Tom or Jake decoy

[wisconsinteacher]

What one should I guy get for a strutting decoy a tom like B-Mobile or a jake like Jake-Mobile and why?

[hayslope]

Jake - if you call a Tom in, he will be more interested (if it works) in kicking the crap out of that "youngster".

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

yep, what hayslope says. If the decoy is "bad-to-the-bone" a lesser Tom may not want to tango. A jake getting frisky with a hen will certainly get a tom angry.

[Spurs]

I would see where decoys would be a necessity for bowhunting when hunting a field.  I would use a jake.  I have used both.  The Tom is great, but you have one shot when he see's it.  It is usually gonna happen right then or not at all.  A jake is good because you can lay a hen down as if she is submitting.  The more you call or even jake gobble, the more chance the tides may change.  Especially if he is trailing hens.  I don't use decoys at all when in the woods.  I might put out the occasional hen, but no decoys seem to help the Tom search more.  They are alot less likely to hang up in the woods if they can't see what is calling to them.  Scratching in the leaves is key at this point.  They can't stand it.

[bluegrassbowhunter]

I've got a B-mobile that I swap a fans out on...have had birds come in to both set-ups....if I'm set-up on a specific gobbler then I use the full fan,if it's in an area were I'm not sure what might come in then it's the jake fan...

[Guru]

I do exactly what Mark does with the strutting dekes...last season I used the jake tail the most. Killed my first of '09 over a jake strutter...

I also use a standing jake as well for a different "look"...killed my second of '09 over a standing jake...

[Gary Logsdon]

In my experience it has more to do with the color and posturing of the decoy's HEAD rather than the stature of his fan or length of his beard.

[Guru]

Maybe so Gary, but at a distance, nothing catches a gobblers eye like a open fan...at least that's what I've seen the last 4 years since I've been using one.

Especially early in the year.

Later on, as the season wears on, then color and posture will make a bigger difference.

Just my experience...

[wisconsinteacher]

I forgot to mention, that plan on hunting with this decoy on the edges of fields.

[wojo124]

like Spurs said..... i've never really had good luck w/ decoys,but to each his own!    good luck to ya.

[Roy Steele]

I'd never use a tom decoy simple reason being even a 2 year old gobbler way down do the pole.Are more likely to be scared off.But 2 year old or older will come to kick a jakes but.Add a hen also now you just touched another nerve.Sure it happens just not to me.Just a reason companty to sell tom decoys.

[Guru]

Originally posted by Roy Steele:
Just a reason companty to sell tom decoys.

Not so Roy, not in my experience, or Mark's(bluegrassbowhunter) either....we've got the pix to prove it from the last few years        

A strutting decoy is deadly!

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

I agree with Guru, I had a real fan off of a mature tom that I attached to a cheap foam decoy... The tail was all it took because the rest of the setup was pathetic.

[Gary Logsdon]

Hey Curt, just to clarify what I meant earlier.  Notice that I used the word "stature", not "pose" of the fan/tail.  I was actually referring to whether the "stature" of the gobbler's fan, i.e., a mature bird's fan versus a jake's or "superjake's" makes a big difference compared to other aspects of a decoy.  I hunt some of the spookiest old Easterns around and they pay attention to detail, even at great distances.  Years ago I noticed that I could easily pick out a "fake" at long distances, so I could only imagine how quickly a sharp-eyed longbeard could do the same.  That's when I began paying attention to details, like using taxidermist's eyes, freeze dried heads, and irridescent touch up paints.  Those little extras worked pretty good, however my success skyrocketed after my wild turkey taxidermist (an avid turkey hunter and NWTF nationals judge) asked me if I had an old mounted bird that I wouldn't mind dragging through the woods. To put it simply, using a mounted "superjake" decoy has revolutionized my turkey hunting.  I've probably taken 20 or so KY longbeards with a bow, and more than half of those were taken hunting over old "Frankenturkey", so named because he's probably the ugliest, most beaten up decoy ever to strut his stuff.  There's something about the way light reveals those real feathers, glass eyes, etc. that reels-em in. Not to mention movement! It's the deadliest possible decoy for bowhunting - hands down!  THERE, I've revealed my secret:^)

[Spurs]

I will give them another try this year.  The birds just get so much pressure here in MS.  I am sure that they work well, but think that you would need some prime private land to use em around here.  

Gary, your method with the taxidermy eyes, and irridescent paint sounds phenomenal.  Where I hunt, it might be too real, and get a few unwanted #4's coming my way.

[Guru]

Well Gary, I don't think it's a "secret", or that anyone would doubt the fact that a mounted decoy is more realistic...hence probably more effective....

Fortunately for me, with the "dumb" easterns we have around here, that lack attention to detail, I haven't had to drag around a lifesize, full strut, mounted decoy yet  

 

Good luck this spring bud

[Don Stokes]

I would be afraid to use a strutting bird in most places I hunt. Turkey hunting is the most dangerous kind, relative to getting shot by another hunter.

[Gary Logsdon]

What constitutes a "secret" is relative I guess; guys around here are always asking me for the inside scoop on how I can possibly be taking 3-4 birds a year in KY . . . so far I haven't told them . . . until perhaps tonight:^).  I kill a lot them basically sitting on a stump wearing a Shaggie suit Curt, so I need all the advantage I can get.  Oh, the mounted deke's fan pulls free from the internal foam body while the body fits into a pair of oversized panty hose, that's right, panty hose (I know, that sounds like a Wensel technique, doesn't it?).  It helps me avoid being shot at plus keeps the feathers in good shape.  By the way, while I haven't heard of any "dumb" turkeys in the Northeast, I have nailed a few dummies in states west of here (non-easterns) that, unlike the birds I'm use to, run at you from all directions as if they want to commit suicide!  Always happy to ablige.

[Gary Logsdon]

You're right about that when it comes to hunting public land Don, especially when you set your dekes in the woods.  That's why I stopped hunting places like TVA's Land Between the Lakes years ago and began concentrating on learning the lay of several pieces of private land, which in my opinion is the most important aspect of successful turkey hunting.  When the longbeards are "henned up" knowing where you need to be before he, or often more importantly SHE, gets there is the ticket.  We can discuss which decoys are best all night long, but nothing's been invented that works any better than the real thing!  Learn the turkey's habits and habitat and you can hunt them effectively all season, with or without decoys.

[Don Stokes]

Gary, I like to say that successful turkey hunting is 10% calling and 90% being where the turkeys want to go anyhow.