Turkeys & Decoys

[Whip]

I will be heading out turkey hunting this week (Finally!)  Thinking about my more recent experiences with decoys, and considering going without.  
Up until about 5 years ago I had very good success with decoys.  My "flock" consists of 7 total - 5 hens and 2 jakes.  When I started using them it worked extremely well.  Seemed like if a gobbler saw them he was coming.  Sometimes took longer than others, but eventually they usually came in.  
For the past five years or so the response has been less than good.  Often times they seem to completely ignore the decoys, and sometimes even seem to walk completely around them, or come only part way before becoming suspicious and leaving.

I'm wondering how many of you use decoys, and if so, what kind of set ups seem to work for you.  Number, type of decoys, etc.  Any suggestions? I'm strongly leaning toward going au' natural on 'em this year!

[Sneakypete]

Whip -- this is really difficult, as there are so many different tactics for turkeys across the country, from "permanent" blinds and big decoy sets in agricultural areas, to "walking and talking" with no decoys, common here in the Rockies where we hunt turkeys in elk habitat, and largely with elk tactics. I don't like blinds or big decoy sets simply because my idea of hunting doesn't involve haulting a truckload of stuff in and out of the woods. Hunting to me means freedom, and the more stuff we haul along, the more self-imprisoned we become. From what you say, it sounds as if turkeys, at least in your area, are becoming decoy-shy just as elk here have become bugle shy, ATV shy, and somewhat cow-call shy. They are dumb, but they have keen instincts. This is little if any help to you, I know, but without knowing more about your hunting area and tactics, best I can do. And knowing only western Merriam's hunting, my experience has limited value to you in any event. As with all of life, in the end I always go with "don't take it too seriously, and experiment a lot." Good luck.

[Eric Krewson]

Every turkey that saw my decoys this year obviously didn't like them. Most went"PUTT" an left nervously.

[Stone Knife]

They can become decoy shy if the have some bad experiences around them. I have had great luck with just a hen and a Jake, then other times i have seen them run away when the decoys are spotted. This year I'm going to try a bearded hen i have mounted, more realism might do the trick. A friend of mine has had better luck with a hen decoy that he glued wing feathers on to give it a better look.

[ishiwannabe]

I have used the "whole flock" set up myself. I got a few birds but ran into the same thing. I ended up using one hen and one jake....when I use decoys at all. I position the hen low to the ground, with the jake standing ehind and above her, it irritates the heck outta the toms...

[ishiwannabe]

Oh yeah....GOOD LUCK!!

[Missouri CK]

Whip,

I not sure my response will be very helpful because like yourself my experience with turkeys are a mixed bag.  Sometimes they come in to the decoys, but most of the time they gobble and move off.  I can't really say I've had any turkey that saw the dekes and were scare off but thats just my experience.

The only thing that I can consistently has worked is that if the birds are talking you should move closer.  If the birds are not talking pick a good spot and be patient. Probably nothing new that you didn't already know.

I've tried to call to a lot of turkeys with minimal little success, but when I move towards them (closer than I sometimes think I should sometimes) that is when I've had turkeys come to calls.

Chris

[ZaneD]

well i always use one hen decoy. I have killed many shotgun turkeys with this setup. working on trad. turkeys but that's not the point. my theory is that when you call, and the gobbler somes in, he is going to be looking for another turkey. and if you have a decoy then he will see one, and he'll concentrate on that and not be looking around so much and so then you have less chance of being see. i would certainly encourage you to try this.

[Whip]

I'm thinking I might try a couple of different things.  If I have one gobbling off a ways will try to get up as close as I can, and then either use a blind or ghillie suit depending on how and where I can set up.  Might try just using one decoy, again depending on the situation.  

I also have a spot in mind that I know the turkeys often walk past on the outside corner of a woods.  A turkey approaching from either edge might just think what they are hearing for calls is coming from just around the corner.  If they are out in the field and can see nothing is there I will just have to be patient and hope they move my way.

Either way, I think I am going to go without the big flock this year and see what happens.  It just doesn't seem to be working as well as it used to.  Had a pretty good run on bow killed turkeys for awhile, but been in a dry spell the last four years or so.

[ethan]

I am still working on my first turkey, but most of my friends who are seroius turkey hunters will absolutely not use them. Turkey in this part of Tenn are sort of confined to certain areas and they are hunted hard.  I called up a good bird opening day and he completly ignored my decoy and stood just out of range gobbling for several minutes.

[TTTHunter]

One thing you need to try is make your decoy look as real as possible.  Take wings and tail feathers from a real bird, and figure out a way to fasten to your decoy.  They need that lifelike movement.

[dan ferguson]

Whip, I don,t know how pressured your birds are. Where I live in western Ne. they work. Had friends tell me that natural tail fans stuck on really work great. They position them to look at the blind at 20 yrds out, the gobbler will strut around in frount of them should give you about 10 yrds, good luck and have fun

[Ga.boy]

The Pretty Boy and Pretty Girl decoy set work great in the area I hunt. I too have noticed gobblers shying away from other type decoys I have used in the past, but not these! Pretty Boy comes with a removeable fan which can be replaced with the real thing. They are pricey, but they work. I killed my first trad gobbler on opening day this year. He actually left his hens to attack Pretty Boy!

 http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20712-cat200008&id=0037661227952a&navCount=1& podId=0037661&parentId=cat200008&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat200008&hasJS=true

[xia_emperor]

I use Sceery Outdoors 2nd Generation Inflatable Turkey Decoys, and four turkeys marched right up to them. shot my turkey at 10 yards. I also have my decoys faceing away from the direction I think they are coming.

[Patience]

Whip,

I do not like carrying loads of gear, so this may bias me; I have been hunting turkey for close to 10 years and have only used 1 decoy (feeding hen).
My thought is that if I can call in a gobbler the decoy will help close the gap. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. The decoy is there as bait and a distraction. Oh and yes I have shot a few birds, none with the bow.

[Bobby Castello]

I have to agree with Chuck. The Pretty Boy or B-Mobile may be the way to go. I have always used the light foam type decoys and they always seemed to work fine. A few years ago I noticed the birds were not comming into my decoys as in the past. I
glued wing feathers on the sides of each decoy and tried that. Seems that this was something that triggered the birds to come into my decoys again. Alot of guys here in Florida use mounted birds as decoys. I can't afford to use a real mount and they are too heavy. The Pretty Boy or B-moble seem to work just as well but they are both a bit pricey also. I'll keep using those cheap foam decoys with the wing feathers hot glued to the sides. I also paint the heads of the decoys to look a little more like a real turkey. They have fooled the last 5 Gobblers I have killed.

[TSHOOTER]

A guy I work with takes the breast feathers from a turkey,  puts spray on adhesive on his jake  decoy and glues the feathers all over the body.  He says it really adds movement with even a  slight breeze.  I'll try this if I ever kill a turkey this year.  LOL

[Homebru]

Hey Whip,
I'll be out in Cambridge this weekend.  I'll likely only hunt Fri AM, then Sat and Sun but it beats not hunting.  I've hunted gobblers once and brought home one nice tom.  Very little to offer advice from other than to say beginners luck makes it much more fun.  I only hope to see some birds this year.

I'll stay in touch.
homebru (aka nathan in madison)

[Whip]

Good luck Nathan.  I'm going out around here tomorrow to call for my boss's son, and then up to Black River Falls for the weekend to hunt for myself.  Keep me posted how you do!  I remember that bird you shot last year - hope to see a repeat!