Your buddy is not very smart. His statement of "just a jake" disturbs me. Even a jake is a wonderful bird and deserves respect. Shooting at "just a jake" to see if my gun can do it at that distance is not very smart. Sure that was a heck of a "lucky" shot, but he should have never taken it.He was very lucky he didn't wound the bird. Oh, I forgot, it's okay to take a chance on wounding him, after all, he is"just a jake".I bet he didn't pattern his gun at 77 yards. I'm guessing if ithad been a longbeard he wouldn't have taken that risk. It shouldn't matter though. I've killed a couple at 50 yards, but I know for a fact my gun and load is fully capable of killing one cleanly at that distance. I'm not saying you and your buddy are unethical hunters, but this was an unethical decision on your buddy's part. Sorry for theserman. Just my opinion.