***full fan jake***

[TauntoHawk]

could it be a jake that hadn't molted any of his fan yet? You said his fan is much smaller than a normal toms so could he have all his juvenile tail fan feathers. 

[trkehunr93]

I agree, looking at the pic its clear that the middle three feathers are a hair shorter than the rest.  Super jake, maybe, but I would say jake based on that.  What was the beard and spur length?  Just curious.  I killed a mature bird the next to last Sat. in 2002 that weighed a whopping 13lbs 12ozs., had a 9" beard and little 3/4" spurs.  I kept the tailfan and when compared to other mature birds, it was more the size of a mature hens.  I took it as he was just the runt of the litter, and maybe he did some breeding and burned off a few pounds as the season progressed but he was not big by any means. 

[cwb04]

Regardless of the jake or mature turkey discussion - CONGRATULATIONS to both of you!

Congratulations to your fiancé on a great hunt - one I'm sure both of you will always remember!

Congratulations to you for doing whatever it takes to make sure she is right there beside you, enjoying the experience and making memories.  My hat is off to YOU!

[Ihuntoldschool]

It is a jake that had an unusual molt.  It is rare but it does happen.   Multiple factors indicate this bird was a jake, size, weight, beard length, spurs.  Best to look at all of the clues present when trying to determine age as opposed to relying solely on any 1 factor.