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How many of you have killed jakes on accident thinking they were a longbeard?

I've killed 5 jakes over the years and 4 of them I would have sworn were longbeards. The other was shortly after I started turkey hunting. 

I have killed one Jake and I thought it was a gobbler. He had a full gobble and never tried to strut, I couldn't see how long his beard was bc of high grass but I knew he had one. He made one last gobble and I rolled him at 52 yards. He had a 6" beard and no spurs just black dots.

Killed one last year. Didn't get a good look at him and he was moving fast through the thick stuff to my side. Didn't feel too bad about it. He should not have been gobbling...

I did it last year. Full fan. Full gobble. Short beard and nubby legs. He died like a big boy and tasted like the rest of them.  Now if my team mates will let me live it down. Still getting slack over that one.

Not by accident but a few years ago it was the end of the season and a jake jumped up on my mounted hen and started wrecking it. Pissed me off. So I burned my last tag on him.

I know what you mean on the gobbling.  Alot of them can't gobble worth a hoot, but I've come across several that could gobble like a big boy.  I've even seen them do the dance and breed hens.

Just one.  He was coming in with a longbeard and had a full fan.  He was shoving the longbeard around and acting like the dominant bird.

Due to limited visibility, I saw the longbeard on the other bird but couldn't see the chest on this one.  I thought this one was more dominant so must be another longbeard.

Wrong. :gobble:  It was still a great hunt and I don't have any regrets.

I've killed two that I thought were toms in the last two years.  The first in IL in 2009 after I let the first longbeard of three walk through an opening then blasted the second.  I could have swore all three were longbeards.  The second in NE last year that slipped in to our far right after gobbling into the wind a half hour earlier.  I didn't hear the gobble but my son did.  I could see beard and red head, but in my haste to swing around and kill him, I failed to notice the "jake" part.

I can remember four others that I knew were jakes when I killed them, one my first bird, one that I decided to kill on the last day of the season, and two that on separate occasions showed up late in the season that wanted to act like the big boys...........so I decided to treat them like one.  I believe as the season progresses, some of the jakes develop their gobble quite a bit and can fool you into chasing them around assuming they are toms.........I don't appreciate that.

I'm still not opposed to laying another one out if the mood strikes me.  

There is one gonna die Saturday if he does what he has been doing. Busted me twice this week by coming in from behind me. He has got to go!

I once killed a Jake that thought he was a Tom!  ;D

I killed two, the first birds I called in and did not know any better. I have never had an accident but I am not saying that I am failproof by any means. If he struts or gobbles like the man, he just might eat like the man.

Killed 3.  My first bird was a jake.  The next was an accident and the last one I killed  many years ago was on purpose.  2 jakes came in and whipped my gobbler I was getting ready to shoot.  He was in range it was just to thick to get a clear shot.  I watched him get his butt kicked then busted the first jake  that I had a clear shot on out of frustration and to even the odds  :D

I have a special beard board for those youngsters who have met this fate.

I killed several jakes back when I started and some years that was the only bird I called in.
There was one in particular that I would have bet the house on being a longbeard. Played the game just like a 3 year old, even hung up on me. Finally he strutted into range, fan as full as you would want it to be. When I reached him I couldn't even find a beard for while, when I did it was only 1 1/2 inches.
Heckuva hunt and I don't regret shootin' him at all.

OK....maybe the term "accident" isn't the correct word to use.  I shot both the birds I called an "accident" knowingly and safely.  They didn't die by accident, they died because I shot them with a load of #6's on purpose.  The closest thing to accident was I made an error in determining jake or tom.

Quote from: Reloader on March 24, 2011, 02:48:01 PM
I know what you mean on the gobbling.  Alot of them can't gobble worth a hoot, but I've come across several that could gobble like a big boy.  I've even seen them do the dance and breed hens.

:agreed:

Been there done that, my first and only gobbler was a Jake who I mistakes for the long beard I had seen 10 minutes before

Made this mistake one time. Running and gunning through some thinned pines, got one to answer a hard cut. Yelped once and got my gun up. He came through a thick patch of broomstraw into some two feet tall briars in full strut. He probably gobbled ten times. Full gobble, full fan. That was all I needed. He was at 35 yards but didn't live to see 34. After walking up to him I discovered he was a "super jake". He had a full fan, two 4 inch beards and nubs for spurs. On the plus side, it was my first legitimate double bearded bird.

