thoughts on shooting jakes
 

would like to know how you feel about taking jakes,and how long are jakes beards useally. thanks

RE: thoughts on shooting jakes
 

If they come in there dead. If I lived where there was a huge turkey population then id probably let them walk.

RE: thoughts on shooting jakes
 

I took a Jake yesterday here in Ohio on second day of season. First turkey ever, so I'll take it. I hunt state land and it is hard to get anything at all, so I feel lucky with a Jake right now. Maybe later I'll become more selective. Beard was about 4-5 inches, spurs were just knubs, weighed 15 lbs.

RE: thoughts on shooting jakes
 

I have,usually now I wait to get a boss. usually there beards are about 4 to 5".
I will take another.

RE: thoughts on shooting jakes
 

It all depends on where I'm hunting. I hunt both private land and public land. If a jake comes in and I'm hunting public land he is fair game, but if I'm hunting the private land that I have access to I usually wait for a long beard.

RE: thoughts on shooting jakes
 

Up until this spring, I have always passed on jakes. However, I went to Kansas last week for their opener, and the guy who gets me access told me that they had had a turkey population explosion from the prior spring to this spring. I'd been there the spring before, so I knew he was telling me there'd be a lot of jakes, and probably few mature toms. Sure enough, first day, early morning, in struts a "big" jake and his little brother, so I whacked the bigger one. 5" beard, 17 lbs, 1/2" spurs, completed fan, no tall tailfeathers, and he strutted, but he was still only a year-old, but I whacked him because I firgured that since there was an explosion, using one of my two tags on him would not adversely effect the overall population, reproduction, or my personal ethic. I filled my second tag with a 10" bearded, 1" spurred gobbler, who only weighed 19 lbs, small for a 2 year old, but all right by me, especially the beard.

RE: thoughts on shooting jakes
 

I shot a Jake Sunday so..

RE: thoughts on shooting jakes
 

i would be happy with any gobbler. the one gobbler that i've seen this year so far was a jake and i would be perfectly happy with it. i've been turkey hunting for 5 years now and i would be happy with anything at this point. not that i've given up hope.

RE: thoughts on shooting jakes
 

'Let him go so he can grow'

RE: thoughts on shooting jakes
 

I usually hunt for longbeards, but dependent on the time I can commit to the woods and the area's turkey population, I'll still fill tags by harvesting jakes.

The only double-bearded bird (6 & 5 inches) I've tagged was a jake. Now some will argue that it would have been a double-bearded 2-year old gobbler the next year. However, turkeys are not like deer. Turkeys are much more susceptible to predation, and have a much greater dispersal rate. Hence, nobody may have ever seen that bird again...and besides, jakes taste great on the grill [8D]