Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

Last figures we have is approximately 700 +/- turkeys are harvested on Florida state public WMA's half are hybrids or easterns ..some states have a beard length rule implemented ...some states like Florida have a deer antler point minimum for deer , but no requirement for turkeys

Let me know

I don't personally shoot Jakes, but not sure it makes much difference in the grand scheme of things?

I guess you could look at Mississippi to see when it was implemented and what the result was, though there are likely too many factors to know if it was the primary reason you had more gobblers.

I am neither for or against it.

Maybe let youth hunters harvest jakes?

It is a can of worms for sure!

I think there should be a minimum beard length or spur length, with the exception of youth weekend.    I'm not sure what I'd set the minimums at, but probably around 7" beard or a 3/4" spur.   Meet either one of those and you are pretty sure you have at least a gobbler into his second spring

Where'd the 700 figure come from.  Until Florida implements actual tag and report for turkey any figure given is a wild  guess.  Which noted biologist gave the hybrid/eastern figure?  The number of WMAs with actual check stations is few and dwindling.  All in all a pretty lame topic.
7" beard 3/4" spurs???  Seriously!  These birds aren't catch and release.  Shoot one, count it in your yearly bag limit,  consume it, be tickled. 

Yes, seriously.   No mention of catch and release? 

Quote from: guesswho on March 22, 2022, 03:42:38 PM
Yes, seriously.   No mention of catch and release?

What happens with the flopper with the 6 1/2" beard?  Coyote feed?  The number of non qualifying birds left to rot or secretly breasted and consumed in states such as MS is imo astronomical.  Limit 2 birds.  One or both a jake.  So what. 

Quote from: joey46 on March 22, 2022, 03:44:32 PM

Quote from: guesswho on March 22, 2022, 03:42:38 PM
Yes, seriously.   No mention of catch and release?

What happens with the flopper with the 6 1/2" beard?  Coyote feed?

now that's the ultimate turkey hunter. one who can definitively measure the birds beard and spur before pulling the trigger 

Quote from: bigriverbum on March 22, 2022, 03:50:01 PM
now that's the ultimate turkey hunter. one who can definitively measure the birds beard and spur before pulling the trigger

Oh boy, bowing out now. 

A good many can't measure a spur holding it in here hand, sure can't guess it at 40 yards.

There's no doubt in my mind without the jake law in ms, we would be way worse off then we are . They get killed down to the jakes annually !
I'm all for a kid getting one or two to start off there hunting career . I let my 7 year old get one last spring . But now he knows it's long beards only .  I'm all for all state implementing it .

Quote from: ol bob on March 22, 2022, 04:09:06 PM
A good many can't measure a spur holding it in here hand, sure can't guess it at 40 yards.

I understand that.   My thinking (common sense) is trying to find basic guidelines that would protect gobblers in their first spring.   I would hope that the GW's would understand (common sense) the concept, and let a 6 1/2" beard and 5/8" spurred go.   Like the interstate speed limit of 65,  technically you could be ticketed at 66, but I'm betting thats rare.     

And if that qualifies me as the Ultimate Turkey Hunter, then that's another title I can live with.

IMO beard length or spur length restrictions would be ridiculous. If you could instantaneously question the average successful turkey hunter he would have no idea what he just killed. Back when I killed anything a few were jakes with 6.5" beards or so...I've gotten a number of adults with lesser beards. I've killed a number of birds that never fanned out giving me a look. Spur length...heck I doubt if I saw the spurs on 10% or 20% of the birds I've killed. Body size? I killed a good Rio in OK that only weighed 12.5#. So about the only other thing you have to look at is the covert wing feathers depicting an adult bird from a jake, and most guys don't know how to check the coverts.

6 inch beard or full fan. That's how it is in Miss. I don't have a problem with it. If I had to look at spurs before I shoot I would be in trouble.

I personally have no problem with a no Jake's rule with the exception of let a youth hunter take a Jake.  Given a little experience after a few Jake's under their belts, the kids will want to take a longbeard as well.

Beard length maybe, spur length not a chance!!!

If a scumbag would leave a bird rot he's likely up to no good anyway!


