turkey-decoys?

[3Feathers]

Whats brand decoys are you using.What would you recommend?

[maineac]

There are a bunch of great decoys out there now.  They look more and more life like every year.  A lot are a hard decoy now, which look fantastic, but are harder to carry around without an extra bag over your shoulder.  I would find the best looking collapsable that is in your budget and go with that.

[Bow man]

What I now use is just the cheap foam decoy and A Turkey Skinz Decoy cover made by A-Way outdoors. They had a durability issue the first year which has been fixed now I have been using the ones I have now for 3 years

Follow this link and go to the bottom of the page to check them out

 http://www.stjoeriverbows.com/A-wayProducts.html

[Birdbow]

Since I like to cover ground and set up on a stool while wearing a ghillie, the inflatable dekes work really well for me.

[lpcjon2]

When I did turkeys I used colapsable cheep ones.added a little paint to make them look better. Then I filled them with Great stuff expansion foam,when hard I cut out a hole in the bottom belly and placed a spent 12ga shell inside (open end to the bottom) and used old alum arrows with inserts and points in both end to hold them up.Put the arrow in the dirt and the turk(via the shot shell) onthe arrow. they would swivel with the lightest wind. I would carry them in a duck decoy bag.

  When I gave up turkey chasing I used them as targets and they work great.

[Onestringer]

If price were not option I would go with some Dave Smith Decoys.  I have the standing hen model, its very life like.  For a jake I use primos killer b with a real fan.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Tim,

A Taxidermy mounted hen is the best decoy you will ever find, just dont borrow it to friends.

 After they kill 5 toms in one weekend over it, they quit being friends and keep the dang thing.

[Dirtybird]

Zink calls makes a great realistic decoy.

[Skipmaster1]

I use cherokee blow up decoys and turkey skinz. They are pretty cheap and blow up in 3 to 5 good breaths. I usually just use a lone hen, but sometimes I'll throw in another hen and or a Jake or Tom. I usually take 3 or 4 birds with the longbow every spring with this set up

[Skipmaster1]

Here is my tom and hen without the Turkey skinz. If I am really moving around a lot or hunting deep I don't always even bother with the skinz. I really think a realistic head is important as the turkeys seem to focus on that. I have had a lot of hens come in madder than heck and start pecking my hen decoys eyes and beating them with their wings.

 

 

 

[psychmonky]

I use a 20+ year old Flambeau that I got from my dad...more for sentimental reasons than anything else. IT LOOKS AWFUL!!! the paint is almost all gone and the foam has split down the back from being folded and unfolded so many times, but don't worry...we stitched her up with a really stiff bootlace and got her back in the game. Call her Frankie now. (as in Frankenstein lol)

I do touch up the head and eyes once a year though. That really does seem to be the important thing.

Scott

[Bmac]

I have some of the Dave Smith goose decoys and one of his turkey hens. Expensive but well worth it as they flat out work at getting shy birds in range.  They also have a new buck deer decoy that looks great.

[East Coast archer]

Bmac, I saw his new buck decoy and it does look great, only problem is it would scare off 99% of the good bucks in my part as it is that good looking and big.  Now if I hunted in Iowa or Kansas or another state that had bruisers, I would stop eating for a week to afford one.  Am looking real hard at one of his turkeys though.  Which hen do you use?

[Bmac]

I'd have the same problem with the buck here in Michigan!  

I use the upright hen and plan to add a jake before spring.  Most Toms here in my area of Michigan are very call/decoy shy.  Since I've been using this decoy I have killed birds each of the last 4 years with a recurve, most within 10 yards.

[owlbait]

Don't leave your Turkey Skinz in your blind over the weekend! I had a mouse decide to tear it apart for a nest! I HATE MICE!!!    :mad:

[East Coast archer]

Thanks for the response Bob, that was the one I was looking at.  Owlbait, I had mice eat holes in my blind itself when I left it out during late deer season one year.  Now my double bull has an extra shooting port 2 inches off the ground!!

[swp]

Dave Smith Decoys, you won't regret it.

[Jim Keller]

Dave Smith's are the best I've seen, but pricey. Zink's are real nice at $80. Real mounts are the best and being a taxidermist is an advantage for me. I had a mounted hen and gobbler with me in Ill. this past spring with a blind. It should almost be illegal. I said ALMOST. They hammered my gobbler and destroyed my hen. We were filming the second day after limiting out in 1 hour the first. This year I'm going back but with a Zinc hen and a mounted gobbler. When using a mounted gobbler the hen doesn't matter. They come in with there eyes glued to the tom. I'm mounting a new one for this tear and gonna put a hinged tail with a string back to the blind like Primos' killer b. Can't wait.

[Bow man]

Originally posted by owlbait:
Don't leave your Turkey Skinz in your blind over the weekend! I had a mouse decide to tear it apart for a nest! I HATE MICE!!!     :mad:  

[Slinging 24/7]

The Zink Avian decoys are awesome!!! I plan on getting one or two before this season! They are collapsible and look amazing at half the price of the Dave Smiths. Even though the Dave Smiths are incredible looking!