Question for Decoy users.

Tennessee Lead

Tennessee Lead

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Ok plan on taking my youngest brother on the Juvi weekend. My middle brother has a spot in mind to take him but he is out of town so me and Dad will take him.
The place is around 10 acres it is all field and turkey frequent it. One side is bordered by a straight bluff. One side is bordered by a growed up pasture and one side has a small area of timber.
And the front is road frontage.
We will put him in a make shift blind and sit there. I own decoys but don't use them due to hunting timber.

One is a strutting Jake "Thunder Chicken"
One is a standing Jake "Funky Chicken "
And I have a standing Hen
"HS Strut Sweet Sally"
I feel that using decoys may increase his odds of killing his first Turkey in this field.
I don't have fields to hunt so I ain't familiar with this type of situation.

My question which of these would you use and how?
How would you use them if you use all of them together?



Sent from my iPhone that I ain't smart enough to use with tapatalker
 
i agree I would have one strutter and if I was guessing your turkeys will be roosting on the bluff so try to set up where they'll fly off the roost and be on you all at daylight but have u a strutter and call to where they know theres turkeys there and then leave it alone
 
All I have is a standing jake and hen. I have used them with success with both of my girls.

IMO, a strutting deke might intimidate a sub-dominant gobbler.

If there's a chance the birds are roosting at the field edge, you need to make sure you get in there plenty early enough to avoid being detected.
 
Strutter won't likely work on a subordinate gobbler, maybe the hen and jake/funky chicken might work, I'd use just a hen but I really don't have decoy experience


Sent from the talk of tap
 
I would use 2 hens. Jakes and strutters still running in flocks, why try to simulate something that the turkey ain't doing at this time. Always try to simulate what the birds are doing at that time. IMO
 
Use the strutter and two hens. Strutters work great in early season. The subordinate gobblers haven't been whipped as bad yet and most have at least one buddy with them now. The flextone strutter is about the least intimidating strutter decoy on the market. I'd put the alert hen in a breeding position in front of the strutter as well.
 
String Music":3d2hvaqq said:
I'd put the alert hen in a breeding position in front of the strutter as well.
Click to expand...

Did something similar with a buddy on opening weekend a few years ago. One of the best gobbling mornings I have had, especially with it just being two gobblers.

The 6-8 hens came to the field first, and then the two gobblers. It was only a 3-4 acre field, but they skirted the dekes and us for 2 hours before my buddy finally tried a long shot shooting through a small hole in the back of the blind. He missed.

I vowed then to never put a hen in a breeding position, and this was just with a jake deke standing over her.

Obviously it works occasionally, but I sure saw it backfire that morning.
 
PalsPal":w7313isr said:
String Music":w7313isr said:
I'd put the alert hen in a breeding position in front of the strutter as well.
Click to expand...

Did something similar with a buddy on opening weekend a few years ago. One of the best gobbling mornings I have had, especially with it just being two gobblers.

The 6-8 hens came to the field first, and then the two gobblers. It was only a 3-4 acre field, but they skirted the dekes and us for 2 hours before my buddy finally tried a long shot shooting through a small hole in the back of the blind. He missed.

I vowed then to never put a hen in a breeding position, and this was just with a jake deke standing over her.

Obviously it works occasionally, but I sure saw it backfire that morning.
Click to expand...

It seems a little presumptuous to think it was the breeding hen that caused that reaction. Decoys certainly don't work 100% of the time.
 
If the pasture is grown up I doubt the birds would come from or head into that area. What's on the other side of the road from the field? If it's timber they may be traveling that route into your field. If they're coming off the roost into the field then it's likely from the timber or off the bluff. Have you checked the timber for signs of feeding? I'd think that if they are working that field your best bet using dekes would be on the timber side. No matter how they're entering they'll probably exit on that side. I'd probably use a hen and a jake. I'd set them up and if the birds hit the field before you do any calling I'd wait and see if the dekes themselves would lure the birds close before calling. If not then call and see if that entices them.
 
String Music":2sta4ypa said:
It seems a little presumptuous to think it was the breeding hen that caused that reaction. Decoys certainly don't work 100% of the time.
Click to expand...

I guess. But of the few times I have used field dekes, I'm 100% negative on that setup whereas just a regular standing jake and hen is at about 90% success.

I won't give it another chance when the other has worked very well.
 
I never use a strutter in early season when the birds are bunched up.... All you will do is educate them... Now, if I don't have any intentions of hunting the spot again, I'll use the strutter. IMO too many people use the strutter too early in the season and then wonder why birds wont come to them later on....
 
Mike Belt":1gi6l48b said:
If the pasture is grown up I doubt the birds would come from or head into that area. What's on the other side of the road from the field? If it's timber they may be traveling that route into your field. If they're coming off the roost into the field then it's likely from the timber or off the bluff. Have you checked the timber for signs of feeding? I'd think that if they are working that field your best bet using dekes would be on the timber side. No matter how they're entering they'll probably exit on that side. I'd probably use a hen and a jake. I'd set them up and if the birds hit the field before you do any calling I'd wait and see if the dekes themselves would lure the birds close before calling. If not then call and see if that entices them.
Click to expand...

Across the road is more Hay fields. I haven't checked the small tract of timber because I don't have permission to enter the woods, different properties. I can hunt the field only. They have been pitching down in the field from the timber side and bluff side almost every morning this week. Mainly mature toms.
My main thinking was to try and make them focus on Decoys while we try to help my little brother get on them. Hopefully they will pitch down and commit our way. He has a short attention span and gets bored quickly setting still. Just trying to make it exciting for him.


Sent from my iPhone that I ain't smart enough to use with tapatalker
 

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