None, but one very close when 4 birds came by me all gobbling to my son's calling. I thought all 4 were longbeards by the sound of their gobbles. As I was sqeezing on the trigger thru a whole in the brush on the lead bird, realized it was a Jake, and took #2, a Tom.

It's happened to me twice now. The first one the bird strutted all the way to the decoy full fan, full gobble. The second was last spring the bird gobbled all the way in and I whiffed on him. My buddy that was hunting with me saw that he was a jake, but I would have sworn by the way he gobbled he was a long beard.

I've done it twice.  The first one was years ago opening morning.  I had 3 jakes and a longbeard out in front of me.  I should've hammered the tom right there, but then a couple hens came in from my left and were only about 7 or 8 yards away from me.  I slowly moved my eyes over towards them and then when I looked back towards the gobblers they were walking up and over a little rise.  I put the bead on the one I thought was the tom and killed it only to find out I had shot one of the jakes.  I was ticked off at myself big time!

The other time it happened, it was late in the season and it was late afternoon.  A bird gobbled across the canyon from me and I watched two birds fly across to my side.  One was a hen and I was figuring the other was most likely a mature bird.  They worked their way up a hill to get to me and when I saw the gobbler standing in some buckbrush, I couldn't see his beard, but I had a good shot at his neck so I hammered him.  I was disappointed when I got to him and saw it was a jake.  It was still a cool hunt though.

1 on accident 4 or 5 on purpose.

killed one, shot the strutter and rolled him, he jumped up and took off runnin down the field, rolled him again and he got up a second time and took off. i chased him to the woods and started looking for him when my buddy showed up with a jake that was with the longbeard. Never saw the first pellet but I guess one got him.  ???

The first turkey I ever killed was a jake. WV allows you to take two bearded birds so I always say that I will shoot the first bearded turkey I see. If its meant to be then its meant to be. If the first bird is a jake then I go for a gobbler. Good fellow longbeard chasers!

I "mistakenly" shot only one jake....he came in with a tom I wanted to shoot and I got the heads mixed up as they bobbed and weaved through the woods coming towards me.  The other jakes I've killed were totally on purpose and they were good eating! :icon_thumright:

My first season I already had 3 and was sitting in a hidey hole with one of those Cherokee Sports blow up tom out in front of me. The grass had gotten tall so I used a 3 foot rod to get him up in the air and visible. I was sitting there calling every once in a while building a home made tube call out of a pill bottle. I didn't like how it was coming together and started over over. I hear a nervous purr sound and looked up and caught a glimpse of 3 birds running into my decoy. The first thing I did was freak out, then I grabbed my shotgun and backed away from my burlap blind and pointed it in the general direction. When they got to the decoy, they got nervous cause they had to look up at him on his 3 foot rod.  I shot the first one that got there.  The other two flew about 25 feet away and stopped. Gobbled at something and stared at their brother doing the Curly shuffle then walked off.  I found out it was a super jake with a 4 inch beard that weighted 18 lbs.

Yep I have done it.

Not on accident...yet.  Every jake I've killed was on purpose.   ;)

I've had the opposite happen.  It was the second year I was hunting turkeys and the first time I was by myself.   I was set up on a longbeard in a field that wouldn't budge and all the sudden a turkey runs from behind me to my decoy.  I saw that he had a short beard so I shot when he was about 5 yards-miss, racked another shell miss.  Finally got him at about 25 yards with the 3rd shot.  Turned out he was a mature bird with 7/8" spurs and a full fan but the beard was rotted off because of a melanin deficiency.  Needless it was a pleasant surprise for the first bird I called in by myself.   

