DAYNE WELBORN This Stokes County gobbler is the biggest ever taken in North Carolina by a hunter using archery equipment, according to officials with the N.C. Bowhunters association

A Stokes County hunter has bagged what appears to be the biggest wild turkey ever taken in North Carolina using archery equipment.

        Dayne Welborn took a gobbler on April 28 that is a pending state record with the N.C. Bowhunters Association, according to Ramon Bell, president of the NCBA.
        Welborn’s bird had a beard that measured a 16th of an inch longer than 12 inches, weighed 18 pounds and had spurs that measured 1-3/16th and 9/16th inches. The unofficial score, using NCBA’s scoring system, is 15-8/16. That is 4/16ths greater than the existing record, a Person County gobbler taken in 1995 by Tonnie Davis.
        Welborn shot the turkey at a range of 10 yards.