Here is a picture of a turkey taken several years ago.This jake came out in front of a friend I was taking hunting but he wouldn't shoot it.The other jakes chased him around thinking he had something to eat.The next day my neighbor shot him.I have no idea where he picked this up as we aren't around any lakes or where they use lures for bait.he didn't have a problem eating and it didn't look too fresh.

WOW - it looks like it would have kept him from being able to eat... WEIRD!!! What a mystery... I'd love to know how he picked that up!!!

Kim

Looks like it would keep his beak shut..... huh, that is strange. Cool story and pic.

I thougt it would keep his beak shut to feel sorry for him my question is...Ok a turkey has a hard beak right...amost like something would have to force the lure in his beak??hmm idk looks painful

Good thing you shot that bird.

GUESS THAT'S A REAL "ROOSTER TAIL"

for non-fishermen that was a really bad lure pun
For fishermen, I'm so sorry.

BigBuck95

Poachers actually tie heavy line to fish hooks sometimes and bait them with soft corn kernels, scattering more corn around. The shiny lure attracts their attention. The corn they are used to eating so they want to pick it up before another turkey gets it. Once lodged in their throat, they usually don't fight much. They just back up until the line is taught and stand there with their neck stretched out until the poacher arrives with a corn knife and removes their head. Have been told this story anyway as an easy way to get turkeys, and it may explain why that lure was somewhere it shouldn't be and in a turkey.
Another method described to me by an old lady who is dead now is this. This old gal was a friends grandmother who's farm we hunted on as kids. She was alone on the farm and seldom went to town for anything. When we went to the farm she always had turkey sandwiches that she offered us to eat. Going into her house always smelled like she was cooking turkey. I asked her once where she got all the turkeys. I knew her farm was full of wild birds, but how did she kill them all. She walked me to a spot about 30 yds outside her back door on the edge of a field that she could see from her living room. Stuck in a tree was an old wood handled corn knife, and leaning against another tree was a set of rusty bed springs. She explained that she would spread corn all around, just a couple handfulls, and then lay the springs down over the corn. When one gets his foot tangled in the springs, she said, I watch until they get tired and stop fighting, then I use that corn knife. All I know is she ate a lot of turkey until she died.

This is all private land and I don't know of anyone in the area doing that.It actually looked like it had been there a while,went through right by nostril hole and he didn't have any trouble catching bugs when the other jakes would leave him alone.