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Quote from: joey46 on March 22, 2022, 03:32:53 PM
Where'd the 700 figure come from.  Until Florida implements actual tag and report for turkey any figure given is a wild  guess.  Which noted biologist gave the hybrid/eastern figure?  The number of WMAs with actual check stations is few and dwindling.  All in all a pretty lame topic.
7" beard 3/4" spurs???  Seriously!  These birds aren't catch and release.  Shoot one, count it in your yearly bag limit,  consume it, be tickled.

the fwc themselves ....sad part is I don't even think they are aware of it themselves , I had to add them up wma to wma a few years ago

..most are manned infact I've never seen one unmanned in central or southern Florida ...I'm sure there however some that are unmanned

I don't know if that's a good idea or not. Lots of people if they see a
gobbler head they'll shoot without seeing the beard or fan.
If they walk up to it and see it's a jake they'll probably breast it out
or leave it there.
Theoretically I think it's a good idea, but when you put humans into
the equation things get screwed up.
Some people are shoot first, ask questions later.

I stand corrected...493 +/- turkeys total ...checked out.. statewide ...in Florida on type 1 wildlife management areas 2021 spring . A few years it was over 700 ...either thier record keeping is not accurate or the numbers are going down

I'll 100% guarantee you if a 7" requirement was in place and a warden caught you with a 6" bearded gobbler that bird wouldn't be riding home with you.  At minimum it's confiscated and you'll receive a citation.  Not even a doubt in my mind.  Dream on. One of the dumbest topics ever.  Florida is a state having enough trouble getting any type of harvest data let alone wanting everyone required to carry rulers in their backpacks.   :TrainWreck1:
Go through the list of WMAs in the quota system and see how few have check stations.  You'll be amazed.  Now throw in the unknown number of "exempts" that are rarely accounted for and whose harvest data is a complete puzzle.  Over the last 10 years myself and my friends (exempts) have killed 3 to 4 (total) legally harvested gobblers every season.  ONE went through a check station.  Nobody received a survey.  When I see NWTF reporting Florida harvested an estimated 13,007 birds I giggle.  13,005 probably closer. 7" or 6"?  Let's compromise on 6 1/2". Fairy land.  Lol.

Mississippi has a 6 inch ... I think it would be best for me to consult them as a group whole to see how it has been working..or not

a loophole for exempt hunters youth... disabled..retired military...etc..would be appropriate

I always thought the "no jakes" rule sounded like a good one, but I've not hunted MS to know how well it's followed.  I can't say that I get terribly bent out of shape over someone killing a Jake.  I better not, I shot one myself in Florida last year on private.  For a Jake, he had a pretty good beard, and it was better than a lot of Merriam's that I've killed.  I knew he was probably a Jake, but he brought up the rear, was a touch bigger, and I didn't hesitate when he quickly turned to go.  I wouldn't have taken the chance if there was a no Jake rule in effect. 

What is the end goal of a "no jakes" rule?  More gobbling turkeys the following season?  More adult birds to breed hens?  Is there a biological benefit?

It'd be tough to implement in Western states because Merriam's have such terrible beards on average. 

While not entirely relevant, Montana does have restrictions on elk.  The majority of districts are "brow tined bull" only in rifle season.  A brow tined bull has at least a 4" brow time.  Most folks don't shoot a bull unless they are damn sure it's over 4".  If they can do that, seems like folks could do alright on turkey beard length.

Quote from: Old Gobbler on March 22, 2022, 06:24:11 PM
Mississippi has a 6 inch ... I think it would be best for me to consult them as a group whole to see how it has been working..or not

a loophole for exempt hunters youth... disabled..retired military...etc..would be appropriate

6 inch or full fan in MS is pretty easy to follow. I can't think of maybe 1 or 2 birds I've ever seen that it really hard to tell of they made it or not. Problem people run into is when a bird that has a full gobble pops his head over the ridge and people role the dice.

Quote from: Stoeger_bird on March 22, 2022, 06:35:31 PM

Quote from: Old Gobbler on March 22, 2022, 06:24:11 PM
Mississippi has a 6 inch ... I think it would be best for me to consult them as a group whole to see how it has been working..or not

a loophole for exempt hunters youth... disabled..retired military...etc..would be appropriate

6 inch or full fan in MS is pretty easy to follow. I can't think of maybe 1 or 2 birds I've ever seen that it really hard to tell of they made it or not. Problem people run into is a bird that has a full gobble they see a head pop over the ridge. Some just role the dice and lose.

It's pretty easy to tell if it's a Jake


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"Rolling the dice" says it all.  How many perfectly edible birds are left to rot because someone made a bad estimate on beard length?  These same hunters that walk away from a dead short beard in all likelihood continue to hunt for that elusive 6 incher and if killed now have two down but only one claimed.  Total waste of a resource and unnecessary.

