Jake or tom?

[Mike Honcho]

My buddy shot one that looked exactly like this bird a couple of weeks ago in SC Kansas...same type beard, same type nubs, full fan.

[silvestris]

I would sy a 2 year old with the full fan.  He just didn't have good spur genetics and might never have had much longer spurs.  One thing is certain, they ain't gonna get any longer.

[Hookinembig]

Definitely a tom. The beard length and full fan are what determine between a jake and tom not the spurs. In VA anything with a beard over 6 inches is a gobbler.

[THattaway]

Full fan and long beard always qualifies as "shooter" for me. I've never passed up that combo and I've killed at least one bird exactly as you have pictured. I've also killed an uneven fanned bird that weighed 17lbs and had a 7" beard. Both are very uncommon in my area, jakes most always 12-15lbs with 2-5" beards or around that.

To give you a different perspective, I killed a great 21lb tom with good spurs a few years back that came strutting in through a shin high muscadine vine covered patch of woods. Said tom had a stubby 2" beard from beard rot. It's more about the hunt for me these days, big or small. Spur length almost always shows up after the deal goes down where I hunt.

What did the coverts on the wings look like?

[Dr Juice]

A Tom.

[Cleveland48]

In Ms that would be classified a tom since it has a full fan I do believe.


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[JMalin]

Full fan and long beard always qualifies as "shooter" for me. I've never passed up that combo and I've killed at least one bird exactly as you have pictured. I've also killed an uneven fanned bird that weighed 17lbs and had a 7" beard. Both are very uncommon in my area, jakes most always 12-15lbs with 2-5" beards or around that.

To give you a different perspective, I killed a great 21lb tom with good spurs a few years back that came strutting in through a shin high muscadine vine covered patch of woods. Said tom had a stubby 2" beard from beard rot. It's more about the hunt for me these days, big or small. Spur length almost always shows up after the deal goes down where I hunt.

What did the coverts on the wings look like?

They looked like a tom as best as I could tell.  I did some research on other ways to distinguish a jake from a tom and found out the difference in their coverts.  I should have taken a picture of thw wing before disposing of the carcass.  I'm leaning on an early hatch jake that may have gotten all his adult feathers in, but who knows?  And I guess it's all speculative anyway. 

[chuckward]

I killed one similar years ago and was told by an older fella it was a late hatch 2 year old. Hens nest was busted up and she re nested. Just a little younger than everyone else. Lol  Chuck

[DirtNap647]

Tom

[mgm1955]

Tom

[jwright8]

I'm going to say Tom. I've seen them with no spurs before.

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[hobbes]

He's a 2 yr old.  While this is a rio, I've killed several adult Merriam's with no spurs.  He may have been late born but it's likely genetics.

[mudhen]

Tom...full fan...spurs technically mean nothing, but a molted fan does...


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[trkehunr93]

Mature gobbler with short spurs.  Genetic anomaly but can occur.   


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[TauntoHawk]

Ive seen a few "runt" toms before that appear to be from a very late hatch nest causing them to be a little younger and stunted growth compared to other 2yr old class birds. full fans with weak beards and large nubs but no appreciable size to the spurs.