Opinions on shooting jakes

This is my second year ever turkey hunting, I only can hunt public land and I had a jake gobble and strut and got my blood pumping and I couldn't help myself but take the perfect 20 yard shot he gave me with his big blue head poking up. He's going in the oven this evening. My question is why is it frowned upon to shoot a jake and if next time I need to not get so worked up over a little thunder chicken

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First, congratulations on killing your first turkey!

Thegreatwhitehunter1776":nxks7m9t said:

My question is why is it frowned upon to shoot a jake and if next time I need to not get so worked up over a little thunder chicken.

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I certainly won't give you much grief for shooting a jake, especially since you've never before killed a turkey.

But to answer your question,
killing a jake is somewhat akin to killing a yearling spike buck.
Totally legally, totally good eating.

But if you want to increase your own odds of killing either an older buck or a longbearded turkey,
the best strategy is to give the younger bucks & birds a pass.

Just me, but I can honestly say I enjoy the hunting more than the killing,
although some periodic killing is a requirement to justify that "hunting".
The question is, "How often do I need to kill something?"
. . . . . . to fully enjoy my hunting to the max.

My very first turkey kill was a jake,
about four decades ago.

At my stage now, I just enjoy being able to go hunting, period.
It was great Saturday, just being out in nature, taking it all in,
gun in hand, hunting.
Sunday was better because I finally heard a turkey gobble less than a mile away.
And that bird was willing to play, putting on a spectacular show of spitting & drumming & strutting,
to the point, I didn't even want to shoot him, as that would end the show.
But I did shoot him, icing the cake of another good day of "hunting".

Personal preference. Your hunt to do what you want.


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It's "frowned upon" by many in a trophy-seeking way. Like LBL said, akin to people questioning someone for killing a spi or young buck. Everybody wants to kill a big gobbler. Jakes are generally more plentiful and CAN be more gullible and thus easier to kill. So shooting one is sometimes viewed as a lesser accomplishment and it takes out a bird that could have been a hard gobbling 2 yr old next year. At your stage of turkey hunting, ignore ALL of that. Enjoy the kill, cherish the memories, and eat him with pride. I suspect you will eventually get to a point where you pass jakes, but absolutely nothing wrong with a new hunter killing one.

On a bigger scale, some would prefer to limit jake kill for biological reasons. We kill a really high percentage of gobblers in TN. Too many. Jakes generally cant breed, so letting them make it to 2 yrs old ensures a we have a new crop of gobblers to breed the hens next year, since many/most of the adult gobblers around this spring will be dead by next spring. But the population can definitely sustain some jake mortality, and young or new hunters are the perfect candidates to kill a few.

Congrats!

bloodtrailing":13o5cj08 said:

Personal preference. Your hunt to do what you want.


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Can't get any plainer than that.

Your bird gave you everything a hunter dreams about when he pillows his head the night before.

If he plays like a big boy, he can die like a big boy.

I'd much rather have your experience than a silent 2 yr old sneaking in.

Congrats!

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Congratulations on a successful hunt.

Thegreatwhitehunter1776":3kt9lzv4 said:

This is my second year ever turkey hunting, I only can hunt public land and I had a jake gobble and strut and got my blood pumping and I couldn't help myself but take the perfect 20 yard shot he gave me with his big blue head poking up. He's going in the oven this evening. My question is why is it frowned upon to shoot a jake and if next time I need to not get so worked up over a little thunder chicken

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My first turkey was a gobbling and strutting Jake 14 years ago and also my last 2 days ago.. [emoji23].


Called in a hard gobbling Jake for my buddy for his first turkey last year and he passed on it and now he's cursed!

Seriously congrats probably better to start on a Jake and work your way up. It's kind of like these 6 yo kids holding up the 150" their daddy put them on... Where do you go from there? Lol




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If he gets your blood pumping and makes you happy take him! The hell with everyone else! That jake will eat good!

I have been hunting them now 10 years. When i started if it was legal it was dead. I limited out a lot of years because of a Jake or two. I haven't limited in the past 5-6 years, but I stopped shooting Jakes, declining #'s, and because I personally wanted to go after long beards. It is a personal choice. Sometimes some of the guys who don't like to shoot them like to complain, because they view a jake kill as taking an opportunity form them next year. I had 2 Jakes at 8 yds opening day and passed on public land. I hope they make it, because I want to shoot them next year. Of course someone may find them and shoot them and that is ok.

You're new to it, so enjoy it and have fun. Maybe in the future you will decide to only shoot Toms, maybe not, but the choice is yours.

I've killed them when I was early on in my turkey hunting days but choose not to now. Just my preference. Do what makes you happy and don't worry about it. Guarantee you will not think about it while eating him.

If it makes you happy, fire away my friend!!! Congratulations! Hunt for you, not others. And enjoy that awesome eating! Fried wild turkey is one of my 4 year old son and my favorite foods, so I unashamedly take legal birds. Doesn't hurt that the wife eats her share of it too and always praises it. Lol. You do you brother.

I've killed a few in my first few years of turkey hunting. Like some of the others I now pass them as it's more about the chase for me and a jake has the same feeling to me as a young buck, not quiet as smart as a mutate buck, but to each their own.

I haven't killed a jake in several years, but after listening to Dr. Chamberlain talk about turkey heirarchy and how it differs from deer or any others I'm aware of, I don't know that it's a bad thing. I'm hunting with my boys these days so jakes definitely aren't safe.

I have no problems killing a spike buck or a button buck any chance I get, but I have a hard time killing a Jake. It's legal so don't beat yourself up about it. It's not healthy for the today's turkey population in my opinion, but that's not proven.

Bucket":xmk5l3ps said:

I haven't killed a jake in several years, but after listening to Dr. Chamberlain talk about turkey heirarchy and how it differs from deer or any others I'm aware of, I don't know that it's a bad thing. I'm hunting with my boys these days so jakes definitely aren't safe.

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Disclaimer - this is NOT intended to discourage new/young hunters from killing jakes. But to your point, this came up in comments on one of Dr. Chamberlain's "Turkey Tuesday" instagram posts. Here is his comment regarding killing jakes vs. gobblers as it pertains to social hierarchy:

Congrats on your jake! The first bird I ever killed was a jake as well.

That being said, those hunters interested in having a sustainable resource to hunt for the next decades wont shoot Jake's because those are the the most important factor in the equation ensuring hens are bred the following spring.

Jake's are like doe fawns. Completely worthless their first year and just consume resources, but overharvest them and your local population will decline.

TN will eventually have to reluctantly admit that shooting Jake's is biologically unsound and protect them.

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Congrats! on the turkey

Congrats on your bird, and I like others killed several when I was starting. As I got more experience it just did nothing for me to shoot one, tiny beard and no spurs. I also realized that all I did was remove a longboard for the next season. I am less concerned about jakes being killed than I am the plastic turkeys and their effects

Setterman":1s0jqzfz said:

Congrats on your bird, and I like others killed several when I was starting. As I got more experience it just did nothing for me to shoot one, tiny beard and no spurs. I also realized that all I did was remove a longboard for the next season. I am less concerned about jakes being killed than I am the plastic turkeys and their effects

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X2

I guess I'm the opposite of most. I wouldn't shoot Jakes when I first started turkey hunting. One day I set up on one gobbling hard and it turned out to be a Jake so I passed even though he acted just like an adult bird. I no longer pass on Jakes

I've gone that direction with deer too. I won't shoot a big Buck. I'll let them walk and only shoot small ones