According to NWTF article "No biological reason exists on whether or not hunters should kill a jake. If a jake is taken legally, no biological backlash comes from harvesting that bird, other than reducing the potential of 2 year olds that could be in the area the following year (which can be a lot of fun to hunt)."

Take that for what it's worth...I don't have any data to back that up. I know the guys at UGA do a good bit of turkey research but not certain if they've addressed this topic specifically. One thing is for sure, I couldn't judge beard/spur length of a tom in the heat of moment...not accurately anyway.


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Quote from: joey46 on March 22, 2022, 06:53:51 PM
"Rolling the dice" says it all.  How many perfectly edible birds are left to rot because someone made a bad estimate on beard length?  These same hunters that walk away from a dead short beard in all likelihood continue to hunt for that elusive 6 incher and if killed now have two down but only one claimed.  Total waste of a resource and unnecessary.

Yea true but the same person who would leave a bird to rot in the woods is the same person that will shoot over the limit or poach. The 6 inch rule isn't keeping them from breaking the law.

I think any rule changes should follow solid proven  biology methods

The fact remains about 500 birds on public in Florida is a dismal figure...we are cruzing at 21 million residents and land is disappearing daily...imo all suitable non state owned habitat will end up being developed as we are projected to hit a population of 40 plus million by the year 2050

I'm pretty sure there is a lot of evidence that shows that sour length and beard length are not at all good representations of a birds age, so yeah.

Coming from a state that allows both jake and bearded hen harvest in the spring season along with excessively liberal bag limits I never had much problem with harvest of jakes regardless of hunter experience level.

Like many, I have a self-imposed rule to not shoot jakes. Though I don't fault those who do.

There's so many factors affecting turkey population health, some within our control and some not, but things like a self-imposed reduction in bag limit and/or shooting adult gobblers only are. It's a common line you hear, that we are conservationists first and hunters second. However I recognize everyone's situation is different, especially in states with a 1 or 2 bird limit.

On another note, I am all for regulation to ban harvest of bearded hens in the spring.

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 Total feel good, BS law.

I am not opposed to letting Jake's walk, but a BS rule for multiple reasons.

I think it should be a hunter's choice.
A few years back, a friend of mine and I let several jakes walk one season..best guess was 9 or 10 between a couple of areas. We really expected to have some fun the next spring. BUT..one several trips to listen; we did not hear the first bird and didn't see but a couple of tracks in the clearcut they were near. What happened?? I didn't hear of any outbreaks of disease but did hear rumors of the WLF guys trapping birds to restock somewhere else...Who knows?

Jakes should be for youth only in my opinion.  My 10 yr old last year let a spitting/drumming/gobbling super Jake walk.  By his choice not mine.  I told him he should to shoot him.  He thought about for a bit and decided not to.   We did have some fun with him tho. He has killed 1 Jake in his early career when he was 6 yr old.  At that time he had killed 9 longbeards. Although some of these bull jakes are harder to call in than a mature experienced gobbler.  They can be finicky lil boogers.
A grown man killing a Jake is kinda like a grown man shooting a spike deer.  I mean come on! 
I feel like most poachers around my parts don't shoot jakes.  They just kill entirely way too many longbeards.  Some just deer hunt them over corn. 
These lowlifes absolutely discuss me!


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I say limit the jakes to youth season. Give the birds a chance to reach maturity and breed more.

I agree with the six-inch rule but feel there could be exceptions for first time hunters, youth, and people with special needs. We need to give turkeys every opportunity to survive and strive.

Going to attempt to post 3 pictures (always an adventure on this forum).  Look at them quick.  Imagine you are on day three of a three day hunt.  You may not get out again.  You like to eat turkey.  The elitist have succeeded in having a no jakes 6" rule in your area.  You just heard that quick cluck that usually means they know somethings not right.  The far birds head has popped up.  Shoot - Don't shoot.  Again do it quick you'll only have one chance.  No safety concerns so don't throw that in.  Quick quick quick. 
There is one very good longbeard in this group and a few that may or may not qualify for the 6" rule (spit) but "OOPS!" you picked the wrong one and the flopper is a 5".  Now what??  Turn yourself in and throw yourself on the mercy of the court or just sneak him out and have him for supper?  You all know what would probably happen.  I just hope the 5" doesn't get left for buzzard bait.  What a waste. :turkey2:

Now do it again - QUICK - he just caught you're movement.  This picture from last week.  We'll be hunting this area next Tuesday.  I'm blessed to be Florida done but my hunting buddy can take one more.  I'll carry stuff and call.  I'm 99% sure this is a jake but when you blow the picture up it has more than a typical jake beard.  Again imagine you're at the end of a trip and may not get out again this season. 
On this forum I can't post an enhanced blow up but I'm betting this is at least a 4".  Camera still there.  Should get him again.  Knowing my buddy he will give him a pass so no one pee their pants. 

