Jake with a eight inch beard ?

[Beardedbird]

My family doesn't shoot Jake's, at least I didn't think we did. We don't care if people shoot them. It's just something we don't do. So today when this guy came strutting in with his eight inch beard and full tail he was taken. When we walked up to him his Spurs were only a quarter inch long and his primary feathers were pointy. But he had a four inch wing patch and big snood and crown. So he had some things of a adult but other's of a Jake. What do you think about this guy? Oh and 17 lbs

[CamoMan4025]

It's a damn SUPER JAKE!!!!!!!!!! I'd kilt him all day long!

[jsh909]

We call those Jom's depending on situation, some times we let them walk and sometimes we drop them. That all goes by identifiers though and in your case, we would have shot as it sounds like there was no visual indicators that he was a Jake. My basic rule is of it's got a full fan and struts it gets the payload.

He may still be a 2yr old Tom that's just a bit underdeveloped.

[guesswho]

2 year old

[decoykrvr]

Late hatch 2 year old. If he has a full fan he has probably undergone a full molt which first occurs during his second summer and is not a jake, super or whatever.

[Beardedbird]

Well it's things like that, that really makes turkeys and turkey hunting interesting and fun. Thanks for the replies.

[Turkinator]

When the full fan rolls out, it’s game over!

[joey46]

Consider him a teenager. This discussed often an IMO it is a very early hatch from the prior year. Whatever he was congrats a legal bird is always a treat.

[jsh909]

Yep, you did right. You should have no regrets and no second thoughts.

[firedup]

If he acts like a big bird ….. he dies like a big bird. Really, with a full fan and decent beard how can you tell otherwise. Spurs are the true indication of age but with most you don't know for sure till you roll them over! I would be glad to have him!

[spider316]

Um, if you and everyone involved had fun and are going to enjoy the harvest, not really seeing the question !

[decoykrvr]

If the turkey was an early hatch from the previous year it would not have had a full fan, but a jake fan. I've killed a couple of 2-4 year old gobblers which were totally without spurs and have killed "old" gobblers which had heavy bodys, gourd heads, huge spur bases, but short rounded off spurs due to the rocky/chert terrain, so you really can't always determine age by the spur length. Beard length and weight are even more iffy on tryin to age a gobbler.

[Southern Sportsman]

If his fan was full and his wing coverts were filled out, he hatched in 2018 or earlier.

[Beardedbird]

Don't get me wrong we had fun and don't regret it. I was just trying to decide what he was considered, a Jake or Tom. Never seen one like it.

[935]

Don't get me wrong we had fun and don't regret it. I was just trying to decide what he was considered, a Jake or Tom. Never seen one like it.

Tom, gets my vote. I'm in the full fan crowd.

[appalachianassassin]

I call them a deuce. Late hatch 2 year old.