# Longest tail feather 2006



## njsimonson

Similar to my largemouth threads...

What is the length of the longest tail feather from a rooster pheasant you have taken this year? Me, so far it's 22"


----------



## Horsager

22" is a good tail this early in the season. Last weekend 7 of us got 42 birds between sat/sun and I don't think there were any longer than 18", didn't measure any of them because none of them seemed worthy of a measurement.


----------



## Turner

Was 21 1/4 so far.


----------



## qwakwhaker883

21 1/2, only one worth measuring so far. Was also my first rooster ever.


----------



## Dak

21


----------



## chop_05

22 1/2 actually shot 2 that size


----------



## jbrotz

Got two "keepers" after work last night.

One was 24 1/4
The other 24 3/4

Thought that was pretty decent for this time of year.


----------



## spoiler92

21 inches on my first bird of the year.

Spoiler92


----------



## kevin.k

on the opener i got a 23 1/2 :beer: :beer:


----------



## andyb

shot one yesterday that measured 24


----------



## bighunter

got one last week with a buddy just over 22 inches.good bird


----------



## R y a n

I'd like to see pics of any that everyone is saying are over 22"

Especially the one coming near 25"...

Pics anyone? The proof is in the pic! (Even better if the feather is next to a ruler!)

Cheers

Ryan


----------



## Burly1

Ryan, I guess that's why I really hated to see this old thing get resurrected again. Remember the kid that wouldn't shoot 'em unless they were twenty-five or better? Two years ago I think it was. I too would like to see some pics, with the intact tails next to a yardstick. I haven't shot many long tails in my hunting career, but I can really appreciate seeing them! Good hunting, Burl


----------



## Gettinbirdy

I'm pretty new to pheasant hunting and it sounds like in most of the tail feather length threads that some are perhaps measuring their tails incorrectly?? What is the correct and official way to measure a pheasant's tail. Do you measure the entire feather length from quill to tip?


----------



## Rick Acker

23 inches Ryan...And only my wife can see it! :lol:


----------



## R y a n

Rick Acker said:


> 23 inches Ryan...And only my wife can see it! :lol:


 :lol: Did you make sure when mounting it to have it stick out all nice and prominent?


----------



## njsimonson

The ones I'm measuring I go the whole length, quill to tip.

You should see my 31" smallmouth!!


----------



## 94NDTA

Why are there no pictures?

Mine so far is 19.5. I would post a picture, but then again, I'm not claiming anything like 24 or 25.


----------



## DJRooster

I see your ----.....and I raise you 1/4 inch!


----------



## 94NDTA

DJRooster said:


> I see your ----.....and I raise you 1/4 inch!


That seems to be the name of the game in this thread.


----------



## Chuck Smith

Funny story that goes with this......last year a guy was bragging about shooting some roosters with 30" tail feathers. Well a friend of mine is a taxidermist and I was over showing him some of the roosters I caped and was sticking on wreths (I needed a little more borax) anyway...I was telling him about these 30" roosters. He showed me the two the guy brought in....they were nice roosters and had good tail feathers. But one measured 24" and the other was 25".

Good luck guys and shoot straigh!

Chuck


----------



## Fallguy

Yes, that is something I have been confused over too. What is the correct way to measure a feather? Do you pull the feather out and measure quill to tip, or is it something you measure while the feather is in the bird. Anyone know?


----------



## DJRooster

Looks like some go from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail!!


----------



## Rick Acker

23-25 inch is about the norm for bigger tails from my clients!


----------



## tclark4140

i have done my scouting this morning for th epost that tells me how to post a picture, cant find it. anyone want to give this iowan a hint how i post my tailfeather? thanks


----------



## parker_lipetzky

on opening weeked I was pronghorn hunting in bowman and thought I would walk a little cattail slough and shot one with a 24 inch tail.


----------



## R y a n

tclark4140 said:


> i have done my scouting this morning for th epost that tells me how to post a picture, cant find it. anyone want to give this iowan a hint how i post my tailfeather? thanks


http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=1

There are several in the Forum Issues forum here...

Let me know if you can't get it to work!

Cheers

Ryan


----------



## kevin.k

Im donig a back mount on the 23, from the white ring aroudn his neck all the way down his back to the end of the tail feather, when its down ill post a pic :beer:


----------



## woodcanoeguy

I got one north of Bowman with a 23 5/8 inch tail.