2

one, the guy that I was hunting with told me it was a longbeard and I shot without verifying.

the other was with two mature birds that came in silent, the lead bird strutting.  He would turn back on the other two any time they got too close to him.  My gun was laid across my lap and my legs were straight out in front of me.  When they got behind a clump of three oaks I just brought my gun up without my legs.  It took them longer to clear those oaks and I was getting tired of holding the gun up. I just knew that the first bird to clear those trees would be the strutter.....when I saw a male head stick out from behind the tree I took the shot.  It was the jake.

never have killed a jake

I've done it a couple times but each time it's been on one of those years when the gobblers aren't gobbling much and I'm having hard luck. It seems my filter for deciphering a jake from longbeard gets a little blurry when it's like that.  :goofball:

Whew, glad I got that off my chest!!! Now bring on the longbeards or longbeard looking-ish turkeys.  :z-guntootsmiley:

I've killed 2 jakes kinda on accident. In KY you can take two bearded birds so I don't feel bad. Neither of them strutted, I couldn't see their spurs or the length of their beards. If I had known and waited, a big boy might have been trailing behind. Then again, they might have been all alone. No regrets.

Once that I can think of, full roll gobble and hung up and acted like a tom, late season thick cover and  only got a peak of his head and let em have it!

17lb "super jake"  no regrets!

Been there, done that. I think it probably happens to all of us, especially in mountainous terrain.

Quote from: Tom007 on May 18, 2024, 03:44:12 PMBeen there, done that. I think it probably happens to all of us, especially in mountainous terrain.

It's inevitable if you shoot at enough of them.

I believe I've shot 5 in my lifetime, for various reasons.

None by accident.

I just did that last week, 50 yard shot in high grass, came into the decoys and hung up when he saw the quarter strut decoy. He presented a long shot, and I smoked him in the high grass, kinda of disappointing, but happy to tag one. That was the only bird I heard in three days of hunting in the rain :begging: Can't always get the paint brush, but any bird is a treasure.

Quote from: stinkpickle on March 25, 2011, 10:33:29 AMNot on accident...yet.  Every jake I've killed was on purpose.   ;)

Same here, but I almost did this year. Not by mistaken identity, he stepped in front of the Tom and I pulled up. The gun went off . No clue how I didn't kill them both. The trigger was a micro ounce from engaging when the youngster popped in. My reaction was purely instinct and very lucky for us all. Z

This year.

Seen his fan, watched him gobble, correct ID, not a mistaken turkey.

Thought he was a LB, not a Jake. He sure did sound good!(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240519/50346637eb4f64b9c4ed4e695aaf4d95.jpg)

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On accident, once or twice because of acting like a longbeard with full gobble sneaking in and periscoping over the knoll.

Had one years ago come in spitting and drumming over the hill with one hell of a gobble. When he crest the hill and popped strut I couldn't believe he had a jake fan. Let him walk in doing his thing till I could clearly see his stubby beard then, bam.... my dad shoots him. After things settle he came over puzzled as to why I didn't shoot. I told him it was a jake which he thought no way but sure enough it was.

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I've killed them on accident, killed them on purpose. Don't regret a one of them.


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Did it in 2020. Was my 3rd bird that year. Came in gobbling like crazy and strutting in the thick brush. Had no idea it was a Jake. Stubby hooks lol

It is really easy to shoot a jake by accident in the mountains. I have done it twice over the years and it is a miracle it has not happened more than that. Most hunters in the mtns, especially those who do not use decoys, will set up so that when the bird appears over the peak of the ridge, he is in range.

One of the two, I had seen the Longbeard come off the ridge and wrap me and I knew he was by himself. So, I made one more move and put the peak of the ridge between me and him again and he came up and peaked over and I blew his head off at 18 steps. But it was not the Tom, a jake had sneaked in quietly from somewhere in the five to ten minutes from where I had last seen him circling the previous ridge by himself. The other occasion, was very similar. Took both home on the occasions that it happened and ate them and did not beat myself up about it.

My very first bird was a Jake, none since, although I don't have a problem with it.

