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Jakes

Re: James

Killed one up on the mountain last year that gobbled as hard as any longbeard I have ever heard. Hunted 'em two mornings in a row. Second morning, finally got 'em to come take a look. Set up just this side of a rise on a saddle and when that red, white, and blue head broke that rise, I killed 'em. I usually give jakes a pass, but have killed a couple that were mistaken for longbeards in this manner.
 
Setterman said:
Why would anyone waste a tag on a jake. :whistle:
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I don't know, and think likewise about 2-yr-old birds as well.

Here's how I look at it:

A jake is like a button buck;
A 2-yr-old young tom is akin to a 2 1/2-yr-old buck;
A 3-yr-old Tom is getting there, more like a 3 1/2-yr-old buck.

Why would anyone want to shoot anything less than a mature Tom?

But shoot what makes YOU happy. :)
Mature Bucks & Mature Toms make me happiest.
 
Wes Parrish said:
Setterman said:
Why would anyone waste a tag on a jake. :whistle:
Click to expand...
I don't know, and think likewise about 2-yr-old birds as well.

Here's how I look at it:

A jake is like a button buck;
A 2-yr-old young tom is akin to a 2 1/2-yr-old buck;
A 3-yr-old Tom is getting there, more like a 3 1/2-yr-old buck.

Why would anyone want to shoot anything less than a mature Tom?

But shoot what makes YOU happy. :)
Mature Bucks & Mature Toms make me happiest.
Click to expand...
I would like to only shoot bucks 3.5+ but if I'm having a bad year ill shoot whatever I'm presented with. Same for turkeys...
 
Wes Parrish said:
Setterman said:
Why would anyone waste a tag on a jake. :whistle:
Click to expand...
I don't know, and think likewise about 2-yr-old birds as well.

Here's how I look at it:

A jake is like a button buck;
A 2-yr-old young tom is akin to a 2 1/2-yr-old buck;
A 3-yr-old Tom is getting there, more like a 3 1/2-yr-old buck.

Why would anyone want to shoot anything less than a mature Tom?

But shoot what makes YOU happy. :)
Mature Bucks & Mature Toms make me happiest.
Click to expand...

Agreed, and for the record my original post was tongue in cheek, and meant to start some discussion other than the bland loads/patterns etc that fill these forums before the season arrives.

I try and only shoot 4.5 year old bucks, sometimes I make a mistake and shoot a 3.5 year old buck, heck like most I've screwed up and killed them all the way down to buttons.

With turkeys it takes a better man and eye than mine to size up spurs in the woods. If his beard is long he dies, and a 2 year old bird is just as good to me as a bird with 1 1/2" spurs. I have killed loads of all of them, and don't really care as long as they play the game.
 
I've killed a couple of jakes in the past. The last 4 or 5 years I turkey hunted they all got a free pass. I haven't turkey hunted now for the last 5 years so I guess it's a wait and see thing. I have my doubts that I'll shoot one though.
 
Setterman said:
I have killed loads of all of them, and don't really care as long as they play the game.
Click to expand...
I play 3 games with turkeys. Calling them in, spot and stalk, and ambushing. Oh... and shooting them off the limb if I really want to! :D
 
Setterman said:
. . . . and for the record my original post was tongue in cheek, and meant to start some discussion . . . . .

I try and only shoot 4.5 year old bucks, sometimes I make a mistake and shoot a 3.5 year old buck . . . . .

With turkeys it takes a better man and eye than mine to size up spurs in the woods.
Click to expand...
x 2

Setterman said:
. . . . and a 2 year old bird is just as good to me as a bird with 1 1/2" spurs.
Click to expand...
Now on THAT, we'll have to disagree! :D
I'm "gunning" for 3-yr-old or older birds with LONG spurs. I don't care so much about the beards.
I passed up some 2-yr-old birds last year, then had the greater pleasure of helping a couple friends kill them, one of whom had never killed a turkey. While we usually can't see the spurs, there is a difference in a long DANGLY beard (and a few other subtleties) to distinguish an old Tom from a 2-yr-old bird. But as with hunting for older bucks, sometimes we mistakenly take one younger than intended.
 
catman529 said:
Setterman said:
I have killed loads of all of them, and don't really care as long as they play the game.
Click to expand...
I play 3 games with turkeys. Calling them in, spot and stalk, and ambushing. Oh... and shooting them off the limb if I really want to! :D
Click to expand...
When I was Catman's age, I probably would have shot a turkey off the limb, too. :D
Just never had the chance. Weren't many turkeys then, and I sure knew less about how to kill one!

