QTompkins2005

1: How do you tell the difference between a jake and a tom? I always thought that it was just that toms strut and gobble and jakes don't, but I was watching a hunting show and this turkey was strutting and gobbling and the guy said he passed on him cause he was a jake.

2: What decoy set ups do you guys use? Last year I borrowed a tom decoy from a friend of mine, but this yearI figured I'd just buy my own. Really don't know what to get though. A jake and a couple hen decoys? or what?

nctaxi

1. A jake has a short beard, hasn't quite made the "curl" downward. A jake also has a "cut off" gobble, most of the time. The center tail feathers, during strut, will be longer than the rest.
2. Most of the time I don't use decoys, but i always carry a jake and a hen. If I find a tom on a hill and can't get to him undetected, I'll put them out and call the tom downhill. They say you can't call em downhill but I have on more than one occasion.

Rob/PA Bowyer

1. Don't totally go by the beard alone...some mature toms can have short beards for whatever variable reasons. A sure tell sign the the fan of a tom vs a jake. Like mentioned above, a jake will have an uneven fan with the middle feathers being longer. Both toms and jakes will gobble and a few seasons you'll be able to tell the difference.

2. If you can only purchase or take one, get a hen, afterall, that's what the gobblers want. If you can get two, get a hen and a jake.

Hunter06FlKy

ditto. if you have a clear view of the legs you can also look at the spurs.

StrutnBPS

I agree to not go by the beard. The first "long beard" I ever killed only had a 6.5'' beard. He was a very old bird that suffered from beard rott.

I also called in a jake a few years back. His beard was one of the thickest I've ever seen and it was about 7'' long, but his fan wasn't near to being a full fan.

So, I go by the fan.

JW

Center 4 feathers of a Jakes Tail fan are taller than the other feathers on each side of the tail.......

Beard length is also a give-away but not always true - ice & snow can and do break beards off!

and othes have said sometimes - I say sometimes the Gobble is short and choppy and can even go into a yelp!

Here is a Jake




Here are mature Rios



JW

mouthcaller

1. Strutting - Middle 4 tail feathers longer than the rest.

Beard - typically shorter and usually sticks straight out

Gobble - usually more abbreviated, but I've had jakes gobbling in front ofmeand it was just as full as a mature gobbler.

Appearance - Jakes are "leaner". After you have seen a few you can recognize most jakes by their overall appearance. They look tall and thin compared to a gobbler.


2. Can't help you there - I don't use decoys.

QTompkins2005

thanks for the help guys.

hawglips

The beard and the tail are the best ways to get a quick ID.

But it's not necessarily the 4 center feathers that are longer than the others. It varies. And I have actually seena jake that has even lengthed fan feathers. It depends on when he was hatched, and how fast his mature tail feathers grow in. This past weekend I got good video of two jakes -- one had the two middle tail feathers longer than the rest, and the other had even lengthed feathers all the way around. (Yes, they were both jakes - I promise.)

Hal

Mr. Longbeard

Iowa turkey hunting... Don't get much better than that!!!

Don't the Drury boys spend a lot of time out there