Beardless gobbler??

[birdman561]

Has anyone ever seen one? Ive seen a few without spurs. But I saw my first beardless gobbler this year. I was just wondering if anyone has any insight as to why they would be missing one or the other?

[Rzrbac]

My uncle killed a nice gobbler in the fall back in the 80s. It had good spurs and no sign of a beard.  Not even a base where one had been.  Only one I've ever seen like that.

[Greg Massey]

Years ago birds that were caught and transported to didn't wildlife refuge had beards removed from them. I call one up back over 30 years ago that had it's beard removed. In the pass i have killed a few with beard rot. The reason for removing beards, from gobblers was hoping to keep it around longer for matting and save it's life, per the game wardens...

[Fatbeard]

Saw one about 15 years ago. Bird gobbled like crazy and strutted in. Had very good spurs but no beard. In TN you have to see a beard so I did not shoot. He got very close twice and never saw a hint of a beard

[Cut N Run]

I called a gobbler in to 10 yards on Opening Day of 2014 in Chatham County, N.C. that didn't have a hint of a beard, he had decent spurs though. I'd already tagged a gobbler an hour earlier and was calling for my best friend.  It was illegal to take a beardless gobbler at the time (it is legal as of this year), so we let him pass. The next bird I called in had a double beard and my best friend tagged him. It was the first double bearded gobbler he killed in almost 30 years of turkey hunting & the only one I've ever seen.

Jim

[MISSISSIPPI Double beard]

I saw one years ago. Big bird, full fan and gobbling. Never did get him.

[g8rvet]

Funny story. 

A buddy of mine called me to hunt his family farm.  It is LLLLLOOOOADDDEEEDDDDD with birds. We worked one at first light and he followed the hens off.  Messed with another one that would not come out of the bottom he was in on a bordering property.  So we headed to another spot.  We started calling and got an immediate answer.  Set up quickly and the bird would gobble at every call.  I then realized it was more than one bird when they gobbled over each other.  My buddy said "That may be my uncle's pet turkeys!".  I was thinking WTH?  How will we know that they are the pet turkeys.  My buddy said, "You will know".  So I am thinking they will be white.  So since we were a ways from where they hung out at his uncles house we stuck with them and they were coming.  We had guns up and were ready and out steps 4 birds in full strut.  They were huge.  And had the rattiest fans and not a beard among the 4 of them.  I just laughed.  We stood up and they just walked over to us.  it was exciting for a few minutes anyways.  I talked to his uncle about it and he got a good chuckle.  He said they came better to banging a 5 gallon bucket than they do to calls! 

[birdman561]

Funny story. 

A buddy of mine called me to hunt his family farm.  It is LLLLLOOOOADDDEEEDDDDD with birds. We worked one at first light and he followed the hens off.  Messed with another one that would not come out of the bottom he was in on a bordering property.  So we headed to another spot.  We started calling and got an immediate answer.  Set up quickly and the bird would gobble at every call.  I then realized it was more than one bird when they gobbled over each other.  My buddy said "That may be my uncle's pet turkeys!".  I was thinking WTH?  How will we know that they are the pet turkeys.  My buddy said, "You will know".  So I am thinking they will be white.  So since we were a ways from where they hung out at his uncles house we stuck with them and they were coming.  We had guns up and were ready and out steps 4 birds in full strut.  They were huge.  And had the rattiest fans and not a beard among the 4 of them.  I just laughed.  We stood up and they just walked over to us.  it was exciting for a few minutes anyways.  I talked to his uncle about it and he got a good chuckle.  He said they came better to banging a 5 gallon bucket than they do to calls! 

Haha that's a good one.

[Marc]

Our birds here have to have a beard to be legal...  Had a nice tom with very nice spurs for CA come right into me, and I could see the hole where a beard should have been...  That bird came within 5 feet of me, and everything about him screamed tom (full tail fan and far bigger than average spurs), but he had no beard...  At all.

Good thing that bird did not come into me in tall grass...  I might have made a poor assumption that he would have had a beard...  Always makes me a bit nervous hunting that tall grass after that situation, cause generally, I can only tell the toms from the jakes with the tail fan...

[Sixes]

I have shown this pic before, but I killed this one in middle GA a few years back, strutted and gobbled across a large brood field. Full fan, good spurs, no beard and no sign of one ever growing, nothing but feathers.

[CT Spur Collector]

yep, last spring, my nephew and I were walking around about noon, leaving the woods. We heard a tom open up across the crick. Afternoon so we had to quit.  fast forward to around the third week of the season, I remembered that tom, so I'm trying to fill my second tag.

I get in that same area early morning, beautiful morning, he gets fired up early, fly's to the field and starts up. I get set up on him back in the woods in the one open area in a brushy woods. It wasn't long, maybe three/four series of calls. here he comes, by himself, struttin & a gobblin!

I get him well within gun range several times, almost dusted him, I kept looking for a longbeard, he was definitely an adult, nice full fan.  I left him walk.  My Nephew thinks I'm nuts, he would have dispatched him.

Craziest thing I ever saw. I taped him with my phone for 10 minutes....he wouldn't leave. I didn't think my Nephew would believe me!!

[longbeards]

Was shown one killed 10 or 12 years ago that did not have a beard! It was killed by one of my students who brought it by to show me. It was at least a 3 year old bird, 1.25 inch spurs and full tail. It had a scab where the beard should have been, my guess was that it lost it to another gobbler fighting!!

[JK Spurs]

yep, last spring, my nephew and I were walking around about noon, leaving the woods. We heard a tom open up across the crick. Afternoon so we had to quit.  fast forward to around the third week of the season, I remembered that tom, so I'm trying to fill my second tag.

I get in that same area early morning, beautiful morning, he gets fired up early, fly's to the field and starts up. I get set up on him back in the woods in the one open area in a brushy woods. It wasn't long, maybe three/four series of calls. here he comes, by himself, struttin & a gobblin!

I get him well within gun range several times, almost dusted him, I kept looking for a longbeard, he was definitely an adult, nice full fan.  I left him walk.  My Nephew thinks I'm nuts, he would have dispatched him.

Craziest thing I ever saw. I taped him with my phone for 10 minutes....he wouldn't leave. I didn't think my Nephew would believe me!!

If he's still there, he better not get in front of my barrel in a few weeks cause he'll get a free ride in the F150.

[Rio Fan]

The biggest turkey I've ever seen didn't have a beard. He was strutting next to a longbeard but his body absolutely dwarfed the other bird.

[Waynesworld23]

Funny story. 

A buddy of mine called me to hunt his family farm.  It is LLLLLOOOOADDDEEEDDDDD with birds. We worked one at first light and he followed the hens off.  Messed with another one that would not come out of the bottom he was in on a bordering property.  So we headed to another spot.  We started calling and got an immediate answer.  Set up quickly and the bird would gobble at every call.  I then realized it was more than one bird when they gobbled over each other.  My buddy said "That may be my uncle's pet turkeys!".  I was thinking WTH?  How will we know that they are the pet turkeys.  My buddy said, "You will know".  So I am thinking they will be white.  So since we were a ways from where they hung out at his uncles house we stuck with them and they were coming.  We had guns up and were ready and out steps 4 birds in full strut.  They were huge.  And had the rattiest fans and not a beard among the 4 of them.  I just laughed.  We stood up and they just walked over to us.  it was exciting for a few minutes anyways.  I talked to his uncle about it and he got a good chuckle.  He said they came better to banging a 5 gallon bucket than they do to calls!

ha that's funny I have to lock my two farm birds up or they will follow me around waiting to be fed hard to hunt with them trying to get in your lap