Over time, I believe the hunt becomes more about the quality and the "how" than the quantity or whether there even is a kill.
Kinda like for those who play golf:
You COULD simply walk up to that hole and DROP the ball in it.
But it's really not playing golf unless you hit the ball with your club, starting out from a distance.

Similarly, at my stage and to me, it's not really turkey hunting unless I call up a turkey and he "plays the game" with me. Yes, I've also ambushed a few in the past, but now would rather just try to get them to "play the game" rather than just sneak up and drop a ball in a hole.

All that said, first turkey I ever killed was an accidental ambush, and it was a jake. First thing my friend said was, "Well, yea, I knew it would have to be an accident if either one of us killed a turkey." I actually hunted for turkeys YEARS before ever killing one. It was a good season back then if you just heard one gobble.
 
Some of the longest spurred turkeys i've killed have had "scragly" beards, nine inches or less. I've also killed several 2 year olds that had beards ten inches or better. It's hard for me to take someone too seriously who says they can judge a turkeys age by beard length. As for being able to determine a two year old from a three year old(spur wise) on a live turkey in the woods, I find this comical at best :grin:
 
Wes Parrish said:
catman529 said:
Setterman said:
I have killed loads of all of them, and don't really care as long as they play the game.
Click to expand...
I play 3 games with turkeys. Calling them in, spot and stalk, and ambushing. Oh... and shooting them off the limb if I really want to! :D
Click to expand...
When I was Catman's age, I probably would have shot a turkey off the limb, too. :D
Just never had the chance. Weren't many turkeys then, and I sure knew less about how to kill one!

Over time, I believe the hunt becomes more about the quality and the "how" than the quantity or whether there even is a kill.
Kinda like for those who play golf:
You COULD simply walk up to that hole and DROP the ball in it.
But it's really not playing golf unless you hit the ball with your club, starting out from a distance.

Similarly, at my stage and to me, it's not really turkey hunting unless I call up a turkey and he "plays the game" with me. Yes, I've also ambushed a few in the past, but now would rather just try to get them to "play the game" rather than just sneak up and drop a ball in a hole.

All that said, first turkey I ever killed was an accidental ambush, and it was a jake. First thing my friend said was, "Well, yea, I knew it would have to be an accident if either one of us killed a turkey." I actually hunted for turkeys YEARS before ever killing one. It was a good season back then if you just heard one gobble.
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I think we all would agree that calling a tom in to the gun is the best way to hunt em, but spot-and-stalk is a close 2nd to me. Requires you to be on the move, use the terrain to your advantage, and get yourself within range of the birds (much higher chance of being seen). I usually do this in the fall season though... last time I killed some out of a small flock of birds, I got the alarm putt through thick bushes right before I shot the first bird. Didn't matter at that point, because it was just sneaking behind the bushes shooting every bird in range until they were all scattered. :D

curdogtn said:
Some of the longest spurred turkeys i've killed have had "scragly" beards, nine inches or less. I've also killed several 2 year olds that had beards ten inches or better. It's hard for me to take someone too seriously who says they can judge a turkeys age by beard length. As for being able to determine a two year old from a three year old(spur wise) on a live turkey in the woods, I find this comical at best :grin:
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my first longbeard was probably 2 years old by the spur length. His beard was a 12.5 inches long
 
curdogtn said:
Some of the longest spurred turkeys i've killed have had "scragly" beards, nine inches or less. I've also killed several 2 year olds that had beards ten inches or better. It's hard for me to take someone too seriously who says they can judge a turkeys age by beard length. As for being able to determine a two year old from a three year old(spur wise) on a live turkey in the woods, I find this comical at best :grin:
Click to expand...
I'm with you on this, anybody that says they can age a longbeard before you grab him by the feet is full of crap. Beard length or size dont tell ya nothin and neither does body size. I look for one of two things before I shoot, a dangling beard or a full tail fan. Long spurs and/or a big body are just bonuses.
 
