12'' beards

[JeffC]

They're a lot like true 1 1/2" spurs.  A lot more claims than actual specimens.

Not that I've seen a lot of 1 1/2"ers, but I have killed them.  I have not killed a bird with a legit 12" beard.  Closest was 11 1/2".. and he had nubs for spurs.

Dude you killed the holy grail of Tom's, 7 beards,  don't remember total inches. I personally would like multiple beards over a single long strand .

[guesswho]

I'm not sure if your talking about me or Derek.  My seven bearded bird had a little over 44" of beard.  My six bearded bird had more than the seven.  He had 56".  Here's the six.

[reflexl]

At least (50) 11" beards and only (2) 12" beards.
Here is the second 12" beard the day before I killed him.
I couldn't sleep that night. I knew where he went to roost.
I blew it that morning but I knew he was still in the area.
Killed him that evening.


The first 12" I killed. This was 2014. He snuck in that night or moved.
He gobbled for an hour on the limb. But the time I shot him I was hyperventilating.
When I pulled the feathers back there was 2" more beard than I thought. He actually measured
12 1/4"

[Gooserbat]

I'm well over a hundred birds and I've killed two.  That said I've never gotten a 1.5" spurs or a 25# bird.

[ChesterCopperpot]

Definitely not a 12" beard but the one my wife nicknamed Ponytail last year had the thickest beard I've ever seen.




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[WildTigerTrout]

Definitely not a 12" beard but the one my wife nicknamed Ponytail last year had the thickest beard I've ever seen.




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Man, what a paint brush. You could paint a wall with that beard!

[timberjack86]

I'm not sure if your talking about me or Derek.  My seven bearded bird had a little over 44" of beard.  My six bearded bird had more than the seven.  He had 56".  Here's the six.

Beautiful bird! Tn bird?

[WV Flopper]

 Back in the early 90's I had a friend that killed a gobbler in a valley that had a 12 1/2" beard. The next day he went back to same valley, he killed another with a 12 1/4" beard.

I had both of these beards in my hand and even taped them both out of amazement. They were that long.

These turkeys were killed in Grant county WV, in a community called "Mt. Storm". Back then you got to see Halloweens snow twice..... At the end of October and again at the end of March. That's why it is called Mt. Storm.

I have killed a few turkeys since then and have never seen beards like that. I have never killed a turkey with a beard to break the 11' mark that I can remember"a good solid beard". As a matter of fact all the turkeys over the years that I have killed in that extended area have been between 9 - 9 7/8". And that is atleast a big hand full of them.

Could not began to say why these two turkeys would have had such long beards. They only dumb thought I ever had that could have been plause able was that they had set on the roust for a month right before season? I can't remember if the turkeys had any body size to them or not?

[eggshell]

I'm well over a hundred birds and I've killed two.  That said I've never gotten a 1.5" spurs or a 25# bird.

Yeah, those are all lofty numbers and they are out there, but not common. I am pushing 175 birds and here is my break down

12" beards - 0
Multiple beards - 4
25 lb birds -0 (1 24.5 lbs)
1.5" spurs - not sure maybe 1 or 2 but many 1 1/4 -1 3/8 ( this is all in how you measure)

[Gooserbat]

I'm well over a hundred birds and I've killed two.  That said I've never gotten a 1.5" spurs or a 25# bird.

Yeah, those are all lofty numbers and they are out there, but not common. I am pushing 175 birds and here is my break down

12" beards - 0
Multiple beards - 4
25 lb birds -0 (1 24.5 lbs)
1.5" spurs - not sure maybe 1 or 2 but many 1 1/4 -1 3/8 ( this is all in how you measure)

Yeah I have a lot of 1 1/4- 1 3/8 spurs and one that is 1 7/16. I have 5 or 6 multi beards.  Spurs are not something that you can just glance at and say yeah he's about 150".  Makes it fun to walk upon a bird after the shot.

[Turkeytider]

They're a lot like true 1 1/2" spurs.  A lot more claims than actual specimens.

Not that I've seen a lot of 1 1/2"ers, but I have killed them.  I have not killed a bird with a legit 12" beard.  Closest was 11 1/2".. and he had nubs for spurs.

Beard length, fans, and spurs just don`t always coincide. I killed a definite two year old with an 8 1/2 " beard and a full, non-jake fan that had nubs for spurs.

[reflexl]

We have heavy bodied birds but not many long spurs. I know of one 30lbs bird here. I have killed around 10 over 25lbs including a 28lbs 4oz and a 28lbs 7oz. Both of them looked like dinosaurs. A friend of mine has killed 2 in the 28lbs range.

Some of you Lincoln county TN people should remember the bird  that used to walk up and own Sarah Birds driveway across the hwy from Eagle Snack. Its beard drug the ground between its feet. Probably 16 to 17 inches long. Of course she was feeding it behind her house. If you had shot it she would have shot you.

[guesswho]

Beautiful bird! Tn bird?

Russell county Alabama.  I've killed roughly a dozen multi beards off this one 200 acre tract, and my hunting partner had killed about as many.   Crazy genetics there I guess.

[Happy]

Back in the early 90's I had a friend that killed a gobbler in a valley that had a 12 1/2" beard. The next day he went back to same valley, he killed another with a 12 1/4" beard.

I had both of these beards in my hand and even taped them both out of amazement. They were that long.

These turkeys were killed in Grant county WV, in a community called "Mt. Storm". Back then you got to see Halloweens snow twice..... At the end of October and again at the end of March. That's why it is called Mt. Storm.

I have killed a few turkeys since then and have never seen beards like that. I have never killed a turkey with a beard to break the 11' mark that I can remember"a good solid beard". As a matter of fact all the turkeys over the years that I have killed in that extended area have been between 9 - 9 7/8". And that is atleast a big hand full of them.

Could not began to say why these two turkeys would have had such long beards. They only dumb thought I ever had that could have been plause able was that they had set on the roust for a month right before season? I can't remember if the turkeys had any body size to them or not?

Aint no turkeys in them there parts.

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[Southerngobbler]

This ones got a few hairs that when pulled strait measure 13.5. Not sure if a few hairs count for length or not. This is a public land Florida bird I got a few years back. Most of our birds have big thick ropes and quite often good spurs, overall poundage not so great. Its rare to get a pencil thin one around here but I've been to other parts of the country where a much larger bird would have a thin beard.