i have yet to kill a gobbler and i've been hunting turkeys for like 4 years so i'ld be happy with just about anything. if i get a chance at a jake openning day i may pass it and i may not i guess it just depends on the situation. i know people who have hunted turkeys for years and still occasionally shoot jakes so i don't see a problem with it.

I personally don't see any difference in shooting a jake than shooting a mature gobbler...if someone wants to. If there was a management problem with shooting jakes they wouldn't be legal. So if I felt like it I wouldshoot one.Where I hunt they aren't much easier than the older birds and I don't see many jakes.
I hunt only open public land and wish more people would limit out on jakes..would leave more mature toms to hunt. However...it's all according to tags, time of season..in the mood from some fried turkey breast..etc.

I don't take jakes anymore.I've taken quite a few birds over the last few years,and will only take toms now.

The one in my Avatar is only a year old. He is doing pretty good so far, I also have a 2 year old bitch. This is her second season and she did relatively good, I neglected the pheasants this year in search of waterfowl and she doesn't like the cold water (she's a spoiled inside dog). She got out a little less than I would like. This male though is gonna be the duck hunter.

this will be my 8th year of chasing them birds....hunted HARD with dad my first 4 years...had a chance at 3 jakes my first time out...but i didnt fire....dont know why...first hunt ever dad puts 3 jakes on my lap and i sat there watching them.....i didnt know if the 20ga single shot would kill them....i knew a 20 ga was "small" and i thought the little tiny tiny leaves would stop my shot at 15-20yds max.....i should have shot but i did the right thing by holding off since i was unsure...squirrel hunting that year i found out the power that 20ga had!..had many more encounters with dad them 4 years....no shots....second day of the season my 5th year(i was 16) i asked dad if i could skip school and walk down the road myself and hunt..first time hunting alone..rolled a longbeard! 8 1/2 inch beard 3/4 inch spurs..i woke dad up after he worked a midnite shift(thats a no no even if the house is burning!) he was proud as could be...he taught me everything and he knew i did good!..the next year i went out and the first tuesday or thursday i rolled another long beard alone....9inch beard 1 inch spurs...last year i got stuck hunting a behemoth boss tom...passed a jake the first day i could choked with my hands...the boss tombeat me..tag soup.......i am still hunting just longbeards for now on....fall anything goes though.....i plan on buying a second tag for this year and hopefully make up for last years tag soup! lol....and i havent really hunted with dad since i turned 16...so if i take one early i REALLY want to get out with him this year....were planning a long weekend get away hopefully....i get out of school the second week of the season....its going to be tough them first 2 weeks with finals the second week of the season.....but i got saturdays..tuesdays and thursdays to hunt!!! plus a good 15 days to hunt after im out! cant wait

I would rather shoot a long beard but if its getting late in the season I will harvest a Jake. Now if Im out of state and have only a few days and things are slow. Yes I will harvest one given the opportunity.

don't forget fall hunting. any jakeis a trophy in the fall.spring time is different, though and a jake is a last resort for me. also makes a difference how many tags you can fill....here in ks, you can get 2 in the spring and 4 in the fall so you have more opportunity

i agree with jghoffman12, in spring im goin for the big boys but fall is a challenge in itself just to get a jake let alone a tom.

It all depends,but yes I will if I feel like it.Mainly if someone that is new is with me,and wants to do it.(As long as we are in a place with plenty of turkeys).I generally do not,b/c there are plenty of longbeards where I am,and really is no sense in me shooting one,unless it's one of those days.

I have before when I first started turkey hunting. But now I don't. I just sit back and learn from them. watch them and "play" with them.

A few years back I called in a huge jake. He was on the jake/longbeard border. His beard was about 6'' and very thick, but he didn't have a full fan.

I just sat and watched him strut at my deke. It was awesome to watch. He strutted and strutted, gobbled and gobbled. I had to stand up to get him away from my decoy and this was at about 20yds.