Record-setting turkey to be displayed at Plant City wildlife banquet- Tampa Tribune

DAVE NICHOLSON | The Tampa Tribune

PLANT CITY – Jared Howe knew he’d bagged a big one when he shot a wild turkey last year in southwest Georgia.

But after some phone calls, he learned that the 21-pound bird was one for the record books.

Howe, a firefighter who lives in Dover, bagged a turkey that ranked sixth in Georgia history and 66th in the world under a scoring system set up by the National Wild Turkey Federation. The two-inch hook on the bird was the fourth-largest ever recorded worldwide.

Howe, 22, had his record-setting turkey mounted by a taxidermist. On Friday, he’ll show it off at a banquet sponsored by a chapter of the wild turkey federation.

Howe said he’s killed nine turkeys in his life, all but one in either Georgia or Alabama. The turkey he bagged with his 12 gauge Remington shotgun in Clay County, Ga. was by far his biggest.

This will be the first time that Howe has displayed the turkey in a public setting. The 11th annual wildlife banquet sponsored by the East Hillsboro Limbhangers is at 6 p.m. at the John R. Trinkle Community Center on Hillsborough Community College’s Plant City campus, 1206 N. Park Road.

Chapter President Ron Gainey describes the banquet as a family oriented event featuring fellowship and a good meal. Tickets start at $60 and the chapter is also seeking sponsors. He’s hoping Howe’s turkey will generate more interest in the chapter’s annual event.

Last year’s banquet generated $24,644 for the national federation, an organization dedicated to conservation of the American wild turkey habitat and support for the sport of turkey hunting.

For information or tickets, call Gainey at (813) 752-4155; Carney Walden at Southside Farm Supply, (813) 752-2379; Russell or Gus Bailey at Bailey’s Outdoor Products, (813) 764-9798; or Jonathan Swindle at Arrowhead Archery, (813) 621-4279.

For those turkey-hunting enthusiasts out there, here’s some of the more technical information about Howe’s bird and his spring hunt: He killed the turkey in mid-morning March 23, 2009 after it “came gobbling’ toward his mouth-operated call in land near the Alabama line owned by friends. He dispatched it at a distance of about 15 yards.

It had nine beards that measured a combined total of 43 inches, the longest of which was 9 inches.

Howe said his turkey hunting friends have been “pretty impressed.”

via Record-setting turkey to be displayed at Plant City wildlife banquet.