I have killed two or three jakes I believed were longbeards, but they were no accident. I killed the bird I intended to shoot. I identified a target that was legal and decided to shoot it and I never regretted it. I simply made the choice not to wait and see a longbeard and I was fine with my choice every single time. It was always a gobbling bird that came to the call and gave a good game. I have never apologized or felt guilty for shooting jakes. I don't target them and 90 % of the time will let them walk away. However, if it's late season and I'm tired and a jake works good I'll bust his head and feel fine about it. Now to quantify these remarks. I don't know my numbers, but I imagine I've killed over 175 birds and I have shot maybe 8-10 jakes and most of them in the early years of my 53 seasons. Yet, I may shoot one next year. I do not view jakes as a lesser prize, but I pass them because they are the future. Don't let peer pressure keep you from shooting a jake, if he satisfies your requirements in a hunt, shoot him in the beak.

I'd say that I've unintentionally killed a few jakes but I didn't accidentally kill a turkey. 

If you head shoot hard gobbling turkeys without being able to see the beard you are gonna kill some Jake's by accident. I have learned this the hard way a few times.

I killed a Rio Jake this year by mistake. Due to a multitude of mistakes. The biggest was on me. Bubba

None, but I've passed 2 long beards this year thinking they might be jakes :turkey2:

Been hunting for 4 years now and killed my first bird ever this year in WV and he was a Jake. He had a funny gobble from a distance but when he got closer, he sounded like any other I've heard gobbling in the woods (maybe untrained ears still). He let out one last heart pounding gobble at about 50 yards and when his head popped out above the log he came in from behind, I didn't think twice. I was actually surprised when I grabbed him off the ground but still happy nonetheless. Cut off his short 3" beard, stubby almost none existent "spurs" and have his tail fan pinned to card board and boraxed in the garage.


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Quote from: Dhamilton1 on May 19, 2024, 05:46:05 PMBeen hunting for 4 years now and killed my first bird ever this year in WV and he was a Jake. He had a funny gobble from a distance but when he got closer, he sounded like any other I've heard gobbling in the woods (maybe untrained ears still). He let out one last heart pounding gobble at about 50 yards and when his head popped out above the log he came in from behind, I didn't think twice. I was actually surprised when I grabbed him off the ground but still happy nonetheless. Cut off his short 3" beard, stubby almost none existent "spurs" and have his tail fan pinned to card board and boraxed in the garage.


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Congrats! Sounds like a great hunt, and I'd about bet one you'll never forget. Be proud of him. Any bird that plays the game.


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Updating an old thread I see.

Well my count of accidental jakes has gone up by two or three.   :camohat:

 Never on accident - bang bang dinner!!

Jakes for the most part in Louisiana have a distinctly different gobble than a mature Gobbler. There was a time when I'd have bet a thousand dollars I could tell the difference. In 2016 I was working a stubborn Gobbler  that went quiet, 10 min later here he comes hard gobbling looking for the hen? When I looked around the tree behind me I was surprised to see a Jake with no more than a 3" beard gobbling every other breath. I'd seen the first Gobbler I'd been working at 80 yards or so he had a beard like a rope so no question this wasn't him. I luckily didn't shoot this Jake but if he'd  been in some brush up to his chest I'd have sworn he was a gobbler. One of the super jakes I guess.

Now hunting up north or the Midwest it's not uncommon to hear a full gobble coming from a Jake. I don't know why that is but it's been my experience. If he's not strutting so I can see the full fan or his full wing patch or beard I don't shoot.

Killed two by mistake.  Both running and gunning.  First one came in strutting through some thick stuff and i only had a profile and should have waited to see the full beard.

The second came running in hot mid morning - 30 seconds from the time i heard him til I shot him. I believed whole heartedly that the beard I saw was a mature longbeard.  Turned out to be 7" thick beard and a mostly full fan, but nubs for spurs.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240526/26cf5c9c2bf78da812db1f94a7ae40a9.jpg)


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Quote from: TrackeySauresRex on March 24, 2011, 03:59:47 PMI once killed a Jake that thought he was a Tom!  ;D

:drool:

I have killed a couple jakes over the years thinking they were a long beard. In the heat of the moment and when full visual is impossible things happen.


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Quote from: NYturkey on June 03, 2024, 05:26:42 AMI have killed a couple jakes over the years thinking they were a long beard. In the heat of the moment and when full visual is impossible things happen.


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I'm guilty as well.

They all eat the same