler...I didn't kill him, but I sure bagged him pretty good!!!




I thought I bagged you?  I must have because I mounted you too!!   :speechles:


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## HT2 (Jan 23, 2005)

*Jess........*



			
				Arrow3's Girl said:
			
		

> He was a unique turkey...about 6'2"...blonde hair, blue eyes...big ol' gobbler...I didn't kill him, but I sure bagged him pretty good!!!


OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   

I'm sure Brandon loved that response......


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## Outdoor-Writer07 (Jan 23, 2005)

*Biggest bird...*

I killed a 19 lb gobbler that had a 10 1/2" beard. That was is my heaviest and longest bearded turkey to date. Spur wise I killed a turkey last year with about 4 days left in the season that had 1 1/4" spurs. This is a picture of my turkey that I killed the last week of the season last year.


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## Thunder Head (Jan 24, 2005)

11.5" beard
1 1/8" spurs (sharp)
 He only wieghed 19 pounds but it was the first weekend in may and he was the the big daddy in those woods. He had almost no fat on him.


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## QuakerBoy (Jan 24, 2005)

thanks for assuming I've actually killed one  

Hope this is the year


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## Outdoor-Writer07 (Jan 24, 2005)

*Thunderhead...*

That turkey sounds just like the one in my photo. He had almost no fat on him and just about all of his feathers were gone wore off just between his legs!!! I guess he was the BOSS of his woods too.


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## Thunder Head (Jan 24, 2005)

Me and my brother worked this turkey all season. He would gobble his head of but would not leave the center of the field. we finaly caught him with only 2 hens. I let out 2 or 3 yelps every 15 or 20 minutes for 2 hours. When the last hen went to nest i did not call any more. His curosity got the better of him and he came looking for the hen he had been hearing all morning. Its called turkey hunting , not turkey calling!


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## Outdoor-Writer07 (Jan 24, 2005)

Its called turkey hunting , not turkey calling! AMEN BROTHER!!!! PREACH ON!!!!


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## hambone44 (Jan 24, 2005)

22 pounds --biggest weight
1 3/4 spurs
10" beard


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## MISSING RIDGE (Jan 24, 2005)

Amigo #1 weighed 19 pounds field dressed-had 10-1/8 inch beard and 1.4 inch spurs-killed at 4:05 on  
April 7,2003. He came running to a Quaker Boy Ol Boss Hen call .


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## GobblingDawg (Jan 24, 2005)

Top three in each category:

Spurs                       
1st                     1.75"
2nd                    1.5"
3rd                     1.375"

Weight
1st                     22 lbs-10oz
2nd                   22 lbs-4oz
3rd                    22 lbs

Beard
1st                     12.25"
2nd                    11.375"
3rd                     11"

Obviously, some of these were the same turkeys and they were all Easterns.  I will be getting one of these back from the taxidermy in a couple of months.

     

Go Dawgs and come on March,
GobblingDawg


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## bama_backwoods (Jan 25, 2005)

I've killed a few birds but nothing like the ones posted here. Got me to thinking what the records for Ga. are....you guys must be all over the record book with birds like those. I checked the NWTF records for Ga.....

Spurs.......top10  (1 5/16)...top 3 (1 3/4)
Beard......top 25 (11 5/8)
Weight.... top 50 (21 1/4)
AT Score..top 50 (91.5)
T Score....top 50 (71.750)


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## gobblinglawyer (Jan 25, 2005)

I agree.  There are some record class gobblers on here.

Here are my biggest to date:

Longest Beard:  11 13/16 inches

Heaviest:  22.6 pounds

Longest Spur:  1 3/8


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## FootLongDawg (Jan 25, 2005)

GobblinLawyer.  You have any idea how many you have shot over the years?


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## Arrow3 (Jan 25, 2005)

As a matter of fact, GobblingDawg is listed in the spur section for Georgia...

As for me....Ive never had one scored....Who scores them?? I never save my spurs...I should I guess....I wish I would have saved all three sets of 1 1/2 inch ones...I save all of my beards though...


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## Jody Hawk (Jan 25, 2005)

Brandon,
I'd save the spurs before I would a beard. To me, the spurs is what makes a trophy. A 2 year old can grow a 11 inch beard but he ain't gonna grow 1 1/2" hooks, but again that's my opinion.


