Whats considered big?

Well last year was my first year turkey hunting and I found myself a jake. 4 inch beard, nubs for spurs. I was so exited about it, its not even funny. This year on day 2 of hunting I end up taking a (what i consider) a very nice size tom. 21 lbs, 8.5 inch beard and 1 inch spurs. Thing is, earlier that morning I seen an even bigger bird out in the field but didn't come my way. If my bird is considered big than that other guy is a monster. Or is the one I got just average and the other guy considered big? So i was just wondering what other people considered big? And whats considered a monster?

And by the way I can't stop thinking about that other bird….Its taking over my life….

21lbs, 1" spurs. I would consider that a nice 8pt buck, not a monster just really nice. A nice healthy bird. Congrats

They all look like monsters in the field and I mean that sincerely. My biggest bird ever was 24.5 lbs, 12.5 inch beard and 1 3/8 inch spurs. But he looked pretty average, even small, when I shot him. It was a rainy day and he was soaked, he snuck up behind me without a gobble or one fan of the tail feathers. I took him as it was the first tag of that season. So his measurements were a pleasant surprise.

My bird this year was strutting in the sun after a drizzly morning, with another full tom. They were in full strut and looked like VW Beetles out in the field. The sun was blazing through their fans and the quills of their tail feathers looked like ropes. Both birds were comparable, but his spurs were more visible from where I was. So I took him, thinking he may be my biggest yet. Turned out to be 22 lbs, 9 inch beard and 1 inch spurs. I was surprised, and maybe even a tiny bit disappointed. My point is that I have seen lots of birds, taken nearly 20 and am always surprised how wrong I am when it comes to judging them alive.

So I hope that your new bird is indeed a monster. But I would imagine he is very comparable to your other, which was a very representative tom. Anything over 20 lbs, with inch or more spurs, 9 plus inches of beard is likely 3 or more years old and is a very respectable bird IMO. But I hope you get him and prove me wrong.

25lb
1.5 spurs
12 beard
That would be BIG!

X2 but in my opinion the age of the turkey is the bigger prize..because he went through lots of other hunter lol:)

I dont think it should matter. any bird someone takes is a good bird if they are happy with it, heres my view.. i personally think from seeing alot of dead birds, taking a a bunch myself and having many close calls i would say to average it out.. 17-19/20lb would be a respectable/great bird etc. 20-22 id say would be "big" and i think alot of toms taken are in this weight range by most men/women. 23-25/26+lb would be your monster, giant etc IMO

ill take a 21 lb bird any day of the week. nice size . to answer your question I think any turkey 20lb or greater is a big one

When they have the big light bulb for a head and paint brush for a beard. Old tom's spurs even go a lighter colour and 1 5/8ths is big

some info when this was asked last year : http://www.oodmag.com/community/show...o-Record/page4

When I looked into it at the time around 26 lbs was considered a 'record' bird'....that would jive with records in the US too.

If the scales are accurate, most buys 'big' birds on here are 21-23 lbs. That would be normal. Most Jakes come in around 14-18 lbs so that is also normal back when they had the weight stations.

Not sure why guys think they have to have the 'biggest' .....meat's far better off a young bird and if your putting in on the dinning room table to feed your family, I'm sure you don't want to see them wrestle with shoe leather.

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Originally Posted by MikePal

some info when this was asked last year : http://www.oodmag.com/community/show...o-Record/page4

When I looked into it at the time around 26 lbs was considered a 'record' bird'....that would jive with records in the US too.

If the scales are accurate, most buys 'big' birds on here are 21-23 lbs. That would be normal. Most Jakes come in around 14-18 lbs so that is also normal back when they had the weight stations.

Not sure why guys think they have to have the 'biggest' .....meat's far better off a young bird and if your putting in on the dinning room table to feed your family, I'm sure you don't want to see them wrestle with shoe leather.