----------



## ndhonkerhunter

Got one last weekend that was 24". 1st shot at a pheasant of the year!!


----------



## Dak

Our new pup got her first "solo" rooster of the year the other day. A 24 inch tail on the bird. Don't know that she will get that amny more. She has hip and knee problems but sure did well on this old bird.


----------



## Shu

Pics anyone?


----------



## swany25

I shot the bigest rooster of my life last night, over 22in tail feathers. I know its not as big as some of the previous posts, but I was excited!

I went for a quick 45 min walk after work. The wife came along for the walk. We were in the swamp for about 3 min, dog got birdy and a rooster jumped about 8 yards away and saw me and back down he went. Dog flushed him again and I smoked it at about 10 yards away. My wife was right behind me and when the bird hit the ground, she yelled "COOL!" It was pretty neat to have her along and be that close.

Dog brought it back and the wing was destroyed and the head had some damage. If it would have been in better shape I might have had it stuffed.


----------



## 94NDTA

Here we go. Legitamite 22"er....With a picture! This is my biggest ever.

Allright guys, put up or shut up, post some pics!










Next to a 65 lb English Setter, bad angle on the bird, but you get an idea on the size.










Investigating the kill!!


----------



## Coach529

This is my largest from last year, measures 23 1/2". Sorry for the crappy pics....I am too lazy to run out to the garage and take them again!!





Image Gallery with PicTiger


----------



## kevin.k

heres the mount i was talking about early^^ in the topic the tail feather is a lil over 23 i messed u around the neck on the mount...o well it was the 1st one on a phes.


----------



## Hardcore Waterfowl

I got one with a 22 1/2 inch tail feather yesterday he also had 1/2 inch spurs


----------



## swany25

Here are some photos of my bird desribed above.


----------



## Bigdog

Got out last weekend and the first ND bird had a 23" tail and 3/4" spurs, sorry, no pics. He held tight and the dogs missed him, tried to quietly fly out behind me. Rest of the birds were around 20" and one was only about 13" and barely feathered out.


----------



## cranebuster

I've shot a lot of pheasants over the years and have only seen a few that go over 23.5". I think they get pecked off and freeze off before the get much longer than that, kind of like a turkey beard, as soon as the get so long they freeze off or get pecked off. The best judge of a big pheasant or turkey is the spurs.


----------



## roostman

went out today and shot one with a 23 5/8" tail, I'm pretty sure this is my best ever in over 25 years of hunting.


----------



## greatwhitehunter3

21 1/2in


----------



## gjw

Hi all, so far my biggest is only 38" I've shot about 10 birds so far with feathers going 26", a few I've got are only 22''

Good Luck!!

Greg


----------



## roostman

gjw said:


> Hi all, so far my biggest is only 38" I've shot about 10 birds so far with feathers going 26", a few I've got are only 22''
> 
> Good Luck!!
> 
> Greg


are you talking Pheasants or Peacocks? 38" yea right!


----------



## DonC

From another site..........

j Rooster

Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Gods Country
Posts: 91
We shot one 22" and a 23 1/2" this weekend near Watertown. Those are the best we have seen since last year.
We got a 28 1/2" last year and lost the "Longest tailfeather" contest by 6 1/2"


----------



## Skeptic

They used to have a contest here in the thumb for the number of bars on the tail feather. Most we ever heard of was 34. We saved a couple 36 bar birds from our trip to ND. Longest measured 22-1/4".


----------



## g/o

Got one today 25 + I'm going to give it to Rick Aker this weekend to mount I'll let him verify


----------



## DJRooster

I shot one that was 24 1/2" last night. Probably the longest I have shot for some time.


----------



## Bagman

Please...dont even BOTHER with talk of tails 24+ without a PHOTO. In this day and age you cant tell us you or a friend/family member dont have access to a digital camera. Also if youre taking a bird for mounting how can you claim to know the EXACT length of the tail? My experience is that the amount of quill and feather that ISNT exposed on any given bird VARIES by an inch or more. Post a photo or youre just BLOWIN SMOKE.


----------



## Hollywood

The longest tailfeather on this one was a tad over 25". Best of the 126 roosters our group of 14 took on our 3 day hunt last week. You guys have some AMAZING pheasant hunting!!!

(I measured from where the feathers started on the quill- obviously would've been longer to the end of the quill)


----------



## farmerj

How about 21 1/2" and 5/8" spurs.










First bird I have gotten in some years. one of three we got today.

First bird on a new shotgun, first bird using my handloads as well.


