Blinds and Preferred method for turkeys

[R. W. Mackey]

Here is my set up, shot three birds out of it last year. Two
In Nebraska where this pic was taken and one in Texas. I shoot through the screen, if you think just because you have it blacked out inside they can't see you, you haven't hunted long enough. The sun changes positions all day long, may be really shaded in the morning but try a late morning or evening hunt and you could be lit up like a Christmas tree.
  Even with screen up I still wear a face mask and gloves. I've hunted these birds for over thirty years and have been busted every way possible, I don't leave anything to chance.
  Decoys, DSD makes the best hands down the most anatomically correct they are. The Avian X decoys look great but are round in the body, now does it make a difference to to a POed Tom, no. He hates anything that closely resembles a
Jake around a hen and will flog the H--l out of it to you shoot him or he finally gets tired. I use a Jake and hen set up just like the pic, sometimes two hens, but always with a Jake.
Every mature Tom and a lot of Jakes will come to challenge a single Jake, not any Jakes and a lot of grown birds will challenge a Full Strutter.
  Now why do set up the decoys like I do. The Jake faces me
Because a Tom will most of the time come up displaying and Strutting around to face his opponent, leaving you with a shot
Straight up the spine, but most importantly, his head is facing
Away when you draw. The Hen faces away, why, for the same reason. The Business End of the hen causes the Tom to again
Turn his back to you. I put the hen at 10 yds. And the Jake at
8 yds., now I can still miss from that distance, but it's a lot harder even for me.
RW

 

[KYArcher]

Some great info....KY  

[Fritz]

Broke down and got myself a couple of avian x. Man are these things realistic! Hope it makes a difference this year. They ain't cheap, but they look great.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Originally posted by old_goat2:
Kirk I just read your post, I bet with a good decoy set properly that you could get a shot off with a ghillie suit alone. I've pulled off getting shots with just a three sided little blind thing in front of me with an Avian X  decoy. Trick is you have to know the bird is coming in, those silent toms are hard to beat even in a blind sometimes, they catch movement so easy, slightest movement looking around and they will bust you.

All this talk of turkey hunting is definitely getting my juices flowing..... I know it may sound silly but i had as much fun trying to get a shot at these wiley turkeys as i did bugling elk in. Does that sound crazy or what?

After all the times i got busted in my 3 day hunt last year, i'm definitely going to at least build a decent brush blind or two. I'm also going to camouflage bloody everything including my arrow fletching...

[Tall Paul]

Double Bull doesn't make the "recurve" model any more. It was several inches taller so you could shoot longer bows.

[Carcajou]

Double Bull Blind, 2 shooters, two chairs, 2 longbows, all fit inside the blind. Sometimes one shooter will do filming instead. "Run and Bow"...set up many times at Dawn while pinpointing gobbling activity. I like to have the mobility of moving with the equipment as the morning dictates. This of course, is usually on private ground where there are no gun hunters in the field. 2-3 decoy sets within 15 yards of the blind. Black Ninja gear, blacked interior of the blind. No shoot thru mesh. None needed.

[Longbow58]

Barronett Big Mike and AvianX decs. Shot a longbeard off of my jake decoy at 6yds. last spring. Think Primos makes a blind called The Club XXL I believe and it is pretty tall.

[Sky-Dogg]

I use Primos Club XXLs.  They measure 78 inches to the center of the ceiling, 58 inches by 58 inches wide, and 72 inches hub to hub. We hunt two bowhunters in chairs per blind all the time with no issues.  Brian

I had a different year last year for spring turkeys.  I use a Bush in a Bag and either my Huntmor or a Strap on Grizzly seat, two old foam hen decoys and a Primos jake.  My one foam hen has been shot a few times by the kids, it is taped and looks like a crippled alien turkey.  I called in two jakes one morning, my crippled half collapsed foam hen got jumped on. I could not see a beard on the jake so I did not shoot. Later I had a big tom came with in a few feet behind me, I did not know it was there until he chirped a little.  I did not get a shot at it.  I got my turkey while I was scouting a different place. No decoys or Bush in a Bag, just my spike seat.  I took a break, sat down, took a drink of tea, did a loud call series and here he came on a dead run, saw me veered off, stopped just for a second and caught my arrow. Just a barely legal jake, but good enough.

[Tall Paul]

The Primos Club XXL is a great blind, but it's not wide enough if you have a really long draw.

At full draw, with my drawing elbow against the wall, 6" of my arrow would be poking out the window.  If you don't have a 31.5" draw, you'll be fine.

[stagetek]

I use my DB recurve or an older Primos Ground Max. I'm dry if it's raining, able to move a bit more, and can enjoy a thermos of coffee.

[jonsimoneau]

I should add, I'm not a big time turkey hunter. I wish I were but most of my hunting areas do not have turkeys so I must travel a lot to hunt them. Decoys make all the difference in getting them in close. Year after year I would easily get turkeys in shotgun range, only to have them hang up 30 yards out. Joebuck told me to buy a Dave Smith decoy and the results were instantaneous. MAJOR difference. However having said that Brooks Johnson has a decoy that works equally well and is much cheaper than the Dave Smith brand. It's calls BEST turkey decoy. My friend bought one last year and had excellent results with it.

[freedomhunter]

How long does it take to set these blinds up?  I am hunting public land so leaving them sit out is just not going to happen

[Sky-Dogg]

Once the blind is out of the bag, you can have a five hub blind up in less than 2 minutes once you get some practice with the blind.  The first set-up and take down can be interesting.  Lesson learned, don't try to set it up for the first time, in the dark, on a hunt.  Brian

[AkDan]

Jonis I have a good comparison from Brooks Best and Daves DSD jake.  no comparison!

You know I've busted a pile of birds over the years, almost all with pellets.

That said we've learned a thing or two about dekes.  They do at times work.  And when they work they can work extremely well.  Take the Jake deke of your favorite manufacturer.  We've had toms hang up, toms come in no care in the world whats around them ready for war, and birds flat out FLY...I mean 2 steps clear the tree tops fly.

So dekes unto themselves are not always proven.  In areas of the states, Mn, WI, Ne Mo, Ks, we've had great luck with dekes  50% of the time.  It makes them worth carrying.

But the one tip I can give a guy, is this.

Early on, the jake has the potential to work well.  Consider it the pre rut if you will, birds still vying for dominance.  As the