Double down for double the fun

[TauntoHawk]

Although we have a week left in Pa's season, today was the last day I was gonna be able to hit the woods and I only had one tag left after filling both NY tags and one PA tag earlier. Yesterday I was out on public land and was set up less than 150yds from two gobbling birds but at fly down they wanted anything to do with me and worked off in opposite direction. Final day I decided to bank one them being close to the same roost spot and I slipped in early right where I heard them gobble, it's a long walk 1.7 miles from the car to my tree so I had to start the walk at 4:15. It was a beautiful flat top hill covered in giant oaks with a big ravine on one side and a thick east facing slope on the other. Light starts to crack the sky and a bird than another erupts but bellow me on the otherside of the ravine. Just as I was thinking "you gotta be kidding me I hiked right past them" a bird rips right over my right shoulder not 30yds away but there was a tree blocking my view of him. I left him get going over the next 25min of dawn. 5:55 I let out a few clucks and a soft tree yelp on a new scratch box. He gobbled and I could hear him shifting his weight in the tree and preparing to fly down. A moment later he came flapping down right infront of me at 20yds. I dumped right there on the spot at 5:58 and my 4th tag was filled. As soon as I shot another bird that never made a sound pitches out of a tree and flys right to the dead bird and starts beating on him. I couldn't believe it he was a big giant roped bird I could see his Spurs from where I was sitting I just watched in disbelief hoping the one I had down was that nice. He quickly figured something wasn't right and flew off.

Now one of my favorite things about turkey hunting is pulling the trigger based on the hunt and then finding out the "trophy value" as you roll over the bird and really inspect the beard and Spurs. Roll him over and see your average 1in Spurs but wait there's more he's got small secondary Spurs on both legs! What a way to end the season and mark my 3rd public land bird this year! I was pretty happy and snapped a few pictures threw him in my game bag and started the hike out. It wasn't til I got him and took him out of the game bag did his beard flop over into two sections but it appears that's a torn beard and not a giant double. What an incredible bird and hope he passed a ton of his genetics down to some of the jakes running around.

[TauntoHawk]

18.5lbs 9.5 beard with 1 + 1/4 and 1+ 5/16 spurs!! Scouting sure paid off on this one in April I scouted 5 sections of public within 35min of my house and covered over 20miles til I found this honey hole and I only hunted it on week days. 4 days in the spot and I killed two great birds

[guesswho]

Congrats on a rare double spurred bird TauntoHawk.  You don't see many with multiple spurs.  I've never killed one.  Looking at the pictures I do believe he is a single beard bird though.  Looks like a single beard that has been split, I see a lot of people make that mistake.  I could be wrong though.  Be curious to what others say.  But either way he's a once in a lifetime trophy with the double spurs and congrats again.   

[WNY Bowhunter]

Dang, you are a turkey killing machine!!! Double spurs is quite a rarity...is this one worthy of a trip to the taxidermist? :

I haven't been out since last sunday but think that I may have a player lined up for tomorrow morning...

[TauntoHawk]

Guess who that's honestly what I thought, two other people that stopped by thought it was a double. He's a cool bird either way with the Spurs and he's deader than dead now.

To me it looked like it tore some time ago and healed with some skin in the middle. It def flops into two sections now.

[WNY Bowhunter]

To me, it appears from the pic to be a single split beard...but those are definately double spurs!!!

[guesswho]

but those are definately double spurs!!!

Ain't no denying that!  And that makes him a rare cool looking trophy.   I'd love to kill a double spurred bird.  Maybe one day.

[TauntoHawk]

What gets a birds beard tore like that?

It's all luck of the draw I was just going after a gobbling bird.

WNY probably not I've got a 20ga picked out for the wife, a buck to pick up and pay for at the taxi and a trip to Nebraska next spring to think about. I did not realize how expensive it had gotten to mount a bird!!! I will do something special with his legs for sure

[guesswho]

It could be from vines, twigs or a number of things.  They live a rough life and I've seen some odd injuries from sticks stuck in the breast to the front half of the lower leg skinned all the way to the bone.  Who knows what kind of predicaments they find themselves in.

[mgm1955]

Cool, cool, cool!! Congrats!!!!!!

[jepcho]

Awesome!

[cramerhunts]

Man that is one sweet bird with awesome character, congratulations on  a super trophy.

[DirtNap647]

congrats on a great turkey

[kyturkeyhunter4]

Congrats! Awesome bird

[surehuntsalot]

congrats on a fine bird