Last one.
Deer can't recall if the 6" rule is in effect.  Thinking it over.  LOL.

Easy answer for me with or without a 6" rule.    Pass, pass and pass.   Pulling the trigger is not a snap decision for me.   It's either my training, or those two little words a lot of people lose while hunting, common sense.   In all the years I've been doing this I have never felt pressured into making a quick shooting decision.   And to justify such a decision with I like to eat turkey, is just lame.  And if I found myself in these snap decision positions on a regular basis I'd start to think that something I'm doing or not doing might be the cause.

You seemed to have missed the whole point.   :OGturkeyhead:

I am kind of slow :D. 

I get the whole wasted bird etc.   And agree it's a valid concern.   And I think you have missed my original point.   The random spur length comment was meant as a fail safe for someone who killed a 5 1/2" beard.   My point was to try to make second spring gobblers legal, and protect first spring gobblers.   Never meant it as a checklist.   

 :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an Voted No.

However, I do like the yes vote.

I don't shoot Jake's. I like leaving the little ones for the little ones. I did shoot a Jake a few years back. STUFF happenS. I had a bird gobbling like mad and he ran in. My emotions got the best of me and let him have it. It was the wrong bird.

We've all seen a mature full fan Tom with a shortie out there.

What will "A" 70 yard tss hero shooter do? Many times He's not going to have a good assessment.
^JMHO

At 70 yards it would be kinda hard to see a 4 inch beard without bino's.

Having been a part of the early days of the QDMA and implementing it, any restrictions must be EASY to determine in the field under most circumstances by even inexperienced hunters (low light, thick vegetation).  Limiting harvest to an 6 or 8 pt or better or a 15" wide rack (easier, but not perfect, since the vast majority of deer have a 14-15" wide ear spread).  Applying these restrictions in deer seen easy to teach and use, but finding something similar in turkeys is not easy, nor practical.

So far in this and other threads, no one has been able to present any options that can be easily implemented in the field by inexperienced hunters (get out of your experienced head and look at this through a brand new hunter's eyes) and are not viable for that reason.  In turkey hunting situation, how are you going to realistically teach hunters how to judge a +6" beard - what are the indicators on a live bird that you can use to determine that quickly in the field - head and neck length vs the beard, extended versus question mark mode?  A full fan sounds like the perfect solution at first, but if the bird is not strutting, 95% won't be able to tell and they are just not capable of glassing or seeing the tail feather notch when tucked.  Factor in higher vegetation and the beard and fan are out the window too.  Beard length is not always accurate either, with some mature gobblers missing a beard completely or very short.  A jake head "look" versus a gobbler head is a fairly accurate indicator, but the occasional super jake will mess up that one too.  I have seen them put on a show that matched any gobbler and the only difference between them was the tail feathers. Spurs are just too small to use as a field judging guide and I have seen toms without any spurs.

Most here have said they support youth, first time hunters, etc., be able to take jakes.  The reality in QDMA was that hunters want the same with small bucks, but what really happens is most hunters abuse it and you end up with even more small bucks taken on clubs than before they went to QDMA.  Most states have a youth turkey season, and they should be able to take any male bird during those seasons only, but not during the entire season, if you want to restrict jake harvests.  There is zero biological evidence to date that indicates limiting jake harvests contributes to increasing overall population except in extreme situations, it just adds some 2 year olds for the next season, and many of them wont even make it to that time. This is about as good as wearing grandmas t-shirt covid mask - zero science, all show.  Add in the fact that a hen only needs to be bred a single time each spring and she is good for fertilizing her eggs for 30-50 days, and that most of our seasons are set to start after breeding has been going on for at least a few weeks, taking out jakes, or gobblers, makes no difference on the population ongoing - that is a another issue.

