Occasionally, turkeys might lose a few tail feathers to predators or some other reason, so it might look on first glance that the central feathers are longer, but look carefully. How old is a jake turkey? Hens: These female turkeys, 5 to 7 months old, weigh between 8 and 18 pounds. But ask ten people and you’ll probably get ten different answers. A jake’s gobble attempts are often You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. When he’s in full strut, the top of his head turns white. In general, jakes will have short (less than ½”), conical, rounded spurs, while gobblers will have longer (longer than ½”), straight, and pointed spurs. A hen’s head is typically dull gray or blue in color. camouflaged from head to toe; we’re all making sounds like the Males have spurs on the backs of their legs that grow longer and This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. #bonecollector #bowfest #partner, Posted by Michael Waddell's Bone Collector on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. hesitant and comical. Now that you know the jake turkey definition and tom turkey definition, we can look at what makes them different. Hunters routinely come across a gobbler with no spurs and even a bearded hen turkey on occasion. Your email address will not be published. after two or three syllables. A great addition to your summer to-do list! Toms These fill with So it really comes down to what you are comfortable shooting. If the bandanna holder is lucky, he’ll just spend the rest of When a jake, or juvenile male, displays his A 2-year-old male has spurs one-half to 1-inch long. That extra second or two you outer tail feathers. Many people take any legal turkey they get the chance to, while some choose to only shoot mature long beards. Those same reasons should make turkey hunters extra cautious, Just as a spike buck is very different from a mature buck, jakes and gobblers are both male turkeys – one’s just older than the other. There will be shifts in physical appearance and behavior as they get older, but a gobbler is essentially a gobbler on its 2 year birthday. the morning in a hospital emergency room with an intern digging What exactly is the difference between a jake and a tom? seconds and has a lusty rattle. Spur length is a reliable method for aging While a gobbler and jake have similar colored heads, especially when compared to hens, it’s usually slightly different during the spring breeding season. It’s one of the first questions you probably asked as a kid learning to hunt, and it’s one that many people get tripped up on during their first-time turkey hunting. against his fanned-out tail. You’ll have a The 20 Best ALDI Finds for November Are All About Cookies & Thanksgiving. A certain number of hens will also sport a beard at some point, which is why many regulations allow a “bearded turkey” during the turkey hunting season. only turkeys that will gobble. But you can’t and shouldn’t ever use just one of these traits as stand-alone proof. Your email address will not be published. blood and turn bright red when the bird is excited, and the snood until you see a beard! more pointed each year. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. A male turkey is larger than a hen, but the sexes can also be hunter pulls a red bandanna out of his pocket and another hunter toms. What is a jake? Generally, people define a jake turkey as a one-year-old bird. In its second summer, it will usually molt all of the feathers so that they regrow into a uniform tail fan. life. Your email address will not be published. characteristics of normal hens. The body feathers on males, regardless of their age, have black mistake. 6s in his direction. It happens somewhere every spring. have beards shorter than 5 inches. fan, the central tail feathers stick up an inch or two above the Hens can be roasted, broiled, or grilled. As a Would you shoot a rare piebald buck in Pennsylvania. Here are some good pointers to go off of as you head to the fields and woods this spring. This is another generalization, but gobblers almost always give a longer, louder, better-sounding gobble than jakes. In spring, a male’s head is generally bright A mature tom’s gobble lasts several But when you hear a loud, textbook turkey gobble in response to your Death Valley box call, you can be pretty sure it’s a long beard. Toms kick at but most hunters pass them up in favor of a tom. indicator of age, as the tips of the bristles wear and break from A jake, or yearling male, has spurs less than a half-inch Many turkey hunting regulations specify you kill a male or “bearded turkey” during the spring hunting season. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Read the More Turkey Decisions: Hen or Tom, does it make any difference? As the Can’t Stop the Flop campaign really ramps up over the coming weeks, this is an important question to ask. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. From 1 to 5 percent of hens also have beards, but these are But when a group of jakes team up, they may be bolder than a single long beard. When you’re trying to decide jake turkey vs a gobbler, it all comes down to beards, tail feathers, head color, spurs, gobbles, and behavior. accident-free hunt, if every turkey hunter obeyed it: Don’t shoot But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Adult males, or gobblers, also have fleshy wattles and caruncles All turkeys cluck, yelp, and purr, but toms and jakes are the Required fields are marked *. These cookies do not store any personal information. There is one rule, however, that would virtually ensure an This website uses cookies to improve your experience. bird walks into range, ask yourself: black or brown body? A juvenile bird’s central tail feathers are longer than its Sometimes toms even get multiple beards, which can be another good sign of maturity. On the other hand, sometimes toms lose their beards or wear them down over time, or jakes will sport long or double beards. on their head and neck and a snood on their beak. What is a gobbler? They can also sometimes be confused with hens in the field. discussion from the Chowhound General Discussion, Turkey food community. heads can appear bright blue, red, or white, depending on their Red or https://www.bonecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/BoneCollector_JakeVsTomFeature.png, https://www.bonecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bone-collector-logo_white-green.png, Turkey Hunting | How to Tell the Difference Between a Jake and a Long Beard. beard to a fight or freezing weather. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. hangs down several inches below the beak. In fact, jakes may not even strut when long beards are around. A jake is an immature male bird. the safety, look for the beard. From a distance, males look big, shiny, and black, while hens look smaller, drab, and brown. A weaker, long beard may be more willing to approach hen decoys if there is no other male decoy around, while stronger, more aggressive gobblers may come running in to kick your jake decoys out of town. As gobblers get older, the spurs often take on a curved, hooked form. A juvenile bird’s central tail feathers are longer than its outer tail feathers. Shop our online store for products and gear: Print of the Year, Outdoor News History Book, Outdoor News Clothing and more! But when does a jake become a gobbler and how can you tell the difference in the field when it counts? tips and a shiny, iridescent sheen. Jakes may yelp-gobble or break off a gobble red. Your email address will not be published. Jakes tend to have pale red and blue heads, while mature gobblers will have vibrant reds and blues and may also have a lot of white present on the top and back of their heads. long. They can also sometimes be confused with hens in the field. As a result, these central tail feathers usually stick up 2 to 3 inches above the rest of the fan once the others grow in, producing an awkward, uneven looking fan when they strut. They sound like adolescent boys In spring, any male or bearded turkey is a legal target, but In situations like this, it’s important to pay attention to your decoy strategies while turkey hunting. A gobbler or tom turkey is a mature male bird. © Copyright - Michael Waddell's Bone Collector - Powered by, 4 Incredible Features in the Ultimate Turkey Hunting Clothing. presence of a beard. Jakes usually Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Beard length is not a good birds we’re hunting; and we all know a gobbler’s head is red,