I always feel like when I see I jake I am in the wrong area. It seems like jakes are almost always pushed several hundred yards out of the core long beard and hen area. What does everyone think?
Here in MT I find a mixed bag. Sometimes just makes by themselves, sometimes jakes with hens, sometimes Tom's with hens, sometimes all three together.
Nope, I see them together in close proximity all the time. I've seen a couple jakes and a single long beard together quite a few times throughout the years.
agree, of being a mix bag around my area. But i've never seen many jakes and long beards together around matting season together...
I've shot a big tom hanging with a pile of jakes, I've seen a group of jakes run a tom off and I've seen a group of jakes kill a tom.
I've seen toms come through after jakes left and I've seen jakes come through after toms left.
There isn't a jake area and a tom area.
I can tell you that jakes move a lot from year to year. We have around 900 acres in NW Florida and I have let at least 50 jakes live over the past 5 years.
But each spring we will have 3-4 longbeards...
There is no telling just how far they range from year to year...