Red phase eastern?

[Old Timer53]

  One fine gobbler for sure

[Hitman 23]

Nice looking birds

[hunter-b]

Nice Birds !

[eman375]

Wow, pretty awesome.  You never know what mother nature is gonna send your way...

[YJSONLY]

What causes this to happen besides its nature?

[COssman14]

Beautiful birds!


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[troutfisher13111]

Very cool! I would have to get a full body mount.

[bamagtrdude]

Wow, pretty!!

Hey, an old timer turkey hunter friend said the original Eastern birds were a smaller species of birds than what we're hunting these days; said they were skinnier & scrappier birds (16-18 lbs *fighters*)...  Any truth to that story?

[surehuntsalot]

beautiful

[JVA54]

Congrats

[jdub2041]

Beautiful birds! I would love to into one of those

[RutnNStrutn]

I took this Osceola 3 years ago. Would you guys consider this a red phase? I noted that it was very red, but didn't think of that. I did notice that the bird in the first picture of this post has wing bars and his body looks pretty normally colored, as does my bird. But the bird in the 2nd picture of this post is red all over and the wing bars are absent. Your thoughts?

[matchbook454]

Burlyduck - yes that is a true red wild turkey.  MKMGobble - your bird looks like it might be mixed with a domestic turkey such as a bourbon.  A true wild strain will have pencil lines in the tail feathers such as Burly ducks.  I happened to shoot one almost identical to his 2 years ago in WI and did a ton of research on it at that time. Although he was just a 2 yr. old with an 8.5" beard and 1/2" spurs I mounted him.  Here he is -