----------



## Burly1

Great birds, Farmerj! I think those long spurs really tell the story of a tough OLD bird. Congratulations and continued good hunting. Burl


----------



## farmerj

Burly1 said:


> Great birds, Farmerj! I think those long spurs really tell the story of a tough OLD bird. Congratulations and continued good hunting. Burl


We figure it was a 3 year old. The area we were in we hit hard last year for coyote. It looks like it is paying off too. So far we have spotted at least 20 roosters in the neighborhood. Most of it is closely control access too.


----------



## Invector

To date my longest has been 22 3/4" long. This year 21 1/2" has been my longest. Though this weeekend out deer hunting I seen some really nice birds. :beer:


----------



## Reflex

My longest has only been 16-18"  At least I am being honest. Maybe I will get a decent one this year. I won't play the "bigger than yours game". I will post pics if I get one worth talking about.


----------



## smallmunster

Over the years we have gotten several between 23" to 24", maybe 2 over 25" and just this past Sunday I shot one that was 26.5". My good digital bit the dust on Saturday so these are bad pics from my old digital video camera, but when my new camera gets here I can post better ones if needed.


----------



## farmerj

smallmunster said:


> Over the years we have gotten several between 23" to 24", maybe 2 over 25" and just this past Sunday I shot one that was 26.5". My good digital bit the dust on Saturday so these are bad pics from my old digital video camera, but when my new camera gets here I can post better ones if needed.


I call fowl....

Let's see the other end. Seems to me you got it set at the 1" mark to start. That would only make it 25 1/2".


----------



## R y a n

smallmunster said:


> Over the years we have gotten several between 23" to 24", maybe 2 over 25" and just this past Sunday I shot one that was 26.5". My good digital bit the dust on Saturday so these are bad pics from my old digital video camera, but when my new camera gets here I can post better ones if needed.


I give you props though... this is a damn nice LONG tail feather! Can we get better pics when you get a chance! It's just darn exciting to finally see something that is a legit 24+

Everyone else claiming to have over 24+ please post a pic of it lying next to a tape measure like this. Make sure we can see the whole feather in one pic and see the ruler.

Thanks a ton!

Ryan


----------



## smallmunster

If I can get together with Fedex to sign for my replacement camera I will post clear pics in a day or two. I understand the reluctance to accept this quality of pics, but I will assure it is 26.5", the shorter one on this bird was just a little over 26". The duct tape label on the end of the feather is slightly over 1" from the end. The only reason I found this thread is I was looking for the longest tail feathers out there on google when I shot this one. I would have mounted it but I have two ducks coming and some feathers were out of the neck. Later,

Chris


----------



## Bagman

Nice tail! Still no 'locals' posting long tails though. Iowa doesnt exactly count as NODAK OUTDOORS.


----------



## smallmunster

I know that these are just from Iowa, but I figured you long tail feather aficionados would enjoy them.  The new camera arrived so these should be better.

This is the 26.5" feather I got last weekend:










This one is from the same bird:










One from last year, over 25.5" when straight:










One from years ago that I had saved:


----------



## farmerj

Nice ones there.....

For sure..... :beer: :beer: :beer:


----------



## 94NDTA

I got a 23 1/2 this weekend! Pics to fallow shortly! I'm pumped!


----------



## ringneckhnter

Got one a couple weeks ago that was 23" and that's just exposed feather outside the bird, 'cause I'm having it stuffed. Biggest one I've ever got. I think anything over 25" is pretty unheard of, very rare. I also don't think the quill should be included in the measurement, the "tail-feather" is what is outside the bird not what is inside.


----------



## Coyote Kid

My first hunt this year i got a 27 1/2 inch, gigantic, we didnt eat it cause it was so hard


----------



## DJRooster

Coyote, a whopper like that should have been released if you were not going to eat it!


----------



## Bagman

Coyote Kid said:


> My first hunt this year i got a 27 1/2 inch, gigantic, we didnt eat it cause it was so hard


 Im throwing the :bs: flag!!


----------



## deacon

I have never measured a tail, but today I missed a bird with the longest tail so far I have seen this year. :eyeroll:

Must have been the long tail that I shot behind the bird.


----------



## huntinfreak

I shot two 22 inchers this year. Both of which came of my own farm, right out my backdoor. :jammin:


----------



## racer66

I have only shot one bird that went to 25" in 26 years of shootin em, lots of 23's and a couple of 24's.


