California Rio for a Florida boy!!

[Flydown]

Awesome hunt and great pictures! Congrats on the Cali bird!

[boomer]

Congrats!!

[jblackburn]

congrats on the bird, and great pics!

[land cruiser]

Great hunt, story and hard earned trophy!

[mudhen]

Thanks guys, it was a heck of a trip, and a hard earned gobbler!

Looks like a jake to me though...
mudhen

I knew someone would make that comment. Like I said Mudhen, he wasn't a big boy by any means, but he wasn't a jake. I've never heard of jakes that weighed 16.2 lb's, had 7" beards or spurs bigger than nubs. I see what you are talking about by the fan. But I've also killed a mature Osceola with 1-3/8" hooks and an 11" beard that had even more of a jakish fan than this Rio does. I got a kick out of posting the pic of that Osceola's fan on another forum and asking if people thought it was a jake or a tom.

Welcome to Cali, land of the super jake!!

I've got maybe 10 jakes that have topped 16 lbs, heaviest being 17 lb 10 oz.

Almost all of them had .5"+ spurs, connected to the bone, and 5-7" beards.

I have no idea why we seem to have so many of them out here, but I think our mild weather allows for a long breeding window.  We will have poults on the ground any day, if not already in some areas.

But, for sure, it's whatever you want it to be!!

mudhen

[ElkTurkMan]

 Congrats on your bird. I love the pictures.

[Muzzy61]

Congrats, Great pictures

[Turkeyfan]

Sounded like a great trip was had congrats to you.

[headbanger]

Congrats on the bird! That California land sure isn't the concrete jungle you see on the tube. Beautiful land.

[RutnNStrutn]

it's whatever you want it to be!!
mudhen

Mild weather? You're talking to someone from Florida!! Even here, super jakes still have classic jake fans. As I said, I shot a limb hanger Osceola that had more of a jake fan than this Rio, and fooled everyone on the forum I posted the pic on. Beards are not the measure of maturity, and sometimes fans aren't either, there are many oddities in the turkey world. Jakes don't have a 3/4" spur. Spurs are the measure of maturity. I'll call my gobbler a late hatch 2 year old, because that's what I believe he was. You can call him a jake, or super jake, or anything you'd like to. Or you could have just said congrats!!
The picture below shows a jake on the left and a gobbler on the right. 

[RutnNStrutn]

Thank you to all of the rest of you guys though! It was an awesome trip, and I am happy with my gobbler that I worked my tail off to get.

[hobbes]

Congrats Rutn!  Sounds like a well deserved bird.

Has MT been marked off your list?  If not and you plan a hunt here, be sure to get in touch with me.  I don't have any sure bets, but I can get you pointed in the right direction if your going to hunt public land.  I may even be able to get out and help you run a Merriam's down.

[RutnNStrutn]

Thanks Hobbes!! I haven't been to Montana yet. But it's definitely on the list. I have a couple of old friends that I'm gonna visit when I go hunt there. I'll be in touch with you before I head out there.

[FL-Boss]

Great story.. a lot of hard work paid off.. well deserve bird. 

[Wrangler95]

 :you_rock:very nice,congrats