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## Gadget (Jan 25, 2005)

Jody Hawk said:
			
		

> Brandon,
> . A 2 year old can grow a 11 inch beard but he ain't gonna grow 1 1/2" hooks, but again that's my opinion.


Quote from the wildturkeyzone

http://www.wildturkeyzone.com/articles/aging3.htm

The best research I have seen relating beard characteristics to the age of a wild turkey gobbler can be found in Lovett Williams books _"*The Book of the Wild Turkey*" (1981)_ and "*After the Hunt* " (1996). 

In these books he talks about examining the tips of the beards to aid in determining the age of a gobbler. The end of a young gobbler's beard will appear translucent amber when held up to a light and it will have smooth, rounded tips on the filaments. As the beard continues growing, the amber tip will eventually wear off and the ends of the filaments will become jagged. Thus a gobbler with a 10" beard that still has its amber tips would be a 2 year old gobbler since the beard hasn't grown enough yet to completely wear off the amber tips.




0" to 4"​Amber
Younger than 1 year​ 



4" to 5"​Amber
1 year​ 



8" to 10"​Amber
2 years​ 



10" plus​Black
3 years or older​ 



_Source: "The Book of the Wild Turkey - Williams" (1981_



​


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## tobyfloyd61 (Jan 25, 2005)

i didnt kill this bird but i called it in for a fellow member that had never killed a turkey.and he killed it. id just soon call as shoot.
13 3/4" beard
1 1/2" spurs
24 1/2 lbs


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## futuredoc (Jan 25, 2005)

*largest*

spurs 1 1/2; 11 1/8" don't know the weight; got him in the evening coming through a funnel.  The bird of which I am most proud is a 3 year old off of public land.  Got one bird that I have been hunting for two years now on some public land, and if he doesn't die of turkey cancer or something then I will mount that boy.    

fd


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## gobblinglawyer (Jan 26, 2005)

FootLongDawg said:
			
		

> GobblinLawyer.  You have any idea how many you have shot over the years?



I broke 50 last season.

53 total gobblers.  Of that total 11 were jakes and 42 were longbeards.


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## Gadget (Jan 26, 2005)

futuredoc said:
			
		

> Got one bird that I have been hunting for two years now on some public land, and if he doesn't die of turkey cancer or something then I will mount that boy.
> 
> fd


 
How would you know you were hunting the same bird?


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## Gadget (Jan 26, 2005)

tobyfloyd61 said:
			
		

> i didnt kill this bird but i called it in for a fellow member that had never killed a turkey.and he killed it. id just soon call as shoot.
> 13 3/4" beard
> 1 1/2" spurs
> 24 1/2 lbs


That Turkey would score 82.00 which would put it number three in the all time record book for Georgia; what's his name? Is he one of the hunters listed there?

Longest Spurs ever recorded for a wild Turkey is 2.25 according to the NWTF record book. Interestingly the Eastern, Merriam's, Ocellated, and Florida are all tied for that record. 1.8750 is the Ga record.

The heaviest wild Turkey ever recorded is a Rio at 37.125lbs
heaviest Eastern 35.8125
heaviest in Ga 31.0625

The Longest beard on record is a Eastern @ 18.1250 inches
In Ga 17.8750

The easiest way to weigh your turks is with a digital fish scale like a Berkley or Rapala. Just hook it on a spur or through a leg tendon.


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## futuredoc (Jan 26, 2005)

*same bird*

He roosts on the same stretch of river every year toward the end of the year.  He will gobble every morning, but if you call to him he flies on the other side of the river.  Either their are two different turkeys that have the same habits and only one of them gobbles, or it is the same bird.  I have heard other birds fire up around him, but when he starts up they will all shut up.  This is the only bird I have ever hunted that is like this.  I know it sounds like you could wait him out in the evening, but he is tricky.  I think maybe he flies over the river to his roost, but I don't know.  The river is too big to cross by the way.

fd


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## Dog Hunter (Jan 26, 2005)

26.5 lbs, 13.25 in beard and 1.675 in. spurs.  He was a sure enough hoss.  Killed him at 2:30 in the afternoon.


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## CARVER (Jan 26, 2005)

*turkey*

MI bigest was 23 1/2lbs. 10 1/2" beard, 1 7/8" spurs.
that was my first ever.


