I have been laying here awake thinking about this one. At one time no question yes. Now I see him as next years two year old and we all know how much fun they are. I did have one last year stand about a foot from me and gobble his head off, for a brief moment I thought about going kung fu on him
but I knew I would lose and it wasn't the right thing to do to the bird.
But would you shoot ? He's doing it all right now .
No
No, has happened to me many tines.
I let him put on the elaborate display and wish him well until next year.
Naw, I like the jewelry way to much to burn a tag on a future long hooked long bearded Sagdaddy.
Nope..he'll be doing it next year!! And he'll be a longbeard!!
Same here, let um walk! Fun to watch though!
Kids and first timers...yes
Me personally...he walks.
Gman
No, wouldn't shoot a 2 1/2 buck either just because hes chasing and grunting.
I let several Jakes walk last spring now they are all long beards ready for action I hope to get atleast
one
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Wouldn't matter to me if he gobbled and strutted or not..if I felt like shoot'n him.
Once upon a time yes. Now I enjoy the show......
Quote from: reflexl on March 22, 2013, 08:32:52 AM
Once upon a time yes. Now I enjoy the show......
X2
A youth hunter or my wife would get the green light if they wanted, but I wouldn't even think about it.
There's too many turkeys running around to burn the tag for me
NO...but it sure get's tempting when you have a "super jake" that sounds like this.
http://youtu.be/6Azv6ItWI2c
Usually, no. BUT I won't say never.
I did once on the last day of an out of state hunt. It just wasn't as fullfilling for me.
Not now, but I might have a few years ago.
Zero problem with someone else dumping the jake though...
mudhen
Quote from: stinkpickle on March 22, 2013, 09:05:23 AM
Usually, no. BUT I won't say never.
My thoughts too. I hope I never kill another one. But I can't say I never will.
Nope. Unless it was a first kill opportunity for a youth.
No, but I don't care if someone else wants to. I've personally never understood the idea of using gobbling and strutting to justify shooting a jake though, a jake is a jake is a jake.
Last day and I've not killed anything all year...yeah. Otherwise...nah.
Quote from: Gamblinman on March 22, 2013, 07:05:37 AM
Kids and first timers...yes
Me personally...he walks.
Gman
Same here for me, but anyone who leagally fills their tag is ok with me too.
Quote from: redarrow on March 22, 2013, 09:43:01 AM
Quote from: stinkpickle on March 22, 2013, 09:05:23 AM
Usually, no. BUT I won't say never.
My thoughts too. I hope I never kill another one. But I can't say I never will.
x2
Well, either we got a bunch of liars on here, or the folks that will shoot one are too ashamed to answer this question, for me, yes i have killed my share of turkeys, YES, i have killed some jakes, YES, i will kill another one, killed 2 year before last, all depends on circumstances, I had been to Texas 4 times and never killed a Rio, went in 2011 by myself, drove 8 hours, met the landowner before daylight, he gave me the layout, and let me go, nothing at daylight, around 930, i called up 2 jakes, only one of them left, at 1130, i called in 6 jakes, only 5 left, did i feel bad for shooting 2 jakes, NOPE, did i get to hear them gobbling and strutting, YES, did i enjoy shooting them, YES, when i don't get a thrill out of it, i will quit, just like deer hunting, when i don't get a thrill out of seeing even a doe, I WILL QUIT, Yes, I did kill a longbeard that evening, and could have killed another one, drove back home 8 hours that night, will I kill a jake this year, maybe maybe not, all depends, but it is my right to shoot or not to shoot, would I rather kill a longbeard, YES, but does it take the trill out of it to me by killing a jake, nope, the thrill is in the hunt, some jakes are just as hard as some are easy, every man has to make his own decision, this is my opinion and mine only
I call lots of mature toms into gun range every year, so I tend to be selective. Even after my tags are filled I go out and call 'em in just to watch 'em. So jakes are off the menu. That being said it's each hunters person right to decide, if it's legal have at it. I think it's important for a young or new hunter to experience success, and a jake fills that bill just fine..
