Contributors to this thread:
Anyone care to show a pic of how you display beards, if multiple, and not necessarily displayed with fans. Thanks
Turks and Bears! It must be Spring:)
Beards & spurs strung together and hanging on a wooden curtain rod.
Nice display ghost bird.
Looks like you share my passion for turkey hunting.
Thanks, that's about half of them. Been a little lax at getting the more recent ones strung up the last few years.
Thanks. Ghost bird, hard to zoom in, but is the string attached to skin, or just ran thru the hairs?
I cut the beard off leaving a small amount of skin to wrap a thin piece of leather around. Flesh it out good and cover it with salt and/or borax to dry. Take a thin piece of leather, soak it in water, and tightly wrap it around the skin. When it dries it will shrink and hold tight. I also write the date and a reminder of the place of the kill on the spur leg bones with a Sharpie.
Forgot to mention, I make a small loop of leather to hang the beard from and capture it under the wrap.
I've had a few PMs asking for close ups of my method, so one more photo. If anyone has more questions, just ask here or send PM.
Multiple beards are a little more tricky.
That's the nicest display I've ever seen. Makes me wish I would have been a little more diligent about keeping beards and spurs. Seems like they always laid around in the garage until they'd end up in the garbage. Not all of them though. I have kept some fans and have a flying mount and a strut mount.
Another thing worth mentioning is the thinner the width of the leather strip is for the wrap portion the better. With a thin piece you can get more wraps. You can split a leather lace with a razor blade or exacto if you can't find thin leather lacing.
Thanks Ghostbird for the close ups and descriptions.
Neat...most of mine are displayed in about four different gallon ziplock bags in the freezer. Someday...
Neat...most of mine are displayed in about four different gallon ziplock bags in the freezer. Someday...
Chris...how do you display yours?
You take all things turkey hunting pretty seriously, I'd like to see..., please.
Ghost, very impressive board....wow! Mine is similar but made out of water oak limbs
I dry them out with borax and throw them in this "box" thingy ma-jigger. My thirst for killing turkeys fell off the map about ten years ago when our SE Oklahoma population went into major decline.
This is about half of the ones that aren't with traditional fan displays or didn't get torn up by the cats or a few that's in the freezer.
Ghostbird, that's a lot of turkey killing, man!
Michael, I had three similar type boards as Jaspers about 4 feet in length and then moved a couple years ago with plans to change and lengthen the holder for the beards. Still haven't finished yet. Soon hopefully.
Starter project. More holes to fill
One of a kind, hand carved, signed, dated, Indian face mount ...only available from one taxidermist in the country...he calls it "Chief Thunder Chicken".
Extra beards and spurs can be attached at no extra charge...even a second tail across the bottom.
Nice displays guys. Love the indian display.
A few in my room downstairs that are not on fans. I wish I would of done the Spurs like Ghostbird, that's a great idea.
Great ideas guys. I should have got on here sooner. Mine are hanging on pegs, tied with a heavy thread & the spurs threaded through. Never thought to write the date on them. I like the rod or pole idea as it sure makes a mess when the Grandkids knock them down. What did you do to get the bone behind the spurs White? Mine still have the leg skin on. This is my first post on here so I will figure out how to post a pic.
albino,
Just boil the spurs for an hour or two. The skin and tendons will fall off like a good roast.
The sheath around the spur itself might fall off too. Just slide it back on while everything is still wet. It will be firmly in place when dry.
Thanks for the info. I will see if I can get a pic on here. I'm behind on getting my beards done also.