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I agree with this statement, I'll take a jake over a tom anyday. I say go out and chase the big toms until you have a nice fan/beard/spurs for the wall if you are into that sort of thing and then go after the jakes. Beards arent like antlers, they all look the same and nothing compares to a nice 15 lb jake on the table.

Mind you, if I see a Tom with a 14 inch beard or 5 beards or something im not going to hesitate.

Location would make a difference too, I saw the one beauty from up north put on this forum and the birds weight was smaller than maybe a corn fed bird but for a cottage country bush bird would be huge in my eyes. Sort of like getting a 180lb white tailed buck with a basket rack in the thick bush of eastern ontario vs a 220lb giant racked buck from the corn fields of the south. Which one is big? It all depends.

I got a 16lb jake as my first bird, that was huge to me. This year I got a jake just short of 14lbs and it still seemed big until I shot the almost 22lb tom. They are all big to me, the longer the walk out the bigger they get too :).

My opinion is any bird over 20 lbs. is worth bragging rights around the camp fire. My "choice" would be a much smaller bird for the dinner table...............................Boog

The average weight of an eastern bird is 18-20 lbs in Ontario. Now depending on what strain of birds were released in the area weight can change a bit up or down. Back in the days of the trades, birds that came from MI or NY and even NJ was the lightest strain but birds that came from MO were much heavier and would tip the scales over the 23-24 lb make which gave some areas the weight.

As said above weight has nothing to do with how good one maybe be, it all depends what strain of birds you happened to get at the start.

I would agree anything 20 and up is great and 25 is a whopper. What I have noticed is where you hunt in Ontario the Tom,s have different shapes, the birds here in Peterborough seem to be thinner and longer then the one,s over in the Orangeville area with them being shorter and fatter .

Hey thanks for the replays guys. Like my wife always tells me "size doesn't matter". But I definitely notice a difference in the meat on the tom though. I've eaten turkey all week. Legs and thighs, than turkey soup, than a turkey casserole and that was only the meat used from the legs and thighs!

Most Toms I've got are between 20 to 21 Lbs. the biggest being 24.5 lbs. with beards ranging from 9.5 inches to 11.5 inches.
Spurs from 1/4 of an inch to one inch.
How big is big? We've been having pot luck supper with the Turkeys so I guess 20 lb bird will suffice for this.
Now for my wife and myself a nice Jake under 20 lbs. is plenty.
Having said that. I wonder how many pounds of Turkey one can buy with $50.00 bucks without having to wake up 4:00 AM to beat the crowds.
But then you won't hear the gobbles and the singing of the birds that goes with it, would you...

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Originally Posted by huntrfishr

Most Toms I've got are between 20 to 21 Lbs. the biggest being 24.5 lbs. with beards ranging from 9.5 inches to 11.5 inches.
Spurs from 1/4 of an inch to one inch.
How big is big? We've been having pot luck supper with the Turkeys so I guess 20 lb bird will suffice for this.
Now for my wife and myself a nice Jake under 20 lbs. is plenty.
Having said that. I wonder how many pounds of Turkey one can buy with $50.00 bucks without having to wake up 4:00 AM to beat the crowds.
But then you won't hear the gobbles and the singing of the birds that goes with it, would you...

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Yep, turkey hunting definitely is not a cost effective way to obtain poultry......priceless experience however.

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Originally Posted by mox72

Yep, turkey hunting definitely is not a cost effective way to obtain poultry......priceless experience however.

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The meat tastes better from a wild bird though, in my opinion, being successful and still make it to work on time is priceless :).

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Originally Posted by GERRYL

ill take a 21 lb bird any day of the week. nice size . to answer your question I think any turkey 20lb or greater is a big one

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Exactly what I aim for.
Above 20lbs is big for me. Above 25lbs is Monster.

Any bird I'm fortunate enough to put a tag on is a big bird. Last season my jake outweighed my tom by a few pounds bit the tom had bigger beard and spurs. Just hoping to get one in range this season.

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