Sadly, in places like Florida Osceola lands or Goulds in the SW, the only real answer is to go to a full lottery system with residents getting the most tags and severely cut the nonresident opportunities and reduce all harvests. Scream all you want people, but the time for this is way overdue.  Anything less is just window dressing until the resource is gone completely, and you can talk about the good old days when you could hunt Osceolas openly and then had to put in for tags instead of talking about the day they went extinct.

Florida hunter here, and I vote no, for sure.  Not only is it impractical, we don't need any more rules down here, they are hard enough to follow as it is.

I'm hunting an old bird right now that has giant hooks and virtually no beard.  I called him into range with two jakes and once I was ready to shoot they grouped up, got nervous not seeing a hen, and quit strutting.  I couldn't tell them apart with their movements and the grass was too high to see his spurs, so they all got to live another day. I don't see why there should be a law to prevent him from being legal.

But I also don't mind a new hunter or a kid taking a jake for their first, I don't think it hurts a thing.  IMO most guys aren't after jakes so a mistake or new/young hunters should not be penalized.

Oh and the FWC has no idea how many turkeys are taken on public land each year, and less of an idea what's happening on private.  The new tag system is long overdue.

Quote from: Dtrkyman on March 22, 2022, 05:36:29 PM
If a scumbag would leave a bird rot he's likely up to no good anyway!

Hunting with a kid on a WMA with a check station...  Kid shoots the closest bird instead of the long-beard...  I would guess the majority of hunters are not checking that bird out, knowing there will be a fine.

Quote from: Gooserbat on March 22, 2022, 05:34:36 PM
I personally have no problem with a no Jake's rule with the exception of let a youth hunter take a Jake.  Given a little experience after a few Jake's under their belts, the kids will want to take a longbeard as well.

Agreed with Goosebat on this statement.  Youth hunters need to be able to have success easy on I think to show the seed so to speak.

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I hate spellcheck. EARLY ON TO SOW THE SEED

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It's really not rocket science.... Either a 6 inch beard , or a full fan .  IMO if you can't determine either?
You shouldn't be shooting anyways .

 I have seen well over a hundred turkeys flop that did not strut.

I have flopped quit a few short beards with 1 1/4" spurs.

So, we should let these old gobblers walk because they have a short beard and have been beat down by more dominate birds?Maybe the WV and Va birds I routinely hunt are not the same as the rest of the country, but I don't want a law here like that.

I can say, what we call beard rot may not happen in the south as it does here. I don't remember seeing any color in the beards of turkeys I have killed in Florida. But, regardless, the post dominate bird still is relevant. But most won't understand that.

Of the four public locales I hunt in North Florida, only one has a manned check station.  I do understand central and south are different.  I voted no.  My daughter is 28 and only recently decided she would shoot a bird.  If she gets a legit chance at a jake, I will encourage her to let it fly.  She did pass on a jake at 40 yards, which her gun will easily do, but she felt it was too far.  Proud of her. 

My nephew killed a hard gobbling bird on the manned check station area.  He was in full strut, gobbled his head off on the way in, but never turned, was in very thick vegetation and he craned his neck up and offered a good shot and he killed him.  We were both stunned it was a super jake. He might have actually made the 6" limit, it would have been close.  Of course, he could have waited and maybe we could have figured it out. 

I have had private places I hunt that were loaded with jakes one year and no gobblers the next.  Does not mean they did not survive on move on.  I just balk at increased regulations.  I also do not care for South and Central Florida's problems leading to tighter regulations for us in the North.  Happened with ducks (early wood duck season) and was problematic for trout and reds until they created smaller zones. 

Most deer hunters I know pass on small bucks.  Most turkey hunters I know pass on jakes. Isn't that good enough?

I can only attest for what I see here in the dirty south .
The jake law is the single best law we have .
Even way before we had the jake law , grown men shooting jakes was frowned upon .

What would be the goal of a 6" rule?  In the overall scheme of things, I do not see it making a difference in turkey populations. 

It reduces opportunities for young or new hunters...  And, if someone shoots a "short" bird, and thinks there is any chance they will get checked, they will leave it lie, and probably not count it towards there quota.

Plus, it is my understanding that a second year bird has a better chance of breeding and surviving to the next season than does a jake (although I could be mistaken on that point).

First and foremost concentrate on habitat improvement which will go further to improve turkey numbers than any regulations on hunting...  And if turkey numbers are low enough that harvest numbers do make a difference, reduce harvest quota's and season length...

