HuntingNet.com Forums - What a birthday present!!!

Hi all,

I hope everyone is having a great spring. My birthday is Saturday May 5th and what a birthday present I gave myself today!!! I harvested what is the highest scoring typical gobbler of my lifetime at 73.0625 NWTF points. 24 pounds 7 ounces, right spur = 1 1/2", left spur = 1 3/8", beard = 9 15/16".

Heres how it went down; At daylight I heard 2 birds but couldnt do anything with them. I walked off of the hill and headed to another farm. As I'm driving in this big gobbler crosses the road in front of me and I realize he's alone. I watch him walk up into the woods. I drove maybe 200 yards up the road and got out and cutt and he immediately cut me off. I got back in my suv and drove up around on top and parked and walked down he ridge to him. I heard him gobbling on his own as I approached. I set up and sent him a series of soft yelps and he went crazy. He was 2 flats below me and immediately started my way. He probably gobbled 30 times as he walked to me. He was one of those turkeys that hammered every single call I made. The last time he gobbled he was 60 yards below me and I just shut up. The next thing I know he pops up on the flat below me at about 40 yards which is plenty close enough for my 835 that's loaded with nitro 4x5x7 hevi shot.
He wasnt displaying, just walking steadily to me. At 35 yards I couldnt stand it any longer and let him have it. At the shot he went down and I was up and running. I didnt realize how steep the bank was and I lost control on my way down and fell and as you'll see by the picture, I tore my right shin up pretty good so I guess he got his licks in as well. What a gorgeous gobbler!! What's most impressive about him besides his awesome hooks is his weight. I've killed a lot of gobblers in my life but I've never killed one over 22 pounds. In West Virginia the hills are steep, we dont feed the turkeys and the longbeards that I kill are usually between 16 and 19 pounds. This guy weighed 24 pounds 7 ounces. I dont think I've ever had a more enjoyable walk out of the woods!

Here are the pictures:

His beard is 9 15/16"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/hom...nes/beard52.jpg

The right spur measures right between 1 7/16 and 1 8/16 inches so I rounded up

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/hom...ight-spur52.jpg

The left spur measures 1 6/16 inches or 1 3/8
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/hom...left-spur52.jpg

Me with him
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/hom...es/mebird52.jpg

My right shin after I got showered
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/homerjones/leg52.jpg[/align]