Last month Karen and her husband David Fachini of Pownal, VT went turkey hunting on Mt. Greylock in Massachusetts. The spring season was winding down and they decided to hunt there, a place they enjoy. They were familiar with the good hunting areas on that mountain having grown up nearby in MA.
While calling, David got a response from two jakes (immature tom turkeys). He asked Karen if she wanted him to call the jakes in and she said yes. She already got a longbeard (adult) tom this season so why not a jake, too. She got ready and waited with her gun in hand and he started calling one in. 
It took about an hour to get one close enough for a shot. When the jake approached within 30 yards, she fired and dropped it. She ran to the turkey and turned it over to see how long the beard was. To her surprise, it had several beards with the main one being about 6 inches long and the others got progressively smaller. It turned out that there were 7 beards on it. Not only that, but the bird had double spurs on one leg, also unusual for a jake. When she got home, she called the DFW in Dalton and told them about the beards, they said they had heard of multiple bearded turkeys in MA but only with two beards, three at the most. They suggested she contact a biologist from their DFW headquarters in Westborough. When she did, they requested that she pluck the feathers around the beards to clearly show all the beards and send them the pictures.
I asked MassWildlife Turkey Biologist David Scarpiti for some comments. He said that a turkey with 7 beards is going to be rare anywhere, including Massachusetts. He said that MassWildlife doesn’t really track that kind of information on harvested turkeys, but every year they get a couple of calls asking about what the longest beard, or longest spurs, or this many beards. His guess is that it’s probable that someone has harvested a turkey like that before in Massachusetts but he just couldn’t 100% verify that. So, certainly rare indeed. They more normally (hear of) several birds every year with 2 or 3 beards. It was last year or the year before that someone sent him a picture of a bird with double spurs. A quick scan of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) record books show a few multiple bearded birds from Massachusetts, but these are just the handful of birds that are officially scored and registered with NWTF, which David guesses is maybe only a few compared to the roughly 3000 birds harvested in Massachusetts every year.
Incidentally, I believe the world record number of beards on a turkey is 13, at least that is what stands in the record books of the NWTF. It was taken in Pennsylvania in 2018 by 11-year old Tyler Mumpower.
I asked Karen if they were sure that it was a jake and not an adult tom and she said that based on certain characteristics, it was a jake. It unofficially weighed 14 lbs 8 oz. (On average jakes weigh 12 to 14 lbs)
She shot the bird with a 20-gauge shotgun. (I guess that I am not with the times, for I thought you needed a 12-gauge shotgun with special turkey loads). Heck no, in fact her daughter Mandy Fachini Southworth gets turkeys with a .410 bore TSS (Tungston Super Shot) loads. She uses the .410 not necessarily by choice but rather to abide by her doctors’ orders. You see Mandy had chemo and radiation treatment for her stage 3 breast cancer a while back and her doctor thought that perhaps her shoulder couldn’t handle anything more powerful. It’s easier to bring to bear on target and hold steady once there and it doesn’t kick as much as the larger gauge guns. Fortunately for Mandy, TSS, made by Federal, extends the range of turkey guns beyond the reach of lead and you can kill a bird over 50 yards away with a .410 now. The new wad designs, pellet materials and cleaner burning powders have changed things dramatically. In fact, TSS is slowly becoming the gold standard as tungsten is nearly twice as dense as lead and five times harder than steel. The problem is the cost, they are not giving away this ammo.
Incidentally, outdoor sports writer David Willette wrote two articles about Mandy in the Northwoods Sporting Journal -one in the July 2020 issue entitled One Tough Turkey Hunter and another in January, 2021 entitled Cancer Can’t Stop Her. I highly recommend you read them if you want to find out what determination is all about. Mandy is an inspiration to us all.
The Fachini family loves turkey hunting. They come from a long line of hunters and trappers. Every member of the Fachini family was successful in harvesting turkeys this season. Each year they hunt turkeys in MA, VT and sometimes in NY. They run a little family turkey pool each year with winners for the longest beards and the heaviest bird categories. Karen won the pool this year with the total beard length coming in at 17 5/6 inches. David won the weight category with a bird weighing in at 23 lbs.
Invasive Bushes
Hey turkey hunters, in the future don’t set up your turkey blinds near barberry bushes! Scientists have found the invasive plant to be a prime environment for deer ticks. They found higher densities of deer ticks carrying Lyme disease in barberry infestations than in other habitats. Property with barberry has seven times the tick population? That is information relayed to us from the Westfield River Wild and Scenic River volunteers. They invite you to come to their workdays and they will tell you why. They will be working in various areas in the watershed to remove that “Barberry Beast”. Contact Meredyth Babcock, Volunteer and Projects coordinator, Wild & Scenic Westfield River Committee at http://www.westfieldriverwildscenic.org/ or Westfieldriver@gmail.com or Home /office 413 623-2070 or cell 413 207-4282.
Incidentally, the Wild & Scenic Westfield River Committee’s latest wild and scenic video features John Burns, local well-known botanist (and superb flyfisherman). Entitled “Walkin the Watershed with Burnsie, Early detection of Glossy Buckthorn, Autumn Olive and Honeysuckle”. Click onto YouTube: how to recognize invasive Glossy Buckthorn, Autumn Olive and Honeysuckle and why it matters.
Trout Stockings
According to the MassWildlife web page Stocking Report, Laurel Lake in Lee/Lenox was stocked with rainbow trout last Tuesday. Be sure to check its stocking report to see if there were other stockings.
Fishing Derby
The Berkshire Hatchery Foundation in Hartsville-New Marlborough is scheduled to have a youth fishing derby next Saturday, June 12 from 9:00 to 10:30 am at its Lower Pond at the Berkshire National Fish Hatchery, 240 Hatchery Road, Hartsville, MA. Children aged 13 and under must be accompanied by an adult. These fishing derbies will run once a month through September. The following of State guidelines regarding social distancing, face masks etc., is required.