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## jasperga (Jan 26, 2005)

24 1/2 lbs. 9 inch beard 1 1/2 inch spurs in kentucky last year


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## Arrow3 (Feb 4, 2005)

bump to the top


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## coon dawg (Feb 4, 2005)

*............*

23 pounds, 11 1/2 inch beard, 1 4/8ths spurs.............biggest one called in, for a friend..........23 1/2 pounds, 11 3/4 inch beard, 1 5/8ths spurs...............both in Oglethorpe county..........


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## Limbshaker (Feb 4, 2005)

1-5/8"  spurs     10-3/4"beard      19-1/2lbs   he was poor from outrunning ***** Altamaha Swamp mosquitoes.


I know what futuredoc means about hunting the same bird season after season...
I've been after a crippled Gobbler for three years....on an 80 acre island where he knows he's boss
HHH


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## dutchman (Feb 4, 2005)

My biggest to date came from Piedmont NWR, the last week of April, 1989. 

19 lbs
10-1/2" beard
1-1/4" spurs


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## dominantpredator (Feb 4, 2005)

25 lbs. is the heaviest....so far.


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## struttinsouthern (Feb 19, 2005)

11 1/2 ''' beard - longest beard
 ive killed 2 birds that had 1 1/2'' spurs - longest spurs
heaviest - 26lbs came from dublin(home of the ostriches)


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## Arrow3 (Jan 20, 2007)

I found this old thread and brought it back up....My best was broken last year when I killed a 25lb bird (24.75) on certified scales on April 2nd....I weighed him close to 3 hours after I killed him....


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## Nicodemus (Jan 20, 2007)

Longest spurs were 1 1\2 inch long. Longest beard was 12 1\2. These were on different birds. I`ve never weighed any of mine, but I don`t think I`ve ever killed one that I would consider a real heavyweight. 
For me, spurs are what I consider the true trophy, although I keep the beard too.


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## jcarter (Jan 20, 2007)

heaviest- 25 lbs.
spurs-1 3/8"
beard-12 1/8". several over 11"


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## Trizey (Jan 20, 2007)

20.50lbs
11 7/8" Beard
7/8" Spurs


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## dognducks (Jan 20, 2007)

my biggest weighed 27.9 lbs 11 inch beard and an 1 1/4 spur on the left and had a nub on the right. ive posted a picture of it mounted on here and the picture was on my avatar for a while. turkey seasons rolling around he may go back up there until i get an 07 turkey


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## Nitro (Jan 20, 2007)

Never killed one....


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## short stop (Jan 20, 2007)

My  Best   bird   was  12'' beard - 1.5'' spurs . The only one out of countless bird Ive rolled that had a 12''  beard . 
 I ve killed a bunch of multi beards too .


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## Wetzel (Jan 20, 2007)

CARVER said:


> MI bigest was 23 1/2lbs. 10 1/2" beard, 1 7/8" spurs.
> that was my first ever.


How about a picture of the spurs?  Been looking for one like that since I started hunting.


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## fulldraw74 (Jan 20, 2007)

25 lbs.  11" beard and 1 1/2" spurs.  Killed in Oglethorpe County 2003.


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## Gadget (Jan 21, 2007)

Harkins said:


> How about a picture of the spurs?  Been looking for one like that since I started hunting.


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## Son (Jan 21, 2007)

*Biggest turkey killed?*

25.5 pounds, limbhanger spurs and a 12 inch beard
Runner up: 25 pounds, 1.25 inch spurs and a 11.5 inch beard.
Got a lot of 'em between 20 and 25 pounds over the last few years in Ga.

Largest Alabama gobbler was 23.5, 11 inch beard and 1.25 inch spurs.


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## Gadget (Jan 21, 2007)

Gadget said:


> Heaviest was 22.1 lbs
> Beard 11 1/4 inches.
> Spurs 1.4 inches
> 
> All three were different birds.





Yeah I need to update mine too.

22.1 is still the heaviest but ,


11.5 inch beard

1.6 inch spurs, my avatar show the spurs


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## Nicodemus (Jan 21, 2007)

Gadget, that`s one nice set of hooks right there!


