ORIGINAL: Gobbling Buck
Also, the big boy may not have shown up yet and a responsible hunter would take the 3 year old rather than a 1 or 2 if possible.
Posted... I don't mean to start a cotroversy here, but reading through several posts, this type of statement is really getting on my nerves. If the bird, deer, hog, etc is what you're after, the shot is safe, etc take the bird you want. I personally have never shot a jake, but I've never seen one while hunting either. Here's my tip...........enjoy the spring and all the sight's and sounds of it. If the bird outsmarts you, learn from it and learn to laugh about it. Leave the ego at home or work and take in God's beautiful creation. Sorry for the ranting.
No problem, everyone has their own opinion. What I meant was: From a conservation standpoint, you want to take the oldest bird since he will not live much longer anyway. This way you are having a less detrimental effect on the population. Also, you can enjoythe hunt a little more by waiting as long as possible...or as you put it "take in God's beautiful creation." because you rarely get a chance to just watch a turkey from that close.