Don’t make the mistake: take the jake

One must wait when a bunch of turkeys are present to avoid shooting two birds.

This is one of those unenforced rules that turkey hunters should always consider. The wild turkey is a very beautiful bird, and it's North America's largest game bird, and many hunters get caught up in all the beauty that is turkey hunting.

Everyone wants to hunt and shoot a great huge trophy. They want a bird with a beard as thick as a paintbrush and one that drags the ground, and preferably with hooks 1 ½-inch around the curve and a bird that tops 20 pounds.

Such birds are out there although spurs that long are often found only on the oldest gobblers. But it's all these things that attract gobbler hunters, and not every one will shoot a great big bird. In fact, very few of us will shoot a big gobbler when the season begins.

 

The decision isn't easily made until it presents itself, and you must move fast.

So the time-honored catch phrase “don't make the mistake: take the jake” can be excellent advice. Oh, yeah, I know: it's fine to hold out for Big Bird to show up, but as a general rule, those old Ground Shakers seldom show up when you want them to.

So, that makes the old catch phrase more meaningful. As often happens, especially when using calls and decoys, the first birds on the scene are the younger jakes with their itty-bitty two-inch beards. The big limb-walkers hold back, and watch the youngsters with all their eagerness, dash in to sweet-talk the hen decoys and then get shot.

It's one way to ensure that a gobbler grows up, grows a big beard, and develops some hook to his spurs. They let the little guys run in, while they strut and posture, and it just takes strutters longer to get moving sometimes. Capturing a bunch of hens from another gobbler's harem is always the idea, there's just no rush to it.

 

Try to think this problem through before it happens, and try to reach a decision.

Often, hunters can tell if the strutters are interested. They strut and dance, stick their heads out to call, turn around in little circles while displaying their strutting skills, and they move in slow. I like to wait and see what the longbeards plan to do.

Often, the strutters hang back with the hens they've already corralled, and they look for danger. Then the hens that run with gobblers are like doe deer; they are suspicious about anything that looks out of place. Suddenly, if a jake and two hens are in one spot, and not moving, it makes old hens skittish. Once the jakes get into the decoys, it piques the interest of the old gobblers.

Slowly, the older gobblers will finish their inspection, and move toward the jake decoy. This, obviously, is what many hunters want to see. Well, folks, sometimes it happens that way and other times it doesn't.

My advice if the big longbeard hangs back, the hunter can do one of two things: wait to see if the big boys move closer, but there is no way to tell if they will. Usually, if a longbeard plans to jump a hen decoy, it usually does it while the jakes are thinking about doing it. However, if the longbeard holds back, he's suspicious. If he walks away, and no longer answers the call, he's on his way out of Dodge City.

Now is the time when you make the final decision. No one can make it for you. Do you shoot the jake, and end your season by tying your tag to one of the legs, or do you pass up an easy shot in hopes of calling in another heavy gobbler? Only you can solve that problem.

Longtime hunters can tell when adult gobblers are about ready to skate out of there. The staked-out hen decoys aren't moving as a live bird would, and the big gobblers are holding back. The only target of opportunity is a jake.

 

Just don't move when turkeys are within shotgun range. Shoot or wait.

Mind you, there are no stigmas attached to shooting a jake. Only personal thoughts keep this from happening. The question that turkey hunters all over North American must ask themselves is this: I can kill that jake or I can wait and try for a larger birds. It can be a tough decision to make.
Only you can answer the question. I've shot lots of gobblers over the years, so it's my decision to shoot or wait, and I always wait. For first-time hunters or those who haven't shot many birds, my advice is simple. Don't make the mistake: take the jake.