Why did the turkey cross the road?

[TauntoHawk]

.... I don't know but I wish he wouldn't have. Out Scouting last Sunday for the upcoming NY season and we see gobbler laying in the ditch. One look at each other and me and buddy both know were thinking the same thing, "wonder what he's wearing for spurs?". We swing around and hopped out, First thing we noticed is that its a very big bodied bird. Flip him over (he's still warm) Dudes wear a set of hooks!

We called up the CO on duty to ask for a carcuss tag but he said they don't have them for turkeys with a chuckle and says keep the spurs or the whole bird he doesn't care.

So decided to take him and throw em on the scale and get a tape on his spurs. Ended up checking 5 scales because we couldn't believe the weight but everything was extremely close on the weight so we averaged the 5.

28lbs 1oz, 1-5/8th & 1-9/16th (road rashed at the tip) spurs, and a 9-5/8th in beard. Two weeks from youth season and a bird of flight gets wacked in the road that scored 79.36 its a real shame. Its one of the best typical scoring birds we've seen in the County wish someone would have had the chance to step on his neck this spring  although we don't have any properties in the immediate area.

[redarrow]

What a shame such a fine bird has to die like that.

[WNY Bowhunter]

Whoa, that's a NY butterball!!! 

[TauntoHawk]

Whoa, that's a NY butterball!!! 

It got me wondering how much weight a Tom loses throughout the spring cycle, they seem to do more strutting and fighting than eating. I know turkeys aren't near as much muscle mass as a rutting buck but I think it'd make sense for them to lose a few by mid May.

[tomstopper]

Wow. I would love to have killed that bird this spring. Where do you guys live at in NY (if you don't mind me asking). I live in Steuben county.

[TauntoHawk]

Wow. I would love to have killed that bird this spring. Where do you guys live at in NY (if you don't mind me asking). I live in Steuben county.

I live in PA but do most of my hunting in Greene County, NY there's some really good birds in the valley along the Hudson River. I do some deer hunting in Tompkins near Ithaca but have only been out that way once for turkey season.

[Basser69]

That was a really nice bird. Shame he went out like that

[DirtNap647]

nice turkey thats ashame

[Gooserbat]

That's a Stud, to bad you didn't get a chance to hunt him.

[guesswho]

Probably tried to run across the road and spurred himself to death.

[catman529]

Nice hooks, 28 lbs is a lot of meat, did you save the whole bird?

[TrackeySauresRex]

Great Tom! It's sad to see the Boss went down in a road side ditch. What county are you in?

[mikejd]

Wow. I would love to have killed that bird this spring. Where do you guys live at in NY (if you don't mind me asking). I live in Steuben county.

You can say that again. 28lbs is un heard of. Im hunting Madison/chenango counties. I have a place on the border.

[troutfisher13111]

That's the biggest I have heard of. It is a shame how he died.

[TauntoHawk]

Its the biggest I've ever seen by a few pounds thats why the first two scales I thought were broke.