Jake or Midget Tom?

[870-Wingmaster]

Is my bird a midget??? I heard a bird gobble twice at a crow and the gobble sounded like a mature bird.  I cannot say that the bird I killed was the one that gobbled due to him not ever answering my call, but he did come from exactly where i heard the gobble, and was hunting narrow woods along a field edge.  Anyway, I saw the beard and shot him.  When i got to him, he looked small.  He had a 7 3/4" beard, full, short fan, no spurs, and weighed 11.4lbs.   Jake or Midget???   Below is the only pic that i got of him, but I do have his beard and fan still.

[BigHeadBoy]

Almost looks like a hen

[Marc]

I heard a bird gobble twice at a crow and the gobble sounded like a mature bird.

I hunt Rio's out here on the west coast, but I have been unable to discern between the gobble of a mature tom verses a jake...  I have certainly heard different levels of enthusiasm or nervousness in a gobble, but I had a small jake come into me this year with a roaring gobble, and I had a tom come close with a half-hearted fart of a gobble (he was a bit nervous I believe).

  He had a 7 3/4" beard, full, short fan, no spurs, and weighed 11.4lbs.   

Almost looks like a hen

Jakes are still bigger than that, and most would have spurs...  Size, no spurs, and appearance seems all hen to me as well.

[spurcrazy]

Looks like a hen

[spurcrazy]

 Does the turkey have waddles at the base of the neck? If you have cleaned a gobbler before it will be pretty apparent what this one is while cleaning it. If your state regs don't allow the killing of bearded hens I'd suggest removing this thread and eating that turkey for breakfast

[tomstopper]

Yep. I agree with all that has been said above. Looking at the pic and from what you have said, you definitely shot a bearded lady.......

[va wingbone]

Yep. I agree with all that has been said above. Looking at the pic and from what you have said, you definitely shot a bearded lady.......

agreed


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[TrackeySauresRex]

I beleive Henrietta as well.

[MACHINIST]

The term is little turkeys,Midget turkey offends them!!HAHA

[TauntoHawk]

without a doubt thats a bearded hen

[TRKYHTR]

Hen for sure.

[howl]

What part of the country? Swamp nearby? It seems a little dark. Might've been a mossy-headed gobbler.

[DirtNap647]

bearded hen

[hunter22]

Nice hen.....

[870FaceLift]

You shot the Ellen of the turkey world...