Top 5 Heavyweight Wild Turkey Gobblers by Subspecies

Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Top 5 Heavyweight Wild Turkey Gobblers by Subspecies

Posted 2019-01-22T08:25:00Z

What's the Biggest Turkey You've Ever Killed?

Turkey hunters love to get down to the details of spurs, beards and even weight.

We pulled together the top five heavyweights of each wild turkey subspecies, and lined them up in this photo blog.

This is one big wild turkey. (c) John Hafner photo

Check out the top weights for Eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam's, Gould's, and Osceola turkeys as found in the official NWTF wild turkey records.

The Ocellated, of course, is a separate species of wild turkey. Go here for a photo essay on this bird of Southern Mexico.

Image Title: 
Eastern, 37.61 Pounds
Image: 
Eastern, 37.61 Pounds
Image Story: 

David Cody Guess killed this Eastern on April 21, 2015, in Lyon, Kentucky.

Go here for the Realtree turkey blog story.

Image Title: 
Rio Grande, 37.1250 Pounds
Image: 
Rio Grande, 37.1250 Pounds
Image Story: 

Jacob Braught, of Oregon, took this big Rio Grande gobbler in his home state on April 15, 2002.

He used a box call to lure the monster Rio into range.

Image Title: 
Merriam's, 31.56 Pounds
Image: 
Merriam's, 31.56 Pounds
Image Story: 

George Connors, of Washington State, tagged this big Merriam's in Stevens, Washington.

He used both a box call and mouth diaphragm on April 29, 2006, to finish the deal.

Image Title: 
Gould's, 29.3750 Pounds
Image: 
Gould's, 29.3750 Pounds
Image Story: 

Scott J. Crofcheck, of Pennsylvania, killed this Gould's down in Old Mexico on April 20, 2002.

He used a slate call to lure the big bird in.

Image Title: 
Osceola, 27 Pounds
Image: 
Osceola, 27 Pounds
Image Story: 

Osceolas are long-legged turkeys of the Florida swamps and pastures.

Rosita Morris killed this big one in Polk, Florida, her home state. A box call did the job.

What do all five heavyweight gobblers have in common? They were all taken in the month of April, and with a firearm.

Go here for more Realtree turkey hunting. Follow us on Facebook.

Editor's note: This Realtree.com post was first published Feb. 27, 2017.