Wes Parrish said:
Setterman said:
. . . . and for the record my original post was tongue in cheek, and meant to start some discussion . . . . .

I try and only shoot 4.5 year old bucks, sometimes I make a mistake and shoot a 3.5 year old buck . . . . .

With turkeys it takes a better man and eye than mine to size up spurs in the woods.
Click to expand...
x 2

Setterman said:
. . . . and a 2 year old bird is just as good to me as a bird with 1 1/2" spurs.
Click to expand...
Now on THAT, we'll have to disagree! :D
I'm "gunning" for 3-yr-old or older birds with LONG spurs. I don't care so much about the beards.
I passed up some 2-yr-old birds last year, then had the greater pleasure of helping a couple friends kill them, one of whom had never killed a turkey. While we usually can't see the spurs, there is a difference in a long DANGLY beard (and a few other subtleties) to distinguish an old Tom from a 2-yr-old bird. But as with hunting for older bucks, sometimes we mistakenly take one younger than intended.
Click to expand...

I have killed some monster birds that had the worst beards ever. I've killed some two year old birds that had thick 11" beards. Judging a bird by his beard is no way to judge age IMO.

The only way to judge age is spurs period. There are some 2 year olds that also have monster bodies so count that out as well.

I run with some legendary turkey killers and not one of them, not one has ever passed a bird other than a jake. Nor can they judge age in the field or care to.

I just hope I never get to the point where I can't find enjoyment from killing a long beard even if he is 2 years old. If I do, I'll hang it up
 
Setterman said:
I have killed some monster birds that had the worst beards ever. I've killed some two year old birds that had thick 11" beards. . . . . . .

The only way to judge age is spurs period.
Click to expand...
x 2

Although what I originally said was apparently not fully taken as said, and it doesn't take much to get a rise out of some . . . . . :D

Below is a re-quote, but part of what I was trying to say is that OFTEN you CAN distinguish an OLD Tom from a 2-yr-old one ("old" not meant to be limited to a 3-yr-old bird, but hopefully an "older" one). A long, thick and DANGLY SWINGING BEARD is highly suggestive of a 3-yr-or-older bird, while a shorter "stiff" non-swinging beard is highly suggestive of a 2-yr-old bird.

Wes Parrish said:
I'm "gunning" for 3-yr-old or older birds with LONG spurs. I don't care so much about the beards.
. . . . . While we usually can't see the spurs, there is a difference in a long DANGLY beard (and a few other subtleties) to distinguish an old Tom from a 2-yr-old bird. But as with hunting for older bucks, sometimes we mistakenly take one younger than intended.
Click to expand...
Never meant to imply I was good at distinguishing a 2-yr-old from a 3-yr-old Tom, but am saying can often distinguish a 2-yr-old from an older one. Am sure I've let an older Tom or two walk simply because I didn't like his beard. :)

As with buck deer, it's challenging to accurately distinguish 2 from 3, but we can be right more than wrong when distinguishing 2 or younger from 4 or older.
 
Setterman said:
I just hope I never get to the point where I can't find enjoyment from killing a long beard even if he is 2 years old. If I do, I'll hang it up
Click to expand...

X2. And for the record, I don't think there is a turkey snob alive that gets on a gobbling bird, calls him in, watches him strut, listens to him gobble, then at 30 yards, decides "I'm not going to shoot him, he looks like a 2 year old". Not buying it.
 
Spurhunter said:
Setterman said:
I just hope I never get to the point where I can't find enjoyment from killing a long beard even if he is 2 years old. If I do, I'll hang it up
Click to expand...

X2. And for the record, I don't think there is a turkey snob alive that gets on a gobbling bird, calls him in, watches him strut, listens to him gobble, then at 30 yards, decides "I'm not going to shoot him, he looks like a 2 year old". Not buying it.
Click to expand...
I don't consider myself a snob, but I've called several gobblers that i didn't shoot. I'm a little spoiled in the fact that there are usually others around. I don't have to kill the first gobbler that steps in front of me, especially if he's a "thin" one, lol.
 

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