| Author |
Message |
Shooter
| | Posted on Sunday, March 17, 2002 - 11:17 am: | |
I was at Wal-Mart supercenter in Kingsport, TN yesterday and they had 2 turkies mounted by Jim Norton from Hilton, VA on the back wall. One turkey had about 1"-1 1/8" spurs, the other had about 3-4" spurs. The turkey was up high so I couldn't get close to do a better inspection. Is it possible for spurs to be this big? It looked like an eastern gobbler but not 100% sure. I kind of felt they were fake but I couldn't see why a top notch taxidermist would do this to a turkey. |
turkeypicker
| | Posted on Sunday, March 17, 2002 - 1:39 pm: | |
Shooter: the longest I've ever seen were 1-3/4 inches long. I can't answer your question, but 3-4" spurs does sound fishy to me too. Someone in here should know the answer though. |
Piedmont Gobbler
| | Posted on Sunday, March 17, 2002 - 8:08 pm: | |
Probably related to the Jackalope you always see at these places. |
GN
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 9:59 am: | |
I have seen rooster-chickens with huge spurs like that and have seen some mounts that affixed rooster spurs(blackenend) to the turkeylegs.....having said that, the biggest turkey spurs I have seen in southern appalachia came(Iwas told by the then owner) from an area along h Tenn /Va line around South holston resevoir. These were almost 2 inches. They were real . |
mtnbuk
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 1:37 pm: | |
Mother nature likes to throw a curve every once in a while. I've seen her work some crazy scenarios from time to time. Especially when you think you've seen everything.
There was (is?) a store on Rt. 11 near Lexington, VA with a "stuffed" (yeah, this really looked stuffed) rattlesnake on the wall that was 12 or 14 FEET LONG! The exact length escapes me as I'm having a pre-senior moment. The note on the wall with it claimed it was taken from the Devil's Kitchen area of the Maury River in Rockbridge County near Goshen. It also said if you think it's not the largest taken east of the Mississippi, prove it!
I believe just about anything is possible.....
BUT, I would only believe turkey spurs over 1.75 - 2.0 inches (or a 14 foot timber rattler) if they were verified by a biologist. |
TScottW99
| | Posted on Monday, March 18, 2002 - 2:16 pm: | |
The longest on the NWTF record books are 2.25". There are five birds on the books with 2.25" spurs, one eastern, one osceola, one merriam and two rios. Here's a link to check all the records.....
http://www.wildturkeyzone.com/records3.htm |
manybeards
| | Posted on Friday, March 22, 2002 - 7:59 pm: | |
>>>> Using the point of your pocket knife,the spur "sheath" is easily popped off the core or "stump".... My partner is a Taxidermist and frequently has customers ask him to swap spurs on their birds. I guess someone who is paying $500 to get a turkey mounted has the right to make such a request. Every mature gobbler taken under "fair chase" conditions is a true trophy in my opinion,and does'nt require any plastic surgery... |
TScottW99
| | Posted on Friday, March 22, 2002 - 11:02 pm: | |
i made a mistake on my previous post.... the two records for rios were 2.0" not 2.5" |
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