To shoot or not

littlekid · 03-31-2008, 02:18 PM

I know, two post in such short period of time, a noobie and so many questions. This past Sat.,hunting with my father, i called a jake to within 10 yards of our blind where our two hen decoys were. He hung around us for approx. 5 mins before wandering off. My father decided that he wouldn't shoot b/c we thought he wastoo young with a beard that looked maybe 2 in. long if you pulled on it; BUT he made our decoys look so small we weren't sure if he was actually an older bird or not. Is there a rule of thumb to follow as to ageing a bird in the field like with whitetails?

nchawkeye · 03-31-2008, 02:22 PM

I'd bet he was still a younger bird...I wouldn't have shot...If a turkey's beard isn't 8 inches or so, I hold off...That being said, with you being a newer hunter, shoot what you want...

Arrowmaster · 03-31-2008, 04:53 PM

I would have looked at his spurs. At 10 yards you could see them. That would have told you his age for sure...

nick_bleuer76 · 03-31-2008, 05:47 PM

If I had my bow with me I would, I would shoot anything with my bow.

GVoverstreet7 · 03-31-2008, 06:11 PM

i wouldn't have shot either. the beard sounded like it was way to short and most decoys compared to actual turkey's are always small. Jdge a bird by it's beard which should be 8in. on a mature bird. and if the spurs are fairly long on little stubs

huntnteen · 03-31-2008, 06:41 PM

well, i used to shoot jakes but im trying to break the habit, but if i have a first time hunter with me or someone who has never gotten a bird i encourage thhem to shoot anything thats legal

Rut n Strut8 · 03-31-2008, 06:53 PM

Just this past opening morning my grandfather harvested a nice bird and it's beard was only 3in but his spurs were 1 1/4 long...Don't know what made him have such a short beard we were guessing mites or something like that,so maybe that wasthe same case in the turkey you saw,but if you could have seen his spurs then you would have been able to tell like everyone else said

shamlin · 03-31-2008, 07:03 PM

Alot of dekes are a little smaller than life sized birds mainly depending on the brand. I have noticed hens walk through my dekes that makes them look very small. The spurs are a definate age indicator. On the other hand that was some good self control not to bust one at ten yds assuming you have never pulled the trigger on one, wish more people had self control like that.

Arrowmaster · 03-31-2008, 07:25 PM

Beards are not a judging factor. Yes everyone likes to have a nice beard on their bird but spurs are where its at. Im including me on the beard part. But like I said spurs will tell the age of the bird. That is if you have a close encounter. Sometimes beards get beard rot, sometimes they break off from freezing. The spurs are a tell tale sign of the age of a bird...JMHO

huntnteen · 03-31-2008, 07:49 PM

yeah beard arent always the inicater of age, last year i got a bird that had a 9" beard, so you all would have shot it right? now guess how long the spurs were?......................................gues what YOUR WRONG it barely had numbs that measured 2mm and then my brother-in-laws first bird had a 4"beard and 1.25"spurs