Spring Turkey: To Decoy or Not to Decoy?

[Tall Paul]

Hello all,

This will be my first spring to turkey hunt with my recurve.  I'll be hunting Easterns in Mississippi, so they'll be pretty smart.

I'll mostly be using a chair like Biggie used in his PBS article.  But I might use a blind some as well.

I've read some comments saying that the decoys spooked the birds more than the blinds! Is that true???

Any and all opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Paul

[Tall Paul]

I've got a couple decoys I started using in the early '90s for shotgunning, but they're looking kinda rough.

Any recommendations on which Dekes to buy would be a big help, too!

Thanks, Paul

[Whip]

I used to have great success using decoys, and took a number of birds with a bow that way.  (From a blind)  But for the past 3-4 years it seems the birds in my area have gotten extremely decoy shy.  

Last year they wouldn't come anywhere near my set up.  They would see the decoys and detour around, never coming within range.  One morning I thought I would outwit them and set up one decoy about 80 yards from my blind on the other side of an opening they frequently entered the field through.  I thought if they came out into the field and tried skirting around the decoy they would pass right by my blind.

Three gobblers came off the roost and headed for the field, gobbling at my calls the whole way.  Those birds stepped out into the field, eyed up the decoy, and turned right around and left, still gobbling, but wanting nothing to do with the fake.  Guess we know who got outwitted again.

[RightTrailWrongTime]

I've never hunted Mississippi but decoying has worked very well for me particularly in mid April, I've used delta decoys and the Primos Bmobile with a real fan with great success. Mostly out of a blind but this year in gonna try to just "hide". We have a great population up here and I plan on takin a few if I'm lucky again this year. Normally about 10 yards from the blind and with varying setups like positioning a hen low to the ground and the bmobile close behind just makes em nuts- good luck, oh also an adult tom will normally approach your decoy head on so position your decoy according to the direction you want him to come in. I normally have a hen decoy just outside the blind and the Bmobile at 10-12 yards away quartering to me, my intention is to have that tom come in between the decoys and in front of me facing away or slightly quartered- I shoot turkeys right through the hips, most of them fall right there, last year both went less than 10 yards and piled up dead. Shot placement is important on all game and a good sharp broadhead is a must, throught the hips on a broadside bird has worked well, the straight away texas heart shot works too and quartering shots I use caution depending on the weather the bird is strutting or not. Good luck

[Tall Paul]

Thanks Whip and RTWT.  Good info there.

I guess thats really my question:  Have the birds gotten so leary of the dekes that now you're better off without the decoy.

I'm sure it depends on where you are and how pressured the birds are.....

[Whip]

That's what I'm starting to think at least where I hunt, and especially on the older birds.  They know!
Fortunately, I know my place pretty well and have some good spots that will work to set up the blind and ambush them as they come out.  But it is not the way I prefer to hunt.  I would much rather watch a gobbler get all worked up strutting and gobbling and fussing.  Just don't get to see that very often anymore.

[Dave2old]

I had my first turkey hunts in western Okie as a kid, and if it's anything like that there now, you're somewhere between the eastern model of static stands on ag fields, and the western/mountain model of walking and talking. In the latter, I've quit using decoys because I've lost more birds taking the extra time to set up, than I've gained. And since you can't set out huge spreads of dekes, they often spook at the sight of one or two. And too, as with all kinds of hunting for me, the less I have to buy and carry, and the less tied to one spot I am due to a treestand, a manufactured blind, or a deke set, the happier a hunter I am and the more I feel like I'm hunting, body count aside. To each our own. Not much of an answer, but all I have to offer and sincere. dave

[Buckeye Trad Hunter]

What may be causing this might not be the hunting pressure.  Depending on how you have your decoys set, most times a tom wont come all the way in (round here anyway).  They will come in gobbling until they can see the hen then they stop wanting the hen to come the rest of the way.  So if there are other hens around that will come in the tom wont mess with the decoy.

[Tall Paul]

Hey Dave, I understand what you're saying.  I'm planning on hunting without a blind for the most part.  I hate carrying anything that won't fit in my pockets.

Buckeye, I think you're right about that.  The old problem of the tom hanging up because he's waiting for the hen to come to him.

[Mo. Huntin]

Good question.  I think it just depends on the turkey and you just never really know.  I don't use them any more because I have had them avoid them before on several occasions.  Some of the guys around here have been taking a skin and fan off of a fresh killed turkey and tacking it on a decoy and they have done well like that, so I have to think maybe they have gotten very good at determining if a decoy is fake.  Also movement is  key and if you can make that fan go up and down I think that will help.  The past 2 years I have just given up and went bass fishing they still fall for  my decoy.

[Mo. Huntin]

Sounds like Richie has been drinking again.  Richie please stop wearing dresses when you hunt it is scarying all of us.  he he he(I don't really laugh like that) he he he.

[Richie Nell]

It seems like the compound bow mentality would use decoys not trad guys.  I am prolly wrong but it just seems that way.

[JimmyC]

One of the big rules I learned from my Jedi Knight Turkey Hunter Uncle in Missouri = the hen chooses the Tom and typically goes TO him.  

So, I think what you guys are seeing with decoys is simply nature in action.  Gobbler steps out 80 to 100 yards away, gets a visual on the hen he heard, sets up shop and waits for her to come to him.    

I have never used one due to this factor and the fact I like to keep things simple and go at them mono y mono, but obviously there are times during the spring when decoys will work to your advantage.

[Mo. Huntin]

I hope you did not take me serious when I teased you.  I would never get on here and try to intentionaly upset someone.  If I am not mistaking I believe the indians used decoys and calls.  For instance I believe the Cherokee used a lot of the Primos stuff.  You can't never take me to serious.

[Shaun]

I have had good luck with strutting tom decoys like B Mobile. Toms come to toms, but expect hens to come to them. Toms seem to hang up when they see a hen decoy and strut and gobble to get her to come in. Sometimes a flock of hens will drag a tom towards a hen decoy. Good luck whatever route you take.

[Tall Paul]

Hey Shawn,

So you're saying try the Tom decoy without a hen decoy?

[RC]

I`ve killed Turkeys with and without the dekes. Some have been spooked and would not come in and some have run in.Who knows.Some that would`nt come in may not have come with out the dekes as well. I have learned to face the dekes towards me and the gobbler if he comes will come around to the front for a shot. If I face them out they tend to hang up at 30 yards or so.
  I got a Ghillie and am excited about using it this year. Being a bit more mobile I believe will help.
   One more thing... I was hunting near another public land hunter once. A gobbler came into the clearcut and the fella called as loud as a box will call for a solid five minutes. the gobbler looked at him and split. I talked to the guy later and he said the "dekes" ran the bird off.RC

[Mo. Huntin]

good points guys.  About 4 years ago I set out 2 decoys and had a whole bunch of jakes and a couple toms come right to me I never even had to call.  That place had not recieved much hunting pressure in the past.  That time it seemed very easy, I have not even had a bird come in on that farm in 2 years.

[rice]

I hunt in a pop up blind. Gets to hot in there for a dress. I usually wear a halter top and short shorts  
I usually put a standing hen up, and sitting hen and a BMobile with real tail fan. All the birds I have called in for the last 2 years have gone straight to BMobile and attacked him. Jakes will usually run when they see BMobile but the longbeards want to kick some @%&. The place I hunt gets hunted pretty hard.
CKR
 

[Tall Paul]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I'm going to look at Ghillie/Leafy suits to use off a chair.

Sounds like I need a B-mobile and hen.