midsouth_hunter

Got a question. A buddy of mine was telling me about a turkey killed up in Georgia recently that weighed 32lbs with 12 1/2 inch beard. Does Easten Wild Turkeys or any wild turkeys get that big? If so what is the largest turkey have you ever seen or heard about? I think my buddy is over-estimating. Ha

shamlin

I can imagine some of them birds that live around alot of farmland, where there is always plenty to eat could get that big. As for that particular bird I get on the GON site all the time and I have heard nothing about that.

mauser06

http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkey...ey_records.php

Rory/MO

ya they get that big
very rare, but they do

ducksmoker

most easterns are going to be around 21#to 25# but larger birds are not by any means out of the question and many hit that 25 to 27# mark on private property. But a 32# bird with 12 1/2" beard would sure be a wall hanger if it is true

I myself would question if the scales used are right or isit just another hunting story. In any case it is a great question i will look into more

TEmbry

I think the record is 38 lbs from Oregon, so yep...its possible.

IL-Cornfed

Yes sir, Eastern World Record is a 35.8 lbs monster from IOWA. As mentioned in a post above, check the N.W.T.F records and you'll probably be shocked to see some of the impressive stats from all 4 subspecies of birds.

I live here in west-central IL and "average" Gobbler size is usually 22 to 25 lbs with 28+ lbers being taken in my area every season.

gmil6184

how do they authenticate the measurements? are there official turkey scoring places? It's not like a whitetail where you can just keep the skull cap

IL-Cornfed

Here are the details for Official entry into the N.W.T.F books. There are over currently over 12,000 entries.

http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/slam_directions.html

The most difficult step for many will be the weight receipt from an officially certified scale. You'll also need additional witnesses if measurements exceed certain standards.

SwampCollie

The biggest bird I have ever seen I can only estimate. Considering that I shot the bird that was with him (the big one never got closer than 80 yards) and the bird I killed was 21 and change, I estimate that bird (conservitively) at 26 pounds. And yes, that would have been one of the heaviest turkeys ever killed in my state (VA).

The biggest bird I've ever killed was an eastern, in my native VA, which went 23#s 4ozs.

There have been some birds killed in VA this year that have been giants. I guess the mild winter and good mast crop has kept them fat. My godfather shot a 24# bird the second day of the season. Thats almost unheard of in VA.