multible beards

[BigGobbler]

How many of you have ever shot a multi bearded gobbler? what state would one have the best chance to shoot a multi bearded gobbler?  Just one of the things on my turkey hunting bucket list along with the Ocellated gobbler I would like to hunt.

[Gamblinman]

I've harvested several multi-bearded birds in TX, OK and KS over the years. I have a 5 bearded bird from MO. Seems to be more genetic to an area rather than a specific species or state. I would research and find an area that have known multiple beard harvests and hunt that area.

Gman

[guesswho]

I've killed a few here and their.  Georgia and Alabama.  I agree with Gamblinman about it being genetic and more common in certain areas.  I hunt one place in Alabama where about 20% of the gobblers are multibeards.  But another spot five miles down the road I've never seen one.   Seems to be far more common in your southern states.

[mozart_hunter]

I've killed 3 Double bearded turkeys. They were killed in Texas, New Mexico, and Kansas.

[goblr77]

I've killed probably 8 or 10 multiple beard turkeys in SW Georgia. One had three beards and another had four. All were from the same county.

[ol bob]

Killed one with 4 beards in western N.C. know of several more in the area also have bearded hens in the same area.

[arkrem870]

I've killed 8 or so multi bearded turkeys. Killed a little under hundred turkeys in all. All were Easterns. This day I doubled up on a pair of gobs and both were mulitbearded...... Met my buddy at the truck and he had a double beard. It was a day I won't forget soon 7 beards big beards on 3 toms

[jwhunter]

I've shot a double bearded in TN and NE, my dad killed a 5 bearded gobbler in TN about 10 years ago

[dirt road ninja]

None for me. I've never seen one in the fall glassing them. Guess my areas are void of them

[GobbleNut]

It is a genetic trait and, as such, it can be pretty common in some turkey populations and almost non-existent in others.  If you want to improve your chances of killing a multiple-bearded gobbler, look at the record books and note where they come from regularly,...and then go hunt there.  ...Or see if Guesswho will take you hunting with him. 

I have killed two multi-beards in 50 years of hunting.  One had eight and the other, which I got just last year, had five.  Both of those birds were taken on out-of-state hunts.  Here in NM on my home turf, I would say that most hunters will hunt their entire lifetimes and never even see a multiple-bearded gobbler, much less kill one.  I would guess their occurrence here is probably less than one in a thousand gobblers,...possibly even less than that.

[Bigspurs68]

Iv killed a couple in Ohio, a couple in West Virginia and one in Kentucky.

[VA_Birdhunter]

After 24 complete years of hunting Gobblers and killing a bunch of birds I have yet to kill a multiple beard bird!!  Its just not been in the cards yet....it will happen one day!!

God Bless

[K9Doc]

It's very common in Rios and Easterns. Perhaps
Why so many in KS. Lots of Hybrids in the state.
Killed bunches in KS. It's very genetic.
To me it's not even a big deal unless
They are really nice, long, and thick.

[RutnNStrutn]

No multi's for me yet either. 
My one chance, I was hunting with my ex-girlfriend, called in a gobbler but let her shoot him since she hadn't gotten one yet that year. Of course it ended up being a double beard.
One of these days......

[J Lacey]

I don't know off hand how many, several, but I killed a triple and two double bearded gobblers last spring. I saw and heard of more multi bearded birds last season than ever before. My nephew and I killed a double double (four gobblers) three of which had double beards in KS last spring. crazy.

This reminded me of a time I witnessed two guys kill two gobblers on a guided hunt in NE once. Both guys were good guys but not very serious about the hunting part, just along for the trip. We glassed two gobblers just over a hill in a pasture. The two hunters went off to make a sneak.  The outfitter and I stayed back and waited. Shortly after the two went out of sight we heard pow, pow.  We walked in their direction and topped the hill to see the two guys laughing and giving each other a high five in celebration, also there were two big gobblers flopping around about 15 yards apart. The less experienced guy said that he wasn't even sure which of the two birds was his since they had flopped around so much. The more experienced guy walked over to the first gobbler and checked it out pretty good, then walked over to the second gobbler and checked it out pretty good as well. He then returned to the first gobbler, picked it up high and stated " Hey look I got a double beard!".  Classic.


Jeff