Gobbler with no beard

[idgobble]

I'd guess this mature Merriams gobbler is 3 years old.  Might have some Eastern blood in him, too.   There were Easterns turned loose in the area about 25 years ago.  He came in gobbling, strutting and fanning the whole way from about 400 yards. My young friend got him and when we looked for the beard there was no sign of one.  No scar, no mark on the skin, nothing to indicate he ever had a beard. First gobbler we've ever gotten without a beard. Unusual?

[joey46]

Very - since you didn't specifically 100% mention the State - don't - almost every State's regs read "bearded birds" to be spring legal. "Almost" the key word. A condition called "beard rot" is common down here in Florida.  I've seen some big gobblers with full fans but almost no beard length.  Always a little beard there though.  Betting 99% on here would have popped him.  A red head and full fan are the quickest in field indicators for most in the heat of the moment.  You shoot one that came in gobbling, has a full fan, and a red head you expect a beard.  Weird. Spurs??  That hunter looks familiar from another forum.  Is this an ethics test? Lol.

[Mossyguy]

Yep...I would've popped him too. I've never seen a gobbler without a beard so seeing a full fan naturally I'd think he would have one when I pulled the trigger. Would've been wrong on that one!

[Sixes]

I killed one in Georgia a few years back that had no beard nor appeared to have ever had any sign of a beard. Full fan and good spurs, just no beard.

[JHoyle]

We killed one last year that had 1 9/16 spurs and no visible beard. Turned out his beard was ingrown. Came out and went back inside. Crazy.


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[POk3s]

My buddy killed a Jake that barely had a few strands sticking a quarter inch out of the skin. That's the closest I've seen.

For the record, all the states I've ever hunted the regs say "any male turkey or any turkey with a visible beard."

[SD_smith]

My buddy killed a Jake that barely had a few strands sticking a quarter inch out of the skin. That's the closest I've seen.

For the record, all the states I've ever hunted the regs say "any male turkey or any turkey with a visible beard."

Yea I think most western states say the same thing in their regs, but I may be wrong. We've shot a few this season and last season that had their beards frozen off. Last two winters have been wet and cold so it's not impossible. Also have shot 2 that half the beard was frozen off and the other half wasn't. Kinda like someone held the beard sideways and started cutting it across then stopped.

[idgobble]

My buddy killed a Jake that barely had a few strands sticking a quarter inch out of the skin. That's the closest I've seen.

For the record, all the states I've ever hunted the regs say "any male turkey or any turkey with a visible beard."

Yea I think most western states say the same thing in their regs, but I may be wrong. We've shot a few this season and last season that had their beards frozen off. Last two winters have been wet and cold so it's not impossible. Also have shot 2 that half the beard was frozen off and the other half wasn't. Kinda like someone held the beard sideways and started cutting it across then stopped.

Maybe it touched an electric fence that burned off half the beard? I've seen a couple that had beards like that that were burned half way thru and that was our theory.

[Marc]

Very - since you didn't specifically 100% mention the State - don't - almost every State's regs read "bearded birds" to be spring legal. "Almost" the key word. A condition called "beard rot" is common down here in Florida.  I've seen some big gobblers with full fans but almost no beard length.  Always a little beard there though.  Betting 99% on here would have popped him.  A red head and full fan are the quickest in field indicators for most in the heat of the moment.  You shoot one that came in gobbling, has a full fan, and a red head you expect a beard.  Weird. Spurs??  That hunter looks familiar from another forum.  Is this an ethics test? Lol.

To his defense, an unbearded tom is fairly rare...  I have seen it only one time.

I know that I am often hunting tall grass, and all too frequently I gauge whether a bird is a shooter by his tail fan...  Full fan on a male bird, I am generally going to assume he is a "shooter."  Have not made an error yet, but would not feel terrible if I did...  Probably would not post up though... 

Couple years back I did have a bird coming in down a logging road, and it was one of the few times I could actually see his spurs...  Due to either the rocky terrain or the genetics of the birds, long spurs are not all that common in my area, and this bird had some "stickers" on him...  Full tail fan, and long spurs, and a hole where his beard should be...

He got within about 5 feet of me, and I could actually see what appeared to be a "hole" where the beard was???  Maybe beard rot?  Maybe it got pulled out in a fight or evading a predator???

[Spring Creek Calls]

Here's some info I received about a beard less gobbler I shot a few years back. There is no beard requirement for the fall season in Michigan.



https://www.nwtf.org/conservation/article/ask-dr-tom-beardless-gobblers

[Tomfoolery]

I killed one last year with no beard at all. Full fan, gobbling, just no beard. He had a tiny callous where the beard should've been. But there is no beard reg here. Just had to be a male turkey.

[eggshell]

I have seen this just a couple of times and when I ran a DNR check station we did not even question the hunter on the beard. If it was a gobbler we checked it. I would hope most states would do like wise, but some law enforcement officers will get a little full of themselves and write citations that are ridiculous. There's always one butthole. You just need to know your state laws and personnel. I passed a bird in Montana once because I could not see a beard and the regs I read said bearded birds only. Later that day I ran into a game warden and asked him about it and his response was, "you should have dropped that gobbler like a rock, a lot of our birds lose their beards", but he thanked me for being cautious and law abiding.

[tal]

 I've seen a 'genetic no beard' only once. If an injury or otherwise the beard gets pulled off you can usually see where the beard was and also see a few strands grow from around the edges of where the beard was attached.

[idgobble]

The Colorago regs. say, "2 bearded turkeys in the spring."  The Idaho regs. say, ""The daily bag limit is two bearded turkeys per day in the spring."  Oregon regs. say, "One male turkey or a turkey with a visible beard." The Vermont regs. say, "Two bearded turkeys may be taken." NY regs say, "In the spring you may take two bearded turkeys."  Those are the only regs. I have.
Sounds like OR has the best reg. that covers everything.  What does your state say? 

[Spitten and drummen]

In Ms it has to be a bearded bird with at least a 6" beard.