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Your Longest Tail Feather

hardwaterfishing

By hardwaterfishing
in MN Pheasant Hunting-Grouse-Dove-Partridge

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hardwaterfishing Community Regular

hardwaterfishing

Posted
Posted

Just wondering what everyone’s longest tail feather is. Mine so far is 22.5. Usually I just get the ones in the teens. My aunt got one a week after opener that was 28 inches. It was a huge, its going on the wall now.

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fishin58 Mentor

fishin58

Posted
Posted

Just measured a 26 and a couple 25"s on my desk at work, i pluck the longest off each bird, to put in a big cup for memories of HAPPIER TIMES wink.gif

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Shoot2Kill Rising Star

Shoot2Kill

Posted
Posted

Got one 100 yards from my house last weekend with 27 inch tail feathers and 1/2 inch spurs...he by far had the biggest spurs of any rooster I've ever seen - and SHARP too! He sure didn't act like an old smart bird though...

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Scott M Grand Master

Scott M

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24". That was a big-bodied bird. Don't get out much and haven't shot a bird in two seasons now. Might be able to change that in a few weeks.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest Kyle

Guest Kyle

Posted
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I just shot a rooster tonight that has a 21 inch tail feather. Ive never seen one or shot on this big before. Not only that, but all of the colors are in peak state, and there isnt a ruffled shot up feather on the bird. Im probably going to mount him. I know people on here have said they have longer tail feathers but I just think he's too pretty and perfect to eat. What do you all think?

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SDbowhunter Collaborator

SDbowhunter

Posted
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I'd mount him, Im still waiting to shoot a bird to mount. It needs to have 30+" tail feathers or be the one of the prettiest bird I have ever shot, regardless of feather or spur length. As long as the dog doesn't shred him before he brings them back. I get into alot of birds so I need to set some goals before I drop money on a mount. I wish i could have mounted the first pheasant I ever shot. It entire head was purple but I blew it to pieces and could barly eat much of it let alone mount it. I think the longest I have ever shot is around 25". One of my co-workers claims to have a 48" mounted. I have yet to see it but some other people I know say it's true.

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Guest Kyle

Guest Kyle

Posted
Posted

I took it in to get a quote today. The taxidermist measured it for me. It measure 23" not 21. I didnt measure from far enough back I guess. Crazy though. I dont know if I believe there is any bird that would have a 48" tail feather. thats 4 feet long! Unless he bought it from a breeder, I really am not convinced something like that could even grow that large in the wild. Anyway, Im deciding on where to take it. I thought the guy I just brought it too was too steep.

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CodyDawg Mentor

CodyDawg

Posted
Posted

Pure and simple, a 48" tail feather does not exist. In fact, I dont believe anything over 25" without a ruler next to it. I have been apart of well over 1,000 birds and the biggest was just over 25". Those are SD, ND, MN, MT, and IA birds. And we hunt a lot of late season birds as well. The biggest I have ever seen was last year's at Cabelas in Mitchell. It was leading the longest tail feather contest in late December and it was just shy of 27".

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gonefishin11 Rising Star

gonefishin11

Posted
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When I had mine done last year I called about 8 taxidermists. The average cost was $200. I actually went and looked at the work of 6 of those taxidermists and selected one weighing both cost and quality, with an emphasis on quality.

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SDbowhunter Collaborator

SDbowhunter

Posted
Posted

Yeah I wouldnt believe that a 48" exists but this is what I have been told I really dont know what to think about it. I'll have to investigate it a little more. A 30" Tail feather won our longest tail feather contest last year at work so I have to beleive they exist to that length. The next closest was 26".

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gspman Veteran

gspman

Posted
Posted

Quote:

One of my co-workers claims to have a 48" mounted.

If it was a Lady Amherst pheasant I might be able to believe that but not for a Ringneck. I'm even highly skeptical of 30" tailfeathers on a Ringneck.

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sdstatekid Enthusiast

sdstatekid

Posted
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The longest I have ever shot was just under 26 inches. I took a picture of one that had to be around 30 a couple years ago. There was a picture in pheasants forever a couple years ago of a guy holding one shot in iowa, i think they said it was 36. He said nobody had hunted that spot in 5 years.

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bigbucks Grand Master

bigbucks

Posted
Posted

I shot a huge bird 15+ years ago & now my memory's failing me a bit, but I'm pretty sure it was 27". Maybe I'm hallucinating & it was 24"... That thing just dwarfed the other roosters it was with, big gut on it. I should have mounted it, but I never even gave it a thought. I don't hunt pheasants very much. Shot it on Thanksgiving Day when we went out for a stroll near my folks place after stuffing ourselves. I do have a picture of it somewhere, I should scan it & put it up.

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icechipper Contributor

icechipper

Posted
Posted

Most birds we shoot are 21" - 24", most are right in the middle but usually get 2 or 3 at 24 each year, this is pulling the feather and measuring it. The ones with 24" usually are very pretty birds with lots of color.

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SDbowhunter Collaborator

SDbowhunter

Posted
Posted

I made a mistake about the 48" bird i was talking about. According to my co-worker its tail feather is 42.25. He brought it to the GFP and then the Zoo according to the experts, it is a apparently a ringneck but has some funny colorations and probably some sort of genetic mutation. He said he will take some pictures and put something next to the pictures to show it's size.

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