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Decoys or not?

J

Jer

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I hunt public land but have been lucky enough not to see any other hunters in that area. I have seen plenty of birds but they do not seem to like the decoys...so decoys or not and just calling?
 
I think a lot has to do with decoy placement, type(hen, jake, gobbler)/number of decoys, time of year/day, hunting pressure etc. Even individual birds. A lot of variables. That's just my thoughts.

And I defintely ain't no expert! :D

They may run away from them today, but run to them tomorrow.

About the only thing I know that is for sure in turkey hunting, is that nothing is for sure.
 
Agree 100% with BIGROCKREB. What doesn't work today might work tomorrow and vice-versa. Most of it has to do with what breeding phase they are in. Right now, strutting decoys with one submissive hen works great.

One thing that will scare away less birds is a single feeding hen. Alert decoys attract the wrong kind attention. Would you walk into a convenience store and stay if everyone is quiet and acting nervous? Neither will a lot of gobblers walk into a decoy set-up that everyone is alert. Natural relaxed posture is better in my opinion.
 
BIGROCKREB said:
I think a lot has to do with decoy placement, type(hen, jake, gobbler)/number of decoys, time of year/day, hunting pressure etc. Even individual birds. A lot of variables. That's just my thoughts.

They may run away from them today, but run to them tomorrow.

About the only thing I know that is for sure in turkey hunting, is that nothing is for sure.
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Agreed. Turkeys aren't smart enough to know that humans are putting out replicas of them. However, when a decoy doesn't move for 30 minutes or move in an unnatural way, they know something isn't right.

At this point in the season, I would put the full-strut decoys back on the shelf. My favorite decoy this time of year is a nesting/breeding hen and a semi-strut jake.

If I'm running and gunning, I only carry a feeding jake decoy with me. For me, I see no point in carrying a hen decoy since I'm actually making the sounds of a hen. Once the gobbler spots the jake decoy, he focuses on the jake and assumes that the hen (me) is nearby nesting or possibly feeding. I have been very successful with this technique in the past and it allows me to lighten my decoy load.

If you are hunting fields, I would still use a jake and hen decoy. If a gobbler hears you yelping and cutting but doesn't see a hen standing in the field, they often get a little spooked.

If I were you, I would take one maybe two decoys with me but use them sparingly. If your location calls for a decoy, then use it (fields or other open areas). However, if you can get away without using it (heavy foliage in the woods), then I'd suggest keeping them in your vest.
 
In my opinion the effectiveness of decoys totally depends on the turkey and what mood you happen to catch him in...we've had turkeys charge in on our decoy as soon as they saw it, we have them pay it no attention, and we've seen turkeys that are skiddish of decoys.

I think it is always a good idea to have a decoy or two in your vest for the times when you need one because when they work, Man do they work!
 
VolDoug said:
Trevan said:
Here is a couple videos of how our decoy works. For more info, visit www.go2gobbler.com
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He said he was hunting public land. You trying to get him killed?
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No, just putting my .02 in on using decoys...I wouldn't recommend anyone use any decoy on public land unless you are in a very open area and you can be 100% sure no other hunters are around (which is near impossible on public land).
 
I never, and I mean never use decoys. Heck I don't even own one. I honestly do not have any use for them. Even when hunting pasture birds, I just prefer to hunt without them, and it certainly doesn't hurt my kill totals each season.
 

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