Nope want shoot one. Your on a turkey forum full of people eat up with turkey hunting. Most just are not going to shoot em on here. Deer forums are about the same way
Quote from: mountman62 on March 22, 2013, 01:26:46 PM
Well, either we got a bunch of liars on here, or the folks that will shoot one are too ashamed to answer this question, for me, yes i have killed my share of turkeys, YES, i have killed some jakes, YES, i will kill another one, killed 2 year before last, all depends on circumstances, I had been to Texas 4 times and never killed a Rio, went in 2011 by myself, drove 8 hours, met the landowner before daylight, he gave me the layout, and let me go, nothing at daylight, around 930, i called up 2 jakes, only one of them left, at 1130, i called in 6 jakes, only 5 left, did i feel bad for shooting 2 jakes, NOPE, did i get to hear them gobbling and strutting, YES, did i enjoy shooting them, YES, when i don't get a thrill out of it, i will quit, just like deer hunting, when i don't get a thrill out of seeing even a doe, I WILL QUIT, Yes, I did kill a longbeard that evening, and could have killed another one, drove back home 8 hours that night, will I kill a jake this year, maybe maybe not, all depends, but it is my right to shoot or not to shoot, would I rather kill a longbeard, YES, but does it take the trill out of it to me by killing a jake, nope, the thrill is in the hunt, some jakes are just as hard as some are easy, every man has to make his own decision, this is my opinion and mine only
Ever think for a second that everyone who said they dont shoot jakes are telling the truth?
It may be difficult to understand based on your line of thinking but outside of the kids I take, no one I hunt with shoots jakes. Try it sometime...
Quote from: mountman62 on March 22, 2013, 01:26:46 PM
Well, either we got a bunch of liars on here, or the folks that will shoot one are too ashamed to answer this question, for me, yes i have killed my share of turkeys, YES, i have killed some jakes, YES, i will kill another one, killed 2 year before last, all depends on circumstances, I had been to Texas 4 times and never killed a Rio, went in 2011 by myself, drove 8 hours, met the landowner before daylight, he gave me the layout, and let me go, nothing at daylight, around 930, i called up 2 jakes, only one of them left, at 1130, i called in 6 jakes, only 5 left, did i feel bad for shooting 2 jakes, NOPE, did i get to hear them gobbling and strutting, YES, did i enjoy shooting them, YES, when i don't get a thrill out of it, i will quit, just like deer hunting, when i don't get a thrill out of seeing even a doe, I WILL QUIT, Yes, I did kill a longbeard that evening, and could have killed another one, drove back home 8 hours that night, will I kill a jake this year, maybe maybe not, all depends, but it is my right to shoot or not to shoot, would I rather kill a longbeard, YES, but does it take the trill out of it to me by killing a jake, nope, the thrill is in the hunt, some jakes are just as hard as some are easy, every man has to make his own decision, this is my opinion and mine only
Did i say i wouldn't shoot a jake? yes.
Did i tell the truth? yes.
Did you call me a liar over the internet? yes
Do i think its pretty pathetic to call a group of people a liar or shameful that you have never met? yes
Do i think that makes you look dim? yes
but this is my opinion and mine only
ps. Congrats on the rio's
Depends on how the season is going and the mood I'm in.
doubtful
I hammered one this morning at 7:30 that I had watched strut and gobble for 45 minutes. I didn't shoot him when he first strutted or when he first gobbled, but after the show and the rain was picking up I sent the load of Hevi 6's to him at 18 steps.
I wasn't going to shoot him at first (it was actually 2 strutters), but I am going to hunt 12 days this season and have 5 tags. I enjoyed the hunt immensely and he will taste great for Sunday lunch!
Yes...my chances for a bird are few and far between. I do my best to take whatever legal bird is presented to me. Same goes for all my hunting...it's about meat in the freezer for my family.
I shot my first jake last year. It didn't do anything for me and I instantly wished I didn't. He was in a group of about 9 together. Nothing wrong with jakes if it makes you happy. Like ol Cuz says, "it's your hunt".
I guess it would depend on where the season was. If it was at the end then yes. First few weeks no.
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Quote from: Daman on March 22, 2013, 03:35:55 PM
I hammered one this morning at 7:30 that I had watched strut and gobble for 45 minutes. I didn't shoot him when he first strutted or when he first gobbled, but after the show and the rain was picking up I sent the load of Hevi 6's to him at 18 steps.
I wasn't going to shoot him at first (it was actually 2 strutters), but I am going to hunt 12 days this season and have 5 tags. I enjoyed the hunt immensely and he will taste great for Sunday lunch!
A fine example of when I would shoot a jake. You fooled them, they put on a show, and you had plenty of tags left for "trophy" birds. Good eatin in your future for sure!
