Best bird?

[WNY Bowhunter]

In spirit of the upcoming season, I thought it would be cool to see everyone's overall best NY gobbler...

Here's my biggest in 20 years of spring turkey hunting. I killed him in 2011 in the town of Urbana here in Steuben County. It was also one of my quickest hunts ever. I heard him gobble on the roost at 5:00...snuck in to within 50 yds of him...made a few soft calls...he hit the ground early and came strutting in and I was putting a tag on him at 5:30!!!

22.5 lbs (tied for my heaviest)

10 3/4" beard (my longest)

1 1/4" spurs (tied for my longest)

[MACHINIST]

My first Tom,I have been trying to best myself since!!HAHA He weighed 21 pounds,9 1/4 beard and his spurs were a hair over 1 inch.I believe I killed him in 2009,he came running across a long fresh plowed field from 500 yards out.He hit the edge of the field and gobbled at my call.He ran as fast as a tom could run towards us and stopped at 75 yards.the last 25-30 yards he strutted in and got himself in a dip in the field where all I could see was the tips of his tail feathers when he strutted.He came in another few steps and I could see half his neck and his head when he alarm putted so them my shotgun gave him a put!! all over but the crying for him

 

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2015 by MACHINIST

[Pygmy]

I killed my first spring gobbler 40 years ago.

 

However,  I took my best overall bird here in NY last year.  He weighed 22 1/4 pounds, had a 10" beard and 1 1/4" SPURS... He's my second heaviest NY gobbler, the heaviest being 22 1/2 pounds.

 

My heaviest birds were killed out of state, a 23 pounder in Virginia and a 24 pounder in Kentucky.

 

My best spurs came on a NY bird , 1 7/16"  taken here in NY.

 

My longest  beard is 10 1/2", from a NY fall gobbler.

 

Most beards was a 4 bearded Kentucky gobbler.

 

I also have taken 5 or 6 double beards, all here in NY.

[WNY Bowhunter]

I killed my first spring gobbler 40 years ago.

 

However,  I took my best overall bird here in NY last year.  He weighed 22 1/4 pounds, had a 10" beard and 1 1/4" SPURS... He's my second heaviest NY gobbler, the heaviest being 22 1/2 pounds.

 

My heaviest birds were killed out of state, a 23 pounder in Virginia and a 24 pounder in Kentucky.

 

My best spurs came on a NY bird , 1 7/16"  taken here in NY.

 

My longest  beard is 10 1/2", from a NY fall gobbler.

 

Most beards was a 4 bearded Kentucky gobbler.

 

I also have taken 5 or 6 double beards, all here in NY.

Dang it man, you are the gobbler king!!!

I hope to kill a 24 pounder in KY this weekend...

[Pygmy]

Good luck in Kentucky !!

I hunted there for 3 seasons and killed 5 gobblers, until the landowner , who had given my buddy and permission to hunt his 400 acres, decided to lease the property, so our honeyhole went away.

It was near Glencoe and was without a doubt the best gobbler hunting I have ever experienced. The birds there were slobs.. My buddy killed 3 24+ pounders., including a 26 pounder.

[landtracdeerhunter]

No New York gobblers to date. Did get a few in Ohio though.

Forgot to take the camera with me. Believed it weighed #18. Had to fight coyotes off, just to claim it. Hens flying all over the place. Story for another day.

Edited April 14, 2015 by landtracdeerhunter

[Uncle Nicky]

Biggest to date was a Tennessee farm bird, 24#, 1 3/8" spurs, 10" paint-brush beard. He's almost as big as me in this picture.

[Terry]

My best beard and spur came from the same bird in 2012, 11-1/8" and 1-1/4". My heaviest was 23lbs shot in 2005.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Terry

[growalot]

 

Quote

 

 

last spring...20#'s...not heaviest 11" beard and 1" spurs....

 

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• landtracdeerhunter likes this

 

[Pygmy]

NICE bird, Growie...

Perhaps you and I should run off to Bora-Bora together..

Do you suppose they have turkeys there..??....<<grin>>...

[alloutdoors]

My highest scoring bird is this GA triple beard, 20lbs 1oz, 1 1/8" and 1" spurs, 11 1/8", 9 1/2" and 8 1/2" beards.

 

 

Best typical bird was this NY gobbler I took with my bow, 23lbs 15oz, 10 5/16" beard, 1 7/16" spur and a 1" spur that was busted off.

[Terry]

That's a couple real nice birds!

[MACHINIST]

hell yea

[growalot]

Thanks..Sorry Pygmy...pulled in drive tonight and a huge long beard broke cover and ran down the farmers field ,past the house and into our woods...Ya know...Bird in the hand better than.....(wink)

[WNY Bowhunter]

My highest scoring bird is this GA triple beard, 20lbs 1oz, 1 1/8" and 1" spurs, 11 1/8", 9 1/2" and 8 1/2" beards.

 

 

Best typical bird was this NY gobbler I took with my bow, 23lbs 15oz, 10 5/16" beard, 1 7/16" spur and a 1" spur that was busted off.

Those are a couple of studs!!!

My highest scoring bird was a double beard that I killed last spring...

Here's an awesome triple bearded bird (28 total inches) that my uncle killed on the last day of season on 2013...

[WNY Bowhunter]

It's been a good spring, guess I can update a few of these categories...

 

New best overall bird:

 

 

 

Heaviest to date: 24# gobbler from KY

 

 

Overall biggest that I've ever taken part in Killing: My wife's KY bird @ 24.5#, 11" beard, 1 3/8, 1 1/4" spurs