Banded Turkeys

[chcltlabz]

How many folks here have shot banded turkeys?

Just so happens I'm a diehard waterfowler, so the mystique of bands has been with me since my first waterfowl hunt when I shot a banded mallard.  Never even realized they banded turkeys until many years later when I shot a banded eastern in MD.  It was a longbeard with a 9 3/4" beard and 1 1/8" and 1 1/4" spurs.  Good bird, but nothing exceptional.  Turns out that bird had been banded 3 years earlier as a 2 year old.  Would have never guessed he was as old as he was.  We don't live in rocky or hilly terrain and still he was no monster given his age.  Showed me that after 2 years old there's no true way to tell the age of a turkey.

Years later, I was in the Black Hills area and shot a banded merriams with no spurs.  That bird had travelled 200 miles from its banding location in the northern part of the hills to the prairies south of the hills.  He was 3 years old, but with no spurs and half of his beard frozen off there wasn't anything to tell his age properly.

I full body mounted the eastern thinking there was no way I'd ever shoot another banded turkey.  I didn't dare press my luck with the wife to have the merriams mounted.

Who else has shot banded turkeys?

[LAWRENCE BOY]

I killed a banded jake on a local WMA here in Tn 3 years ago
He also had orange tags on his wings

[neal]

Wow that is awesome! I know they band turkeys but not to many to my knowledge, but you killed 2! Congrats!! I'd like to see pics of the mount.


Neal

[vicksburg]

I killed a bird on public land in MS in 2000 and listened to another bird tearing the woods up while i worked the one i was on.  My buddy was having a slow season, and that night i told him exactly where to go to get to where i heard that other bird.  The next morning he called me around 7:30 and had him in the truck and he was BANDED.  Couldn't believe it.

[bird]

Here are some pictures of one my boy shot in SD a few years ago.

[turkey slayer]

I have, several times, but everytime I get to them I wake up??

[Solid Snake]

I have, several times, but everytime I get to them I wake up??

Me too...shot about 4 last night

[jbrown]

Awesome....I didn't know they banded turkeys

[Tail Feathers]

Got this one my lease a couple years back.  He was banded about a mile away on another property.  Still don't know exactly what to do with the band.  How can I incorporate that into a call?

[Gobble!]

Very cool I would love to kill a banded bird

[turkeybow]

Very cool I would love to kill a banded bird

Same here!  I have not nor do I personally know anyone that has.

[spurman]

I killed a 2 year old that was banded as a jake the year before, within a mile of where he was banded. The neat thing was, he was banded by George Wright the turkey biologist that helped get the wild turkey population up where we could have a state wide season here in KY.

[st4wheel]

Not yet!

[northms]

Does anyone know if this is standard practice in their state? I've never heard of it personally in MS but clearly it is done.

[shootumindaface]

Dang Hookspur did you get lovett his equipment back