Trouble with Turkeys

[Onestringer]

I am having some trouble with turkeys this spring.  Last year I purchased on of those Killer Bees that Primos makes.  Thats the decoy where you can move the tail fan up and down with a string.  I used it in conjunction with a Dave Smith hen decoy.  I am stating this because I have some pretty nice decoys.

Last year "Steve" thats the name of my Killer Bee, got beat up 3 different times by toms, and was pushed around by 5 jakes on another occasion.  

This spring it seems to be a different story.  During youth season I had 5 toms come in.  There were 3 in the first group, they they would not come closer that 40 yards and stayed on the other side of a tree line.  Fourth tom, gobbled, popped over the hill saw the set up and took off running.  Fifth tom, came in but never committed to the set up, he was only about 25 yards and my daughter ended up killing it but out of the side window of the blind.

This morning I set up in a field and at first light a hen and tom flew down about 300 yards out in the field.  After strutting for 2 hours they finally closed within 40 yards and the hen finally came in to inspect my set up at 10 yards, but the tom never came closer than 40 yards.  Too far for me to chunk an arrow.  

So after all this typing, are you guy/gals finding toms leery of strutting decoys? Mine has a jake fan, that all beat up and he looks like a mouse could knock him out.

Scott

[snakebit40]

I don't own a male decoy for that reason (not saying its right). I've seen toms take off the other way after seeing a strutting jake. So I just gave up the jake (or tom) decoy all together. I've used just a hen decoy the last four years and have had pretty good luck. It might just depend on what stage the birds are in. I'm not for sure. Hopefully somebody else will chime in and give a better explanation. Hope I helped a little.

[Caleb Andes]

OneStringer I was about to post pretty much the exact same words today! I absolutely feel your pain. I live in Iowa and have hunted 5 days out of the first 7 of our season.. I've seen rain, sleet, snow, and on just one occasion sunshine ha. The only time I have been able to get a Tom to get within 20 yds I had to chase him down needless to say we met ontop of a ridge and he flew off when I hit my anchor.. All the others will just strut for hours at forty yards or just over the hill no more than 30 yards where I cant see them. My only thought is maybe they aren't fired up enough yet due to the weather??? Where are you hunting and how has the weather been?

[Roy Steele]

It has nothing to do with your decoys it's where your putting them but most of all. These gobbles have been spooked before sometime buy someone somehow useing this set up with decoys.
  Where your putting them LET ME SEE. Out in the open field WITH A BIG OLD BLIND. This is where,how everyone sets there decoys up. And likely your gobblers seen this before.
  And this is where your gobblers have been spooked from. They look out in the field see your decoys and blind and just remembered being spook seeing the samething.
  I totally avoiled open field setups everyone with a blind dose this. I only bow hunt gobblers anymore and have killed 31 with shot guns and 12 with selfbows. You can't hunt them like you do with a shot gun.
  I do this and it works,set up in the woods and call the gobbler to your decoys.I set up where there 60 ,80 yards before they see my decoys. This almost aliminates hang ups. As soon as you know they see the decoys shut up and let the decoys do the calling maybe a little leaf action.
   There not use to this type of set up,where there called up then see the decoys. And very few have been spooked this way and when they see the decoys they'll come straight in to them.
  I never set up and try to call a gobbler off the roost.I do my scouting and know which way he's headed when he flys down. I have sites set up on his route. Where he has to go pass me when I CALL HIM. lOGGING ROADS,COW TRAILS I use bottle necks just like deer hunting. Remember you don't have a shot gun.
  MY # 1 tactic other than just plain old patance GOBBLERS ARE EASER TO CALL IF YOUR CALLING TO THEM WHERE THEY ALREADY WANT TO GO.
Your calling just went from good to GREAT.

[OS]

I set my half strut jake right on top of a hen decoy on the ground.  calling for a buddy of mine yesterday afternoon and had his bird killed with in 36 min. of stepping out of my truck at 12 yards.  Of course in the morning we had a snow storm and that was a first!! I never hunted spring turkeys in a snow storm before :-)

[bluegrassbowhunter]

With Full strutters dekes what I've found is when the gobbler can approach the decoy head on(from a longer direction) he usually hangs up or takes alot longer to make his mind up & commit.I think the approaching gobbler is exspecting some kind of reaction from the decoy thinking the decoy can see his approach.When my decoy is faced away from the approaching tom  I've had 100% committment from the toms that seen them coming into the decoys..In windy conditions I have a fishing swivel attached to the breast of my strutter just below the beard & have a line attached toa stake..this gives the decoy some movement while still keeping him faced the way I want him(toward my blind)....


I don't believe in call shy or decoy shy birds.I do believe they get set-up shy...

[Orion]

Over time, turkeys that have been around a while just get leery of decoys, and blinds, too, for that matter.  We have six five day hunting periods in this state.  In areas that get hunted fairly heavily, you might as well put your decoys away by the fifth and sixth period, sometimes even the fourth or third.  They will scare off more birds than they bring in.

[Jake Fr]

I belive in birds being setup shy and all but I also think its way to early for struting decoys I like the 1 hen set right now but in the case of the blinds I try to brush mine in every time just for that reson

[swp]

I had one mauling my DSD jake this morning. I have seen them skirt them also, guess it depends on the turkey.

[Birdbow]

Like OS, I put a hen deke down on the ground with a jake deke standing over her back and the toms and jakes come in to challenge - but we have little pressure on the birds around here

[ethan]

Onestringer, very easy to explain my friend.  I don't have a ton of experience hunting turkey, but from what I have observed the answer is simple.....


They are evil, evil, creatures with the power to read minds.  Put simply...devil spawn!!

Any more questions?....  :p