Spring Turkey: To Decoy or Not to Decoy?

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

I have had the best luck using one jake and one hen.  My favorite set up is to put a real jake fan tail on to the decoy. I have had toms run and the beat the you know what out of the decoy several times.

Last year I fell for the slick marketing of the pretty boy pretty  girl decoy and tried them. every tom that saw the full tom decoy slinked away as soon as they saw it.

My take on that is unless it is a dominant bird coming in he will spook at the preety boy vs if he sees a jake fanned out he'll come in and kick its butt.

Any body wanta buy a pretty boy?

[Ybuck]

jake/2 hens set seems best in my opinion  

[TRAP]

Strutting decoy with a real fan and a squatting hen.  Set them close to the blind for slam dunk shots at longbeards.  

Dominant gobblers hate em, subdominant gobblers may stay away.  I had quite a few subdominant longbeards stand out at 30-60 yds and look at the setup last year and then just sneak away,  but the two longbeards I killed came in without hesitation.  5 yd shots at strutting longbeards are alot of fun.

Trap

[KILLER B]

I second the jake and squating hen.  I had two great big long beards come in and jump the jake like he owed them money.  My wife started to laugh and gig was up.  They are very teritorial.  You might try with and without if you know of a road they use regulary set up there without and try the dekes in other places.

[brill16hockey]

Some areas I hunt decoys work very well, and others seem to hang up when they see the decoys.  I just use trial and error, if something doesnt work one time, I change it!  Sitting in a ground blind all day is not my idea of turkey hunting either.  I like to cover alot of ground and use calls to locate the turkeys and then set up and call them to me.  Another thing when hunting them with a bow is its nice to sit on the back side of a tree and call the birds past your tree so you can draw unseen.  Having your decoys set up in this position, or a buddy that is willing to call from behind your position is a great way to fill your tag.

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

The only luck I've ever had with turkeys has been hiding behind something that completely obscures me and calling until their return calls sounded right on top of me, then I'd pop out and take the shot.
Decoys don't work for me. I've taken two birds from behind wood piles, one from behind a tree, and the rest just by dumb luck.
They appear to be a LOT smarter than they look.

[Guru]

Jake and hen....

 

 

 


Another that works...already a dead bird on the string, this was his partner......

 

 

[Guru]

Deadly set-up that worked on two gobblers(same exact spot), five days apart......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guru]

Again b-mobile "Floyd" and hen.....

 

 

 


I've always had better luck with strutting deke's early in the season....and go to a jake/hen combo as the season wears on....most gobblers aren't looking to fight for a girlfriends by then....

If I was going to travel light and carry just one decoy..it would without a doubt be a single jake deke......

When I gun hunted I only had one hen decoy...never really worked well...on a whim one day, I took magic markers to it's head and added more red and some blue to look like a jake,then added a short rubber beard.....the results were nothing short of spectacular!

Just like anything else in hunting....nothing always works...but I won't hunt without them!

[Charlie Lamb]

Needing a real fan for my BMobile Curt... got any spares?

[Gary Logsdon]

I've taken a good number of KY longbeards with and without blinds (wearing a Shaggie Suit) and/or decoys, but nothing seems to beat the combination of a blind and my "real" decoy, an old taxidermy mounted jake so disfigured that he's know around here as "Frankenturkey"!!  A "stuffed" decoy will fool-em more often than not.  Note: hit F5 on your keyboard if the pix fail to load.

 

 

[Gary Logsdon]

I've taken a good number of KY longbeards with and without blinds (wearing a Shaggie Suit) and/or decoys, but nothing seems to beat the combination of a blind and my "real" decoy, an old taxidermy mounted jake so disfigured that he's know around here as "Frankenturkey"!! A "stuffed" decoy will fool-em more often than not. Note: hit F5 on your keyboard if the pix fail to load.


 

 

[Javin]

Be creative!! I was bow hunting last year with the double trouble pair its an upright jake and a feeding hen. No matter what I tride I just couldnt get the deal done. So I came up with a plan, I rigged up a stake that went through the hen and long enough to sit the jake right on top the hen. Then I put a spring in the stake just above the hen, sat the jake on top and atached fishing line to the jakes head. When the goobler came in sight I would rock the jake (boy it looked fantastick!) he wouldnt come in strutting he came in running! It worked the first time:) And guys Im 16 and stupid, so you dont have to be a pro! hopefuly you can understand this, IM NOT A GOOD RIGHTR!!