Beards, Spurs & Primary Feathers & Fan Etc.............

[Lawdwaz]

So you killed a longbeard, what do you do with the parts you CAN'T eat?

 

 

[DirtTime]

I send them to "Tim Horton's" to make espresso. 

[turkeyfeathers]

I have only saved two fans. One on a bird I killed hunting with my brother and the what I think was a 5.5 year old + bird I hunted for years. A good game of chess year after year with him so he was special 1.25" hooks and only double beard I've killed. Saved beard from bird I killed last year with daughter along Have a big bucket of feet I eventually will cut the spurs off and put on a lanyard. All the wings go to a buddy who uses them to fletch arrows for his primitive bow. A few feathers from each bird go in empty hull on a window sill.

[maytom]

Display the beards, spurs, and fans on a custom display board.

[Pygmy]

I have a gallon Ziploc bag full of beards dating back to 1975 in my freezer in the garage.

 

I have one big fan on the wall and a couple of others dried and kept between sheets of cardboard to use with my "Pretty Boy" full strut decoy.

 

I lost my spurs prior to 1994 in a house fire, but I have a couple dozen of 1" and longer spurs taken since then strung on a rawhide thong over my box call collection.  I don't keep spurs under an inch.

[turkeyfeathers]

I have a gallon Ziploc bag full of beards dating back to 1975 in my freezer in the garage.

I have one big fan on the wall and a couple of others dried and kept between sheets of cardboard to use with my "Pretty Boy" full strut decoy.

I lost my spurs prior to 1994 in a house fire, but I have a couple dozen of 1" and longer spurs taken since then strung on a rawhide thong over my box call collection. I don't keep spurs under an inch.

rawhide thong ?! I have a cheetah print one. Oh wait , you mean something different than I was thinking.

Pretty sure just about every bird except maybe two haven't been typical 2 year olds with the standard issue 3/4" to 7/8" inch spurs

Nice bunch of limb hangars Pygmy Sucks about losing some in the fire.

Edited February 29, 2016 by turkeyfeathers

[The_Real_TCIII]

I have a few fan mounts and a full bird. Jake "beards" go in the shell and sit on a shelf in the garage

[Pygmy]

My favorite one is satin..I LOOOOVE  how it feels nestled up against Big Bob and The Boys !

 

Errr...Uh.. Back to turkey feet..<<blush>>..

 

I have one set of feet I kept intact.  The one with my longest spurs ( 1 7/16 ").

 

I have them hanging together on a lanyard on my memory shelf off to one side of my box calls..They look pretty cool there.

[Pygmy]

Sorry, double post...

Edited February 29, 2016 by Pygmy

[Four Season Whitetail's]

I have only saved two fans. One on a bird I killed hunting with my brother and the what I think was a 5.5 year old + bird I hunted for years. A good game of chess year after year with him so he was special 1.25" hooks and only double beard I've killed. Saved beard from bird I killed last year with daughter along Have a big bucket of feet I eventually will cut the spurs off and put on a lanyard. All the wings go to a buddy who uses them to fletch arrows for his primitive bow. A few feathers from each bird go in empty hull on a window sill.

Not even beards saved?   I thought everybody kept the beards.

[dbHunterNY]

beards get wrapped and hung.  fans pinned and dried open.  they make the crappiest decoys draw in some wary birds.  some inexperienced hunters with binos too.  don't keep spurs though for some reason.  haven't gotten taken any with truly long limb hangers maybe why.

[wooly]

I've never had much luck saving turkey parts.

Most got devoured by cats and mice when I kept them in the barn. Others got tossed or lost between moves and relationships.

Fans and wings I'll save from year to year to dress up my dekes, but their life expectancy is short from being stuffed in a pack and left out in the elements throughout the season.

I have a few old Mason jars and colored glass bottles I picked up on my hikes I fill with feathers. The only turkey parts I have around anymore are this one from 2 years ago that I turned into a wall hanger. Since then I ditched the call and striker and got his skull stuck to the lumber in it's place. That keeps all the turkey parts I care to keep conveniently in one place. When I score a bigger bird this spring I'll just swap out the parts and rotate these to the deke accessory bin.

[maytom]

Here is a picture taken a few years ago of me, pygmy, and another friend of ours Jim, with our mounts from a taxidermist in PA. Guy does incredible work, name is Al Strouse.

 

[maytom]

Here is one way I display my spurs.

[maytom]

Here is another way.

 

[maytom]

One of my Beard boards.

[2012_taco]

Maytom, do you do your own wood working? those boards look nice. I may steal your ideas for a raffle prize for next years turkey banquet. 

[maytom]

Yes, I do woodworking as a hobby. Combined my love of turkey hunting with my woodworking hobby,  to come up with some awesome display pieces for the diehard turkey hunter.

[Marion]

Pygmy you shot the Aflack duck!

You Can't Beat My Meat!

[LET EM GROW]

Here is a picture taken a few years ago of me, pygmy, and another friend of ours Jim, with our mounts from a taxidermist in PA. Guy does incredible work, name is Al Strouse.

 

 

That does look like some incredible taxidermy work! That strutter and gobbling tom look amazing! Is Al Strouse the business name? Im searching for a new Turkey Taxidermist, Mine moved to South Dakota.. Ive had 3 different birds mounted by others, and not really impressed with any of them

[LET EM GROW]

I save every spur, every beard, and every tail Fan.. though i have about run out of room, not sure what to do next with tail fans. But ill probably keep them and store them for down the road.. these birds are too pretty to dispose of.. 

[G-Man]

Use to save fans and bears,and spurs, got way to cluttered, now everything goes in the burn bin... have a full mount and 1st fan and beard and spurs saved.. that's enough, leaving enough other mounts and things for family to deal with when I'm. Gone.

[ants]

I keep the beard and spurs. The last few toms I got, I hot glue gunned the beard into the base of the shell I used, cut off the spurs and put them all on a lanyard. I tried saving the fans before, but they ended up falling apart. 

[Water Rat]

I've made a few wing bone calls in the past. I also like to keep a bag of feathers for eye appeal when I'm making sets.

[maytom]

That does look like some incredible taxidermy work! That strutter and gobbling tom look amazing! Is Al Strouse the business name? Im searching for a new Turkey Taxidermist, Mine moved to South Dakota.. Ive had 3 different birds mounted by others, and not really impressed with any of them

 

Actually, he calls his business "Strouse's Taxidermy", 3 miles west of Lawrenceville, PA. Give him a jingle @ 1-570-827-2955