I really don't understand the argument of passing a strutting a gobbling jake for a chance at a two year old. Two year olds are essentially jakes that strut and gobble. They gobble a lot, come in on a string, and often don't think twice about walking right into your lap. No doubt they are a fun bird to hunt and harvest, but a jake that struts and gobbles is just the same.
If you passed on jakes and two year olds for three year old and older toms that are a little more woods and hunter savvy, that would make more sense to me.
But, to each their own. Good to see most don't hold it against another, so long as it's legal and ethical.
No I would not.....but if it your first bird....LETUM HAVE IT !!!!! :fud: :OGani:
then you are hooked....... :z-guntootsmiley: and God help ya !! :you_rock:
If I'm in Alabama this weekend at the begining of our hunt on public land with 5 tags and a jake pops out on a slow day rainy... We're having turkey for lunch. If I'm in Indiana on some public land of a buddies with 1 tag. He's walking.
I have shot a couple. Might in the future. Just depends on how the season has gone and what the birds are doing.
I'm cool with whatever people do if they're ethical and legal.
Personally, no. I have let jakes walk the last 3 seasons, and ate tag soup.
It boils down to what you as a hunter want to do. The desicion is completely yours, not anyone elses.
If you have no issues shooting a jake, them by all means, hammer him. I get one tag in the spring, and I prefer longbeards.
Now that being said, one of the most exciting hunts I was a part of was my buddies first turkey hunt, and I called in a jake for him.
Now this bird was as wary as they come. He came on a line to the decoy, and about 20 yards before he hit the deke, he bolts into the woods.
He's in there just hammering like a big boy, and slowly, slinks into the field where my buddy popped him.
So, based on the thrill, that one ranked right up there! Great hunt, and awsome memories.
No, but if you want to have at it. :z-guntootsmiley:
Kids or someone who has never killed one, yes. But I've never had anyone in either category take me up on the jake offer.
I've let them all walk for four seasons. Who knows what might happen to the next one. Last year I called in two for a guy that had never killed one. He shot one and ask me if he could kill the other. It wasn't my call to make, it was his property. But he ask and I said no. Couple of weeks later what I believe to be the same jake busted me when I had a longbeard comming.
QTM, it pays to discover!
HC
to me, it's all about the game we play...if hes willin to play the game....he loses. i don't measure the magnitude of a hunt by the length of the beard or spurs or even the weight. life is too short. tomorrow may never come....................i'm just sayin....besides , i just happen to have another tag.
Quote from: ALfwlmth on March 22, 2013, 10:46:38 PM
Kids or someone who has never killed one, yes. But I've never had anyone in either category take me up on the jake offer.
Quote from: Gamblinman on March 22, 2013, 07:05:37 AM
Kids and first timers...yes
Me personally...he walks.
Gman
Thanks for laying out the rules for everyone guys. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to kill a jake since I've already got a nice tom in the past. Lmao how freaking pathetic - heaven forbid somebody enjoys a nice hunt and gets some turkey for the grill at the end of the day...
Yep.
No. But that's my personal choice. I wouldn't begrudge anyone who would. The way I see it, if its legal, and it makes you happy, go ahead and shoot it!
It depends on the year some years I may only have a few days to hunt the whole season to hunt I'm lucky to have close to 1000 acres here to myself in ohio to hunt so killing a Jake will not affect my hunting for next year
Usually only if the season is coming to a close & I have not gotten anything else (example: usually on public land that has been hunted hard & everything has left the area or so it seems). Last year I shot one on the last day of our season only so I could take it to the Dad & Daughter camp out in June (did not want to give up the meat from my gobbler that I got at the beginning of the season). The girls tore the fried strips up & many dads had never tasted wild turkey before & all have asked me to bring more this year. I hope I get the chance to make that happen.... :toothy12:
My trigger finger does all my talking - I am not saying shooting a immature gobbler is a bad thing , but having more mature (breeding stock) for next year definitely is a good thing for turkey hunting in general - If you have loads of turkeys on your property then good for you , do as you please -
I guess it depends on the situation. Probably a yes in most cases. Now if I knew the big boy was on his way then no. But in many cases, it's the gobble that gets me fired up. If he's gobbling his head off and not coming in silent, then he's getting shot.
No.
It depends on the hatch and population. If it's low... then no. That is not a personal reason but a management one.
