Turkeys in the fall. Decoys?

[jonsimoneau]

I know its nearly deer season and believe me, I'm having a hard time staying focused on just about anything other than that.  But I finally gained access to a place that holds turkeys in the fall about 40 minutes from home.  After I finally killed my first bird this spring, I can't get it out of my head.  Plan to spend a few October mornings going after the fall birds.  Then switch to deer in the afternoons.  
I know about busting flocks and all that but since I'm a newbie turkey hunter, and more of a deer hunter, I wanna go the ambush route.  I like to be the predator that lies in wait!  Anyway, are decoys effective at all in the fall?  Since I have witnessed turkeys fighting quite a bit in the fall establishing pecking order I actually kinda thought a jake decoy may be usefull.  But I'd love to hear any advice from those of you in the know.

[Dirtybird]

Jon there is a website Bestturkeydecoy.com that has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to turkey hunting with a bow that is run by Brooks Johnson formally of doublebull archery.  His decoy is amazing and I will be trying it this fall.

[Slickhead]

I dont think they work that well in the fall
 
But Im just going on what Ive heard

Good luck to you

[stevewills]

in the fall i find places where they are scratching alot and set up there.the place i hunt for them they have whole ridge top cleared of leaves..

[Skipmaster1]

If you are going to ambush them, set up near the roost on the way to where they are feeding. A decoy could help. I prefer busting them up in the fall though

[jonsimoneau]

Thanks dirtybird.  I'll check that out!

[Adam S. Daugherty]

I dont use decoys in the fall.  Dont use them much in the spring either other than when hunting with kids from a blind.  Fall turkeys are drastically different critters in my opinion and for that matter I am a drastically different turkey hunter in the fall also.  Springtime is breeding season for the turkey and all I am interested in is bringing toms to the call.  I will not even set up to ambush spring turkeys.  If I havent got him coming to my call then he is safe.  100% opposite in the fall, first strategy is ambush all the way.  Fall hen and poult flocks are very patternable.  You will be very succesful with spending some timne scouting the flock and setting up ambush sites based off their daily travel pattern.  As long as food source remains and hunting pressure is minimal, their fall pattern will be very huntable.  I dont like busting fall flocks.  I hunt private land so all I am doing is deliberately increasing hunting pressure if busting flocks.  It is an exciting way to hunt birds and is effective but the negatives for me highly outweigh the positives.  A little time spent scouting and patterning will eliminate the need to bust flocks.  I also dont recommend flock busting for folks who are not pretty darn good with a call.  Calling turkeys in the fall is a true test of your calling skills.  Cranking on a box or screaming on a slate call will not get it done in the fall.  Sure a blind hog will find an acorn everyonce in a while but to consistentaly call in fall birds takes a complete array of the turkey vocabulary.  Just like hunting in the spring, the turkeys will dictate when and what to call.  If you are in between multiple roosts some keekees and assembly yelps works good right at fly down.  I have success later in the mornings fighting with the boss hen and getting her fired up to where she will come in to see what new momma thinks she is queen of the area.  If you get around a flock of jakes or coming 2 year old gobblers agressive purring and fighting purrs will usually seal the deal for a shot on those juveniles.  Mature gobblers in the fall are tough to call.  Sporadic gobbler yelps with the occassional jake yelp works.  Scratching in the leaves with feeding purrs mixed in with a contented yelp both mature and jenny hen works well if set up close to a place where they have been feeding.  If you decide to go with the decoy route I would use feeding hens set up in an area where you know the birds have been feeding.  might take their attention away enough for you to get drawn back.  I see that you live in Illinois, my experience traveling and hunting in Illinois I think I would be 100% keying in on ambush sites in crop fields with harvest starting.

[Bill Carlsen]

I agree with Adam. The turkey I got this morning responded (changed direction) when I tried to imitate a "put". The flock of seven males did not come running but having watched them before  I knew where they were headed....out of range. My "call" got their attention and they changed their feeding pattern which put one right in front of me about 15 yards.  In the Fall, using vocalizations has more effect than decoys do, IMO and is reflected in my experience.

[jonsimoneau]

Lots of great info. Thanks Adam!

[Dave Worden]

Jon,
If you have turkeys where you deer hunt and the seasons overlap like they do in Michigan, put out a decoy or two.  I don't think it would hurt with the turkeys but I know it attracts deer and puts their attention on the decoy, not up in the tree looking for you.  This way you're set up for both turkeys and deer.