Wednesday, July 4, 2012

5-Beard New Jersey Jake!

Are you kidding me?

Turkey Tom and I went out to the turkey woods this morning. I got to sleep around midnight and woke up at 3:00 AM, so I was pretty beat. We got to the turkey hunting spot around 4:15 AM. Around 5:50, I heard a hen calling faintly. I heard a soft gobble a few minutes later.

After calling for about 20 minutes, we heard and saw nothing. Then about 6:15, Tom and I saw a black shape moving toward us through the woods. We saw a turkey heading right toward us, just as silent as could be. It was a small bird, but heck, it was also the last day of the my New Jersey week C turkey hunting permit! He was in range for about 15 seconds, but he was coming closer. After hearing Tom tell me "Shoot Him" when the Jake was about 20 yards away, I squeezed the trigger and dropped the bird in his tracks.

This bird was not the trophy gobbler I have been looking for. However, he is a different sort of trophy. After walking up to him, I noticed he had two beards. No, three. No, wait. Four. Hold on. After closer examination, he had 5 beards! See the photos! Yes, he was a five-bearded Jake!

I did get a trophy bird after all! By the way, I still have 3 weeks left to get that big gobbler!

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