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## turkey2728 (Jan 22, 2007)

25 lbs.
12 1/4 in. beard
1 3/8 in. spurs
All different birds


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## neckringer (Jan 23, 2007)

http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/how_to_score.html


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## jdkelly12 (Jan 23, 2007)

weight = 24.3 lbs.
beard = 12"
total beard length = 52.5"
spur = 1.625"


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## alphachief (Jan 23, 2007)

Last year.  Three beards, 1"+ spurs, weighed a hair under 25lbs.

Oh yeah...on public land.


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## Georgiaboy83 (Jan 23, 2007)

Echols County last season
11-3/4" beard
1-1/4" Spur's
23 pounds


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## BubbaD (Jan 23, 2007)

The bird in my avatar. 25.0 pounds 4 hours after I shot him


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## miller (Jan 23, 2007)

Heaviest bird was 20#'s
Longes spurs 1.25 inched
Longest beard 11 inches. 
All from different birds.


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## kevincox (Jan 23, 2007)

I have killed a non-typical bird with 5 beards that scored 109.75. It was in the top 10 in GA for several years. It is now about 30 or so I would guess on the NWTF records for Ga.


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## Nitro (Jan 27, 2007)

*stev's best Turkey......*

Ol turkey slayer "Stev" sent me these photos of his best Gobbler....................




















(not really)


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## BASS1FUN (Jan 27, 2007)

THESE ARE DIFFERENT BIRDS, I JUST CAN'T CRACK THE 20# MARK.

WEIGHT: 19.5
BEARD: 12 IN.
SPURS: 1 3/16


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## DS7418 (Jan 27, 2007)

Killed one last year in Catoosa Co. 22lbs.,, 1 1/4 spurs


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## GobbleAndGrunt78 (Jan 29, 2007)

'Bout 18lbs, 9 inch beard, 1 inch spurs......Hopefully I'll blast me a big ol' butterball or 2 this season!!!!!!! 

 --==::::


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## weathermantrey (Mar 6, 2007)

My biggest bird weighed 23lb 9 ounces, 10 3/4 inch bear, 1 1/2 inch hooks.   Killed on Public Land in Elbert county 3 years ago.


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## weathermantrey (Mar 6, 2007)

I've killed 18 gobblers and not one of them has had a beard at or above 11 inches. Where do yall guys find these 11,12, nd 13 inch long beards at? I'm thinking it's becase I hunt more hill country and they tend to wear off at 10 1/2 inches??


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## TurkeyManiac (Mar 6, 2007)

I have called these in for other people.
Biggest weight is 26lbs-for my father
Longest spur is a little over 1.5 inches-for my father
Longest beard was 13.25 (honest!)-for a buddy of mine

All different birds different years
For me...just standard 10.5,22lb,1.15 spur....


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## Booner Killa (Mar 6, 2007)

I ain't killed one that big but my first bird was 19lbs with 1 inch spurs and 10 inch beard. Just a 3.5 yr old I think. I killed one this year that was heavy with a thick rope and no spurs. I don't know how old he was but the beard was 10.5 inches and he weighed 20.25lbs. I wish he woulda had some hooks.


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## straightshooter (Mar 6, 2007)

Killed in 2005 - Emanuel County
26 lbs, 11 1/2 inch beard, 1 1/2 inch spurs on both legs
Mounted by Tim Knight

Killed one in Effingham County last season that weighed 23 1/2 lbs., 11 inch beard and 1 7/16 and 1 1/2 inch spurs.


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## Thunderstick (Mar 6, 2007)

My biggest bird is the one in the avatar.    Spurs only about 3/4", 10" beard, but all on a 23 lb bird.   

This bird spoiled me.    I set up in the dark about 150yds from his roost.    About 15 minutes after the legal start time, he flew straight from the roost to my decoys about 15 yds out.    One shot from the mighty Thunderstick (aka Rem 870 Super Magnum, 3 1/2" #6) and he was getting a free ride in the truck!


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## WSB (Mar 6, 2007)

21 lbs.
10 3/4 in. beard
1 1/4 in spurs

Killed in Hancock county, 2002


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## curdog (Mar 7, 2007)

last spring got one with 3 beards 1 was 113/4 1 was 9 1/2 1 was 6 1/4 inches,spurs was 1 5/8,weighted 21 pounds.still ain't got him back.can't wait to see the mount.


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## TOMINATOR (Mar 7, 2007)

BEST BIRD:EASTERN
BEARD 11.5"
SPURS 1 3/8"
WEIGHT 23.5LBS

HEAVIEST KILLED: 25LB RIO GRANDE IN TEXAS.


