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Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 27th, 2017, 7:55 pm
by Southern Sportsman
My buddy sent me these pictures, and I suggested he ground check him, but what do yall think? I've killed a couple with "beard rot" and I've killed a couple "super jakes," but I cant decide what to make of this one. No pictures of his spurs.

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Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 27th, 2017, 7:58 pm
by Jamey
Gobbler. Kill him.

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 27th, 2017, 8:02 pm
by guesswho
Last picture says mature. Shoot'em!

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 27th, 2017, 8:07 pm
by Gobbler
guesswho wrote:Last picture says mature. Shoot'em!
You Jake killer! :mrgreen:

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 27th, 2017, 8:12 pm
by guesswho
I've got a beard from last year, so problem solved!

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 27th, 2017, 8:14 pm
by HunterGKS
Tail says BOOM!!!!

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 27th, 2017, 8:34 pm
by crenshawco
Full fan = dead bird. You can also tell by the upper covert feathers on his wing.

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 27th, 2017, 9:35 pm
by turkey_slayer
Mature

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Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 27th, 2017, 10:20 pm
by bullet355
I killed one like that several years ago.
He had 1 1/4" spurs.

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 27th, 2017, 10:44 pm
by turkey_picker
Shoot him! Gobbler with beard rot. ;)

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 2:15 am
by appalachianassassin
mature :thumbup:

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 4:12 am
by Frankinthelaurels
A "tweener"..... Renester or late hatch from two years ago, born in August instead of late May or earlyJune... He's just 4 months younger than the normal two year old, that's why his outside tail feathers and not the middle are still fledging ...also his beard is a tweener, not the usual Jake nor a longy either...killed lots of " tweeners" over the last 50 years..

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 10:38 am
by decoykrvr
Looks like a mature bird to me. Over the years I've killed mature gobblers w/ no beard (one didn't even have a beard patch or scrub), a gobbler w/ no spurs ( did not have differentiated leg scales where the spurs form) and mature gobblers w/ fans where the tail feathers had been lost and were regrowing in. I look at the fan, then the beard, and on a few occasions, the spurs before shooting. I was scouting yesterday, and was able to see the spurs on a 3-4 year old gobbler at @ 40 yards. I was carrying a varmint rifle w/ a 6-24 power variable scope and eye-balled his spurs at 24 power.

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 10:50 am
by taylorjones20
I see a good spur in the second pic

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 10:52 am
by Gobbler
Thats full fan Jake. Beard rot has rust color at end.

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 11:29 am
by howl
I thought the rust stuff at the end was because of how it grew, but the beard had not got long enough to wear off. I killed a kinda light bird that had a beard maybe 8" once. It had that rusty tip, acted 2 y.o. and had regular spurs. I killed a runty mossyhead yesterday that had that and about 6" of beard. Acted 2 y.o. had short, sharp spurs and a full fan and gobble. His partner was toting a rope. Never had shot a jake, or even been around but a few dead ones, but I seem to recall seeing them with the rusty tip.

Anyhow, that's about all I remember on that. Be glad to learn more.

And I don't look at beards or spurs before I shoot. If it acts like a gobbler, looks like a gobbler and gets me worked up like a gobbler, then I shoot it likes its a gobbler. I ain't got a measuring stick that can account for the awesomeness of the wild turkey gobbler, so I ain't measuring a thing!

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 11:30 am
by tubecaller10
guesswho wrote:Last picture says mature. Shoot'em!
Yessir totally agree! last picture tells it all on what i call the "wing patch" football shaped feathers. Take a look at this picture from trail cam I pulled yesterday. The spur don't lie and neither does the wing patch.

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Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 11:41 am
by gut_pile
Shoot

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 7:54 pm
by ccleroy
I see a spur in the second pic, speculum says mature regardless.

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 9:25 pm
by rhs341
Long spur, full tail fan...it's a mature bird!
If you don't want to kill him the only thing that will happen is his spurs will be bigger next year....end of the day it's a mature bird!!!!
Kill him if you like, he's not a jake....

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 9:41 pm
by Southern Sportsman
He's not mine to kill, but I've already told my buddy to shoot him on sight. I didnt see the spir in the second picture, but do now.

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 10:03 pm
by Spurhunter
Gobbler! KA BOOOM!

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 10:55 pm
by Andy S.
guesswho wrote:Last picture says mature. Shoot'em!
x2, wing patches never lie.
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Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 28th, 2017, 11:38 pm
by Southern Sportsman
Andy S. wrote:
guesswho wrote:Last picture says mature. Shoot'em!
x2, wing patches never lie.
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Thanks for posting these pictures. I have hunted turkeys since I was 14, read everything Tom Kelly wrote on the subject, Illumination in the Flatwoods, Archibald Rudgledge, and others, and somehow I never realized the difference in wing coverts from Jake to Gobbler.

Re: Gobbler or Jake?

Posted: March 29th, 2017, 10:18 am
by HunterGKS
I copied the 2nd pic & blew up the legs. It looks like the spur on the right is starting to curve. I would guess that this bird is at least 3 years old.