What do you think ...

[Old Gobbler]

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

[Jimspur]

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.

[Old Gobbler]

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

[joey46]

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.   
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.

[Old Gobbler]

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

[Hobbes]

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.

[Stoeger_bird]

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.

[wchadw]

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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[joey46]

"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.

[jshark14]

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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[Stoeger_bird]

"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.

[Old Gobbler]

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

[Pluffmud]

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.

[Mallard1897]

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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[WV Flopper]

 Total feel good, BS law.

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