fingerz42

You know its always a pain setting up on a bird and finally calling it in, just to find out that its a jake. Is there any way that you can tell the difference between a gobble of a jake, and a gobble of a mature tom? (give me your insight)

And secondly if you believe yes or no, give me some proof. (audio clip, video, research, etc) Thanks guys

mauser06

theres absolutely no fool proof 100% sure fire way to tell...

but the best way ive found in the last 10 years is if a bird has a "half gobble" its likely a jake...

what i mean by half gobble is the bird will say "gobble" instead of "gobble obble obble" sounds like a bird trying to gobble but just doesnt get the whole thing out...

another thing is jakes are often times running together...ive called in groups of 3 many times...only ever had 1 jake come in alone...but he was trying to beat a longbeard to the punch that i had strutting at 30-40yds...the jake NEVER said a peep on the roost or on the ground...just RAN behind the longbeard and circled around and got right in my face...

none of that is fool proof...but when im hunting, i will walk away from half gobbling birds...do i loose out on some possible longbeards? i bet...have i called in jakes that had good gobbles? yep...but them 2 factors are usually reliable enough for ME...i have no intrest in bringing a jake home and unless i got nothin else talkin, im not going to waste a setup calling a jake...just my personal preference...i dont care if guys take jakes...just not my cup of tea...

SouthernStrut56

Tom gobbles sound like real gobbles you hear on videos and tv shows, jakes sound sick when they gobble. Jake gobbles aren't as well defined as tom gobbles, and usually don't last as long as tom gobbles. When a jake gobbles, he's really just practicing and he knows he sucks, so he will cut it off early lots of times. A tom knows his gobble is top notch so he'll carry that sound out with confidence as long as he can so all the other birds hear him. It's just one of those things you have to learn by bein in the woods alot, honestly. You'll know a jake gobble when you hear one. I don't hear too many jake gobbles in the spring, most of the time it's the older dominant birds sounding off because they've already put the jakes in their place before the mating season comes in. I hear A LOT of jake gobbles in the fall though, while im deer hunting, because they're practicing up and trying to get their gobble up to par with the older toms so they'll have a chance to breed. Just go enough, and you'll know the difference when you hear em.

JW

Want a good real sound of the Jake vs Gobbler voice? The best I have found is the NWTF CD of Monarchs of Spring. It is a real live recording of many Toms, Jakes and hens in the srping morning. There are several Jakes on there and to me I now understand why we say the male turkey Gobbles.

One Jake actually says 'gobble' as it was an english word! It is rather weak but sounds as if you and I where talking to each other. His Next gobble is rather choked.

Now saying that what we have found in Upper Michigan at times it is hard to tell the difference as we have heard Jakes sound off and where certain it was a 2 yr old or better! It was not.

JW

Pygmy

I gave up years ago trying to tell for sure...I've been fooled too many times in the last 40 years...

Some jakes don't have thier gobbles perfected yet...But I've called up some jakes with AWESOME gobbles, and I've called up some awesome toms with chintzy, flat little gobbles..

Most of the time, I just try to call the bird up... If it's a longbeard I try to kill it..If it's a jake it walks...

fingerz42

I have heard of the half gobble as being a jake, and through my years in the woods I have come to somewhat understand what I THINK is jake gobbles and what is tom gobbles, i was just curious as to what the rest of your experiences were.. keep it coming guys.. and audio clips are well appreciated..

OntElk

I agree. The thing is I NEVER walk away from a gobblin turkey because I am sure it's a jake. I'll let them walk a lot of times if they come in but I have also had great duels that ended up being a jake and a couple of times decided he got the load. Those offset tail fans have some great memories and the nubs still hang on th spur necklace.

Shawn Perkins

i called in a pair of 2 jakes...at 30 yds where my decoys were.
i was messing with them by going crazy with my mouth call...they started to gobble like crazy. i noticed the gobbles were kinda faint and raspy sounding

fantail

One of the places I hunt has jakes that gobble just as good as the longest long beard I've ever heard. The guy I hunt with can sometimes tell the difference but I can't at all. We refer to these birds as Super jakes. Just as a side note, I have heard the definite jake gobble that everyone is talking about.

TEmbry

I've heard toms sound like Jakes....and jakes sound like boss toms. I will NOT disregard ANY gobbling turkey due to a hunch of mine about what it is....if it is gobbling, I will setup on it. Most jakes have broken gobbles, but this isn't surefire.

I compare it to walking down the street and betting/argueing over the "tweeners". The people that, for the life of you, you can't decide whether they are male or female...Several clues tip you off both ways, it is just too hard to tell for sure. A fun game of guessingregardless...and know matter how good you get, the occasional male with breasts or female with a beard will stump you...No definites in this game either.[8D]

Heck with bow in hand, the first jake comin by gets a thumpin just as quickly as a gobbler.