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## Spinkaleo (Mar 7, 2007)

25 1/2 lbs  10 3/4" beard with 1.5" spurs


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## deermaster81 (Mar 7, 2007)

never weighed him but was huge  2 beards 12 1/4  8 2/4

        spurs 1 7/8  in florida


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## brinkf350 (Mar 8, 2007)

11.25" beard,1.75 spurs,23.10 lbs.Ruined when the frezzer went south!


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## Unicoidawg (Mar 8, 2007)

My all around biggest to date......
24lbs 10oz 
2 beards; 10 1/2 & 8 1/2 
spurs 1 1/4 & 1 1/8

Killed him after a storm blew by at 4:30 in the afternoon April 29, 2004. The thunder turned him on and I finished him off. Don't let anyone tell ya they won't gobble good in the afternoon, he did over 60-70 times......... He was the dominate bird and was the only one that would gobble, after a couple of days the others seen he was gone and they went nuts. Called in a couple of more that season actually limited out and the wife missed one........
Unicoidawg


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## lilbassinlady (Mar 8, 2007)

My very first bird wieghed 21 1/2 pounds, had 12 1/2 inch beard, 1 1/8 & 1 1/4 inch spurs,  that ruinend me completely!  I've  gotten two that had 11 inch beards and the rest have been anything  from 6 to 9 inch beards. Live for turkey and deer hunting! Oh, and Love Fishing too!


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## DLS (Mar 8, 2007)

24 lbs 9 oz - empty craw - marion county


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## Randy (Mar 8, 2007)

I have no idea.


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## B1981 (Apr 8, 2009)

*Big Tom*

My biggest bird had a 16.5 inch beard left spur 1.75 right spur 1.50. The tom weighed 22 pounds. It was the Georgia state record for 7 years. I killed the bird in Greene County in 1986. According to GON records it is now number 7. My name? Look in your march editon.


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## Wacenturion (Apr 8, 2009)

From Washington State........
My son shot a 25.8750 lb. Eastern with 1 1/4 spurs, and a 10.75 inch beard. Total score...72.37. It was his very first turkey. Was the Washington State record for many years...now second, but still the heaviest eastern in our books.

May not be the biggest by Georgia standards, but if you guys thinks Easterns give you fits in Georgia (from some of the posts I've read), try hunting that subspecies in our Pacific NW timber and brush county. The cover is so dense in many cases unless you're right on top of them, you don't even hear em'. The cover just eats up the sound....oh and finding one...we don't have the densities you guys have, but we have literaly thousand of sq. miles with little pockets of them here and there.

The hardest part is just finding them...lots of hiking and looking for droppings behind closed timber company gates (no...no atv's allowed)...my favorite bird of the three we have. Heck the Merriams and Rios we have are easy comparatively speaking.

The best thing about our easterns...when you find some...you have them all to yourself, as most won't burn the shoe leather and effort to find them.  Even with that they are tough to kill.  No gobbling generally, no visuals until they are in your face...1st sign is two dark legs approaching at 15 yards.  For all intents and purpose you are literally hunting the poop...lol.  Just got to have patience and believe in it....the poop that is.


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## Wacenturion (Apr 8, 2009)

Nitro said:


> Ol turkey slayer "Stev" sent me these photos of his best Gobbler...................
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Unbelievable.....quite the gobbler.  Seen some big spurs in my day, but man those are incredible....not to mention the 8 beards.  Wow......


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## WaddleWhacker (Apr 8, 2009)

11'' beard 1.75 spurs 24lbs...oklahoma rio  off black kettle wma


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## jonboy (Apr 9, 2009)

46lbs,22" beard, and 3" spurs killed yesterday...


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## Al White (Apr 9, 2009)

My best scoring one was a quad beard listed here:
http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/turkey_records.php?details=14683&location=USA+-+Georgia

Longest bearded - 12 inches exactly
Longest spur - 1 5/8
Heaviest - 22.5 pds

These are all on different birds.


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## rutandstrut (Apr 9, 2009)

My Biggest: 

Eastern (North Florida) - 23.5#, 11.25" Beard, 1.635" Spurs
Rio (Kansas) - 24.5#, 11.25" Beard, 1.5" Spurs.


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