Vermont News

New Turkey Record Not Without Controversy

Last Sunday William Billings, of South Burlington, Vermont did what no one in New York or New England had ever done before. At a scant 10-yards, he pulled the trigger on a monster tom with a 16-inch beard. According the National Wild Turkey Federation's scoring system, when the bird's beard length and weight of 21 pounds 8 ounces is calculated with the bird's inch and a half spurs, it equates to a total NWTF score of 83.5—making it the 35th largest typical eastern turkey ever recorded in that category, and the second largest ever shot in the East. It is by far the highest scoring typical bird ever shot in New England or New York.

According to Billings, on Saturday evening he was driving down a road with his father and brother in an area they frequently hunt in Williamstown, Vermont. They spied a large tom in a field they were familiar with and decided to set up on it early the next morning.

"We were set up by 4:00 a.m.," he said. "The tom flew down by 5:30 or 6:00 and started gobbling."

A half mile down the road, another tom perked up, and the hunters were surrounded by lively turkeys, non of which presented a shot.

As the morning wore on the action faded. Around 9:00 the cold and rain was starting to get to the hunters when Billings' father spied another bird making its way towards their three decoys.

"When I saw him I said 'Dad, he's got a third leg,'" said Billings who at first glance mistook the giant beard for an extra leg. "Then I said 'Dad! That's his beard,'" he said.

The patient hunters stopped calling and let the bird work in close. "I am left handed and couldn't get the angle for the shot," said Billings.

At about 20 yards, the tom came across a woodchuck in the field and fanned out and started strutting around the quadruped. The patient hunters continued to sit still, waiting for the perfect shot.

"I shot him at about 10-yards," Billings said.

After a few quick pictures were snapped with a cell-phone camera, the bird was reported at Messier's General Store in East Randolph. The beard was officially measured at 16 inches. "I measured it three times," said the weigh master at Messier's, who added she had another man come over and verify her measurement.

A Tough Ride Home

After a bit of celebration, the turkey was put in the back of the families pick-up truck for the hour-long drive home to South Burlington. During the trip, tragedy struck. According to Billings, something rubbed against the fragile beard, shortening its length by a few inches.

This is not as unique a situation as it might appear.

Last year Cody May shot what is now the new world record longbeard in Texas. After reporting his bird, that beard was also damaged in transport. After reviewing sworn affidavits by the reporting station attendant, and examining photographic evidence, the NWTF recognized May's tom as the new world record.

"That beard was awful brittle, "said May shortly after the incident. "If we had known it was a world record, we wouldn't have thrown it in the back of the pick-up and driven down the road at 70 miles per hour," he said.

Perhaps the biggest difference between May's situation and the one with the Billings bird is that May had several high resolution photos taken of his bird shortly after it was harvested. Unfortunately, the few photos Billings took only offer marginal detail.

Karen Cavender, who is in charge of records for the National Wild Turkey Federation was optimistic. "If it was a person of authority who was used to measuring beards on a regular basis, and if they sign an affidavit, I see no reason why it shouldn't be recognized," she said.

It should be noted that often with extremely large beards, they are very brittle. Frequently it is only a few hairs that survive for long at an exceptional length. The majority usually get worn down by natural wear and tear, including getting dragged on the ground.

Potential Record Turkey Shot In Vermont

A Tom For Samantha

Every now and then you get to hear a hunting story that just makes you feel proud to be a hunter and associated with people who care about the future of the sport. Samantha Bernard's youth turkey hunt on April 27th is just such an example. Having just passed her hunters safety course a week earlier at the Putney Gun Club, the 15-year-old from Jacksonville, Vermont quickly made her instructors proud. In her own words:

"I had to get up on my knees and aim at the turkey's head which was behind a fallen tree. When it moved and I saw its head and beard…BOOM…I shot at it. I was about 30 yards away from it. We all went charging down the hill [after taking care of my gun] and there was my turkey. I was so EXCITED. That was the greatest feeling in my life. It was my first turkey and it was a nice one. It was a two-year-old mature bird, 18 pounds, the beard was about 7½  inches. We had to walk all the way back to the truck, I remember that it was a far walk, but I didn’t care. It was all worth it!"

While we are exceptionally proud of Samantha, there is another part of the story. Samantha's mother, Tanya Bernard, adds "Mike Kolsun and Molly Cook [Sam's hunting education instructors] have been so wonderful! Their passion and love of the outdoors and hunting have taught Samantha more than just the 'hunting' aspect. The course we took in Putney featured 'hands on' lessons that will stay with her forever. The other instructors saw how Sam wanted to learn and were bending over backwards to accommodate her in any way. What wonderful people."

Way to go Samantha and way to go hunter education instructors! Look for Sam's complete story in a future issue of Outdoors Magazine.

Little Brother Makes Good

Chaise "Dead Eye" Labrie was also a turkey hunting rookie, having just passed his own hunters safety test a little more than two weeks ago. Inexperience didn't prevent him from harvesting a magnificent tom on only his second time ever hunting and he handled the adventure like a seasoned professional.

His 19-pound swinger had an 8 ½- inch beard and ¾-inch spurs. "Dead Eye" made an exceptional shot at 30 yards with his 20 gauge single-shot.

"After the bird was down all you could see was teeth and ears from a very happy little boy," said Chaise's father, David Labrie, of Bennington.

Chaise's older brother, Cody, missed an exceptional bird just minutes before while hunting with their very good family friend, Jeff Estes. Rumor has it Cody is counting the seconds until this weekend when he can hunt again and redeem himself.