Even so...... if it's legal then it's a hunt. A friend of mine chased a gobbler through the swamp for hours. It was a Jake. He said....... "if you gobble like a man...you die like a man".
We are lucky as turkey hunters to not have a "quality management" program where people are ridiculed for killing turkeys of their choice. God forbid if you post a pic of a 2 year old deer....lol.
In SC you get 5 tags. So if the stars line up and "hunt" is deserving and fun.... yes. I have killed some and would in the future depending on the circumstances.
My personal choice is just that. What would I do. I don't impose that on others.
No reason, from a management perspective, to pass on jakes. If you shoot a jake or shoot an adult, you are still out one adult bird next year.
Quote from: Garrett Trentham on March 24, 2013, 01:40:39 PM
No reason, from a management perspective, to pass on jakes. If you shoot a jake or shoot an adult, you are still out one adult bird next year.
The "management theory" is a 2 year old will have more time and likely breed more hens then he would as a young gobbler (jake). I have seen populations go down from bad hatches to changes in habitat on certain pieces of property or areas.
The Spring seasons are set to allow to some degree the breeding to take place. Just like not shooting does while they are still lactating and feeding her young.
While I guess this is debatable........ it would make me feel better if I knew what the population was in the area I hunted..... be it jakes or long beards.
I have not shot one in many years. But I might shoot the very next one that comes in on me. I prob. will not shot one, but I will never say never, and I have nonthing againest anyone who does shoot one. To me as long as it legal than a hunter is doing nonthing wrong. To me it's up to the hunter.
:OGturkeyhead: :OGturkeyhead:
Not if I could ID the bird as a jake. I killed jakes when I first started hunting turkeys, and everyone of them was a real trophy in my book. In the last 15 years, the only jake I've killed was a mistake bird who came in with a long beard and the two got crossed up in the broom sedge. Last year I was trashing a seasoned turkey hunter, who routinely shoots jakes even now, and when he said that I had admitted shooting jakes years ago, I told him, " Yes and I used to mess in my britches, but I matured and grew out of that too!" Enough said!!
I would at one time but not anymore!
I hunt public land and have limited time to hunt mostly saturdays. So yea I'd shoot a jake. That being said i've never killed a jake it's not that i haven't tried i've missed a few as long as i use up my misses on jakes and keep hittin the longbeards i be happy.PS i've missed some longbeards to
Yep, i knew my response would rile some of you up, but i did notice that after I posted that more people responded that yes, depending on the situation they might shoot a jake, i would rather shoot all longbeards myself, and yes, i think that any first timer or youth should surely take a jake if the opportunity arises, but the same thing goes on on deer forums also, some people won't shoot spikes or young bucks, some will, it is totally a personal decision
I would not shoot one personally. If youre into that and it makes you happy, knock yourself out.
Yes, and he doesn't have to strut or gobble.......as many have said its your opinion and choice! We make hundreds of them a day, regardless of what our internet friends say is right or wrong!! Shoot em if ya want, let em walk if you don't!! But I'd like to follow some of ya'll around and have a chance at all these jakes you're letting walk!!! Good luck this year! Be safe and God Bless!!!
Nope let him walk..
No.
It's against the law here in MS anyway...
I have killed a jake that gobbled and strutted. The bird had a full fan and I could not see the beard.
I also killed one on the last day of the season at about 6:00 in the evening.
it depends on the time and how the season went. In MN we only get one bird and have a five or seven day season so you have to take what you can get.
Quote from: mountman62 on March 22, 2013, 01:26:46 PM
Well, either we got a bunch of liars on here, or the folks that will shoot one are too ashamed to answer this question
I did not find this a hot topic, some trap for liars and ashamed hunters on this forum...... it may others. I thought it was a good cross section of what people choose. I think the people who posted were honest and those who did not have something to offer....... others said as they felt or did. That is most likely why this forum is so popular.
It's not my thing but if it makes you happy then have at it...
My first bird was a limbhanger that I called and shot while hunting alone. It had several 14" strands in its beard. So, I never got the chance to take a jake as a first bird. I still have not, though I'd like to get one. If I called one up on purpose I would shoot. Trouble is I've only ever done that once and it was for a youth shooter. The others were coincidental when calling to a particular gobbler.
Anybody knows how to consistently target and call in a jake, I'm all ears. The way I hunt gets me better odds on 3+ year old gobblers.