Me and a buddy are headed to Nebraska/South Dakota May 15-19 to finish out our single season slam. From what I've read and seen online, the Merriams seem to have little to no beard and very little for spurs? Is that the norm or does it just depend on where you are going? Thanks
Beards are typically not very impressive. I have killed a couple with nice beards but most are short and thin. Spurs depends on where you're at and the terrain. Overall they are not on scale with any other subspecies but a lot has to do with the rocky terrain they live in usually.
All this of course is my personal observations and opinion.
Of the 3 I've taken in SD as a non-resident the beard average length was 8 inches but missing middle strands, very beat up. Spurs right around 1 inch. However, the beard and spurs are secondary to the awesome hunt and interactions with those beautiful gobbling birds.
Yes that's what we are looking forward to. The Gobbling, the gobbling, and the gobbling. Will be nice after chasing these tight lipped Louisiana easterns
While it's not uncommon to shoot a nice Merriam with a solid beard and decent hooks, it's far more common to shoot one with a scraggly broken beard and dulled down spurs. It's definitely a product of their environment, coming the harsher terrain throughout the winter months that they typically live in.
That fan will make up for shorter beard and spurs. Beautiful Bird
Merriams live in cold, mountainous terrain. Therefore it is not uncommon for them to bust off pieces of their spurs walking around rocky terrain. In the winter, they drag their beards through the snow, often forming ice balls that can break their beards off. This is why it's not uncommon for Merriams to have shorter beards and spurs.
When I hunted Merriams in NW Nebraska, I roosted 5 gobblers the first night. All had full fans, but only one had a long beard. The rest had 5" to 6" beards. The one I killed had a 10" beard and 3/4" spurs. Last spring I hunted SD and got a limb hanger. The terrain wasn't as mountainous and it was a cattle ranch so not as many rocks. The gobbler I got had 1-3/8" & 1-1/4" spurs, but had an average 8-1/2" beard.
So with Merriams it goes with the territory.
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I've killed a fair amount of turkeys in the states you're headed. All but one had beards between 7 and 8 inches and thin, with spurs between half and three quarters of an inch and not very sharp. The one exception had 9.5 inch beard and 1 1/8 inch, sharp spurs.
They're fun to hunt out there and sure are purdy though
I don't expect a lot from Merriam's in regards to Spurs or beards but sometimes they do deliver.
Just a reminder that if you are in NE, our birds are all hybrids. You will find pretty white tipped-birds, but they aren't "true" Merriams. SD may have more pure strains. Good luck!
Quote from: husker on May 08, 2023, 10:25:07 AM
Just a reminder that if you are in NE, our birds are all hybrids. You will find pretty white tipped-birds, but they aren't "true" Merriams. SD may have more pure strains. Good luck!
Yes sir, good to know. We are hunting with a private outfitter on the Nebraska/South Dakota line. We are going to hunt 2 days in Nebraska and 2 days in South Dakota.
The Merriam's I've killed in southern NM have been a bit whispy/thin, but of seemingly average length relative to the Rios I'm used to hunting in Texas. I've killed a couple over the years with jake like spurs, but most have been in the 3/4-7/8 range with a few over an inch.
My one Merriam experience was last May in WY. Was only looking for a full white fan and that worked out. Beard is 7 1/4". Didn't save the spurs but they weren't impressive. Hope the picture from the drying process works. If not the bird is my avatar pic now,
I have lived and hunted in historic Merriam's range my entire life and have seen and measured hundreds of gobbler's beards, spurs, and weights over more than five decades. I haven't kept any definitive records, but I would say that the average beard length of gobblers around here is about 9 inches, perhaps slightly longer, with the majority measuring between 8.5 and 9.5 inches. Of those hundreds of gobblers, I have measured probably five or six with beards slightly over 11" and none over 11 1/4". I would guess I have seen maybe a half dozen live birds that I would have guessed might have exceeded that length.
As for spurs, I have measured three or four birds that had spurs 1.5" long (none longer than that), and have measured maybe thirty gobblers with spurs in the 1 1/8" to 1 1/4" range. Most gobblers around here,...even older birds,...will have spurs that are in the 3/4" to a little over 1" range. Two and three-year-old birds will invariably have spurs in the 3/4" +/- range.
I would guess the average weight of mature gobblers here is about 18 pounds, although we generally will kill a bird or two each year in the 19 to 20 pound range,...but that averages out with birds in the 16-17 pound range. The heaviest I have seen have been around 22.5 pounds and there have been perhaps three or four of those. A bird that weighs over twenty pounds is considered a heavy-weight around here.
Generally speaking, in terms of beards and spurs, genetics play a big role. Just like the occurrence of multiple-bearded birds in certain areas, beard and spur development tends to be better in certain specific areas more than others. Weights can be genetically influenced, as well, but tend to be more related to the availability of quality food/nutrition sources,... based on my observations.
Coming here simply to agree with the others. Yes. The beards are shorter and so are the spurs for the most part. If you kill a bird with a 7" beard and half inch spurs, fear not, it's still a mature gobbler.
I do want to add though, to make sure you take a GOOD luck at all the male turkeys. Sometimes with their whispy, short beards, it is really tough to tell what you're looking at. Very rarely will it be a paintbrush beard hanging off their chest like an eastern.