No biological basis for it. I don't see any need for regulating beard length.  Tagging a young gobbler has its own biological advantages.

Quote from: Gooserbat on March 22, 2022, 05:34:36 PM
I personally have no problem with a no Jake's rule with the exception of let a youth hunter take a Jake.  Given a little experience after a few Jake's under their belts, the kids will want to take a longbeard as well.

I agree with this. I would also add seniors & handicap individuals to the group who should be able to shoot Jakes

The issue with a beard length rule is beard rot. Best gobbler I ever killed had inch and three quarter spurs and a beard rotted off shorter than a jake's.


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Decent thread.  If nothing else it shows the need for Florida to get in the 21st century and implement some type of tag and report for turkey.  Adding some accountability for all their "free riders" such as the over 65 resident crowd is also badly needed even if just a gratis print out on the computer.  This wouldn't hurt a bit and is done in very limited circumstances such as Gulf Reef Fishing Permits (free and everyone needs one if Gulf reef fishing).  Impossible to even pretend to get  turkey harvest data without this.  Florida does not know how many actually hunt or fish.  Since turning 65 (now 75) I have taken 19 Osceolas.  One at a check station manned WMA (recorded by FWC), two on WMA quota hunts without check stations (bumped into wardens at both), and the balance on private land that went totally unrecorded.  So that's 3 recorded and 16 unrecorded.  During this time frame my frequent hunting buddy has taken around 15 or so.  All on private land that were not recorded by anyone.  Knowing this when I see FWC report a harvest of 13,007 to NWTF I think why bother?  Especially with the 007 (must be a James Bond fan in the bunch - lol)

I'm obviously diametrically opposed to a 6" beard rule.  Totally unnecessary and a burden to any public land hunter that isn't blessed with the time to get out multiple times over a season and be selective.  The public land hunters I know and have known all start the season wanting to get that big gobbler or big buck but are more than satisfied to make a decent shot and bring home some meat be it a 4 pointer or jake.  Florida residents often say "we don't care how you do it UP NORTH".  I don't care how you do it in Mississippi.  No SAVE THE JAKES stickers on my truck.  Good luck to all the rest of the season.

I think you should have to have had least 20 years of buying a license in the state before you get the over 65 exemption.  Too many snowbirds. 


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Quote from: g8rvet on March 24, 2022, 07:07:45 AM
I think you should have to have had least 20 years of buying a license in the state before you get the over 65 exemption.  Too many snowbirds. 


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I researched this once.  Few states are as generous as Florida on this.  Even before turning 65 the Gold Sportsman license for residents was a good deal.

  I personally don't have a problem with the no jake rule but do think an exception should be made for youth. As far as the beard length issue is concerned, I could live with that, but beard rot is an issue where I hunt and is a problem with this rule. Spur length, no way, i bet I haven't seen the spurs on 50% of the birds I've killed, either couldn't see them or didn't bother to look.

As a Floridian we desperately need a tag system.

I don't shoot jakes. All for a no Jake (with some exceptions) rule but is that six inches?

I'm a public land hunter.

Quote from: g8rvet on March 24, 2022, 07:07:45 AM
I think you should have to have had least 20 years of buying a license in the state before you get the over 65 exemption.  Too many snowbirds. 


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Like this idea or maybe if you have homestead status.

If you're not a resident you don't qualify for free hunting and fishing.  The 6 month one day rule applies plus a declaration of Florida primary domicile.  Just imo but a big % are tax cheats on this.  Could easily be caught by simply reviewing electric bills but few seem to care. 

Quote from: Crghss on March 24, 2022, 08:24:23 AM
As a Floridian we desperately need a tag system.

I don't shoot jakes. All for a no Jake (with some exceptions) rule but is that six inches?

I'm a public land hunter.

Don't worry about it.  If it ever happens it is far down the road after tag and report and years of data collection.  It's not biologically sound anyway.  6" just an arbitrary figure.  One guy thought 7".  I'm for visible beard.  Curious how many actual Floridians voted in this.  Let's start one for some states I don't have a stake in also.  I'd be happy to impose my opinions on them.  Voting is fun.  Just ask a democrat.

I voted no and only get a good WMA hunt every 3-4 years here in FL.

A big part of the hunt is eating what I take; can't eat feathers, beards or spurs and have no issue with shooting a Jake.

I'd rather focus on not taking bearded hens that spit-balling how long a beard is!