Top 5 Scoring Rio Grande Gobblers

Turkey Blog with Steve Hickoff

Top 5 Scoring Rio Grande Gobblers

Posted 2019-02-22T08:31:00Z

Best Registration Statistics for "Typical" Rio Grande Turkeys

To many of us, Rio Grande turkey hunting means Texas, Oklahoma and that part of the country.

You'll also find them roosting above the lush California vineyards north of Los Angeles and even across the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii. And many other states west of the Mississippi River.

Top 5 Scoring Rio Grande Gobblers (© Russell Graves photo)

Check out the top five Rio Grande gobblers registered by hunters in our click-through gallery.

Go here to register your bird with the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Image Title: 
Fifth Best
Image: 
Fifth Best
Image Story: 

Bernard E. Klimaszewski, a Texan, killed this "typical" Rio Grande in his home state on April 12, 1984.

The beard tapped out at 10.8750 inches. Spurs ranged from 1.7500 inches to 1.5000 inches. The weight came in at 28.7500 pounds.

Total score: 83.0000.

That is one heavy Rio, lured in with a box call. Click the arrow to the right of the stick number to see the next best registered Rio.

Image Title: 
Fourth Best
Image: 
Fourth Best
Image Story: 

The date, April 6, 1996. Mississippian Michael Dowell tagged this fourth-best Rio while visiting Texas.

A box call also pulled this turkey into range. One spur taped to 2.0000 inches. The other measured 1.8750 inches. Weighing 20.7500 pounds, the beard was over a foot at 12.2500 inches.

The total score: 84.0000.

Image Title: 
Number Three
Image: 
Number Three
Image Story: 

This West Coast entry was taken back on April 15, 2002, in Oregon.

Jacob Braught's Rio scored 84.3750 and weighed a massive 37.1250 pounds.

Yes, a box call pulled this one in too, as with the previous two birds listed here.

Spurs: 1.1875 inches and 1.0625 inches. Even the beard was over a foot at 12.3750 inches.

Sheesh.

Image Title: 
Second Best
Image: 
Second Best
Image Story: 

Some say "second best" doesn't merit attention, but this gobbler surely does.

Both spurs taped out at over 2 inches: 2.2500 and 2.000 respectively.

The beard meaured an even 10 inches. The weight tipped the scale at 23.5000 pounds.

Thomas McCorkendale, from Missouri, took this bird on April 17, 2015, over in Kansas.

A mouth diaphragm did the trick. Score: 86.0000.

Image Title: 
Numero Uno
Image: 
Numero Uno
Image Story: 

So how are your best Rio statistics ranking compared to these?

I know, some of you don't register turkeys, and that's cool, too.

Ben Duncan did though. Visiting Texas from his home in Florida, he killed this top registered "typical" Rio on April 14, 2002, using both a slate call and mouth diaphragm.

Each spur measured 2.0000 inches. The beard went 12.0000 inches. The weight, 24 pounds even.

Score: 88.0000.

(Stick numbers by Bill Konway.)

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