DALLAS — The Lone Star Outdoor News reports that a Texas hunter has shot a potential world record Eastern Turkey with a 22.5-inch beard which NWTF records indicate to be the longest beard recorded on any eastern turkey harvested.
According to the article on www.lonestaroutdoornews.com, an eastern turkey shot by Cody May of New Boston on April 6 may have set the world record for beard length. But part of the 22.5 inch beard broke off before a second set of measurements were taken, which may bring the record into question.
May, a real estate appraiser, has hunted turkey for two years near his home. “On Friday morning, I heard them gobbling on the roost, and set up in the closest wheat field with one hen decoy,” he said.
Things happened quickly. “The tom flew off the roost straight to the field, and came straight to the decoy and started strutting,” he said. “I shot him at about 25 yards with my 12-gauge.”
National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) keeps records for typical and atypical (more than one beard) eastern turkeys. Birds are scored by adding measurements of the both spurs and multiplying the combined length by 10. The beard length is measured and multiplied by two. The spur and beard points are added to the total weight for the bird’s score.
According to the NWTF website, Alex Low has the current state record for a typical eastern, which scored 80.75, and its beard was 11.875 inches. The nation’s longest beard of 18.125 inches was taken in 1998 by Robert Tremblay of King George, Virginia, according to NWTF. In Texas, the longest beard registered on an eastern is 13.5 inches, shot by Michael Storey near Jefferson.
For the full story, visit www.lonestaroutdoornews.com.
Media Contact:
Craig Nyhus (214) 361-2276 editor@lonestaroutdoornews.com
Photo credit: ©2007 Cody May, Lone Star Outdoor News