----------



## racer66

How do I insert an image.


----------



## pointblankshot

Great pics guys! I got a 24 1/4'' one in south central ND last weekend. There were tons of birds out there! How do you post those wide narrow scrolling pictures?


----------



## Chris Benson

Of the two I shot I had one that was 20" Don't know if this is really that big.


----------



## HUNTNFISHND

Found this on the web:

"In one column from the 1960s, Jack Ehresman ran a picture of a rooster pheasant with a 40 1/4-inch tail that was shot in 1962 by the late Clarence Schuck of Washington. At the time, that was the all-time longest entered in an annual contest held by Keenan's Sporting Goods of Peoria. The feathers on the bird look positively unreal."

Pretty hard to believe, must have been crossed with a peacock! LOL!


----------



## Fallguy

Got this rooster the other day. 21" tail feather. It was a really heavy bodied bird.

[siteimg]6134[/siteimg]


----------



## kevin.k

I got a 21.00 even the other day...no pictures though i guess ull just have to take my word :wink:


----------



## DJRooster

Of the 150 roosters we got this year we had the one with a 24.5 inch tail and two that were around 23 and the rest were less. Those long tails are a rare breed!!


----------



## UGUIDE

We got a 24.5 and a 26.25. I heard of a guy getting a 32" and thought he was lying until I found out a 33" won contest at Sportsman's.


----------



## always_outdoors

> Im throwing the bs flag!!


I am with you bagman.

I have one bird on my wall. It has a 25.25" tail feather. I shot it in 1994. I have been hunting pheasants just over 21 years now. I have shot as low as 33 in a year and as many as 125 in a year and only one.....only one has been over 24" and that is the one on my wall.

It is almost hilarious to hear some of these guys who shoot pheasants with 24" or better tail feathers year after year and I know I spend twice as much time in the field than these guys do every fall. And as one put it, how come they aren't putting them in the contests then?

Same guys who shoot 200 lbs deer every year as well. :bowdown:


----------



## Dak

Yep, I'll shoot a bird and think "Dang, thats a REALLY long tail!" Then I get out the tape and it barely makes 23.

:beer:


----------



## UGUIDE

UGUIDE said:


> We got a 24.5 and a 26.25. I heard of a guy getting a 32" and thought he was lying until I found out a 33" won contest at Sportsman's.


I just got a CD in the mail with pictures from our Father/Son outing after Christmas. Apparently I forgot the 28" er.... check it out (checkout the spurs too).


----------



## Bagman

Thats a dandy bird no doubt...and monster spurs...BUT! Im simply not buying your ESTIMATE of 28". Without pulling the tails and getting an EXACT measurement (like others have done here) you have nothing BUT an ESTIMATE. If you look closely at your tape from 12" to 24" and estimate that same distance from 12" to 0" (I held up a piece of paper to judge) your tape starts about in the middle of that birds back. Nice try though.


----------



## pheasantslayer

I agree with bagman on this one, sure is a good bird there is no doubt about that one those spurs could be a contender in any contest they are entered in. I just won't buy that its a 28 incher until u pull out the tail and see what the whole feather looks like.


----------



## Dak

yep.


----------



## UGUIDE

I can't argue with you guys. This was a good lesson to learn becuase before this year i couldn't even tell you if 21, 24, 28 was good or not. Now I know. The guy that shot this one too it back with him to Utah to get it mounted so I don't know if there is ever a way to measure ones like that since you wouldn't want to pull the tailfeathers out.


----------



## pheasantfanatic

I had one last year that I got 2 tail feathers off of it and they were both 22 inches long.


----------



## always_outdoors

You can pull the tail feathers out and the taxidermist will re-connect it for the mount. I had mine pulled because I entered it into a contest. My pheasant mount looks great and the mount is over 10 years old now.

I only pulled one tail feather.


----------



## Horker23

the longest i ever seen was a bird mounted by one of buddy and it was 26 3/3. Shot in iowa. No Joke ill get the pic of the mount asap


----------



## R y a n

Horker23 said:


> the longest i ever seen was a bird mounted by one of buddy and it was 26 3/3. Shot in iowa. No Joke ill get the pic of the mount asap


Horker

Did you ever get this pic?

That one above has to be the nicest pheasant I've ever seen in pics...

Wow 

Ryan


----------



## Ac_EsS

Uguide You guys have the guide service to pay to hunt in Nodak and Sodak dont you?


----------

