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Gould’s turkeys are the heavyweight contenders among the five turkey subspecies. Males weigh an average of 20-25 pounds, while hens come in between 8-12 pounds. They also boast the title of having the largest feet, longest legs and longest central tail feathers.

Although Gould’s physical size, beauty and tail will impress, their spurs and beards often come up short in the length department. An average tom’s beard will measure 8½ inches, and his spurs will probably be less than a half-inch. Gould’s tend to rub both their spurs and beard down in the steep rocky terrain. It’s not uncommon to come across an old tom with nothing but small nubs.

Their overall blue-green iridescence is noteworthy, but it’s their white-tipped tail fan and tail coverts that steal the show. Picture Merriam’s, but cranked up a couple of notches in the white department. Their gobble is distinctly lower in pitch, and some hunters claim they can feel their gobble as much as they hear it. Gobbling activity usually peaks in late April and commonly continues into early June. While their gobble is distinctly lower, their putts are higher pitched than any other subspecies.

Range

The Gould’s subspecies (Meleagris gallopavo mexicana) is hunted in two states (with appropriate, difficult-to-acquire tags) and in Mexico. In 1856, John Gould, an English ornithologist, collected the first recorded Gould’s turkey specimen in Mexico. 

CHARACTERISTICS

• Long legs similar to the Osceola
• Snow-white tips on tail feathers and upper tail coverts
• Wings are moderate in coloration
• Adult males weigh 18 to 30 pounds (Heaviest recorded in NWTF Wild Turkey Records: 29.375 pounds)
• Adult females weigh 12 to 14 pounds
• Moderate gobbles
• Moderate beard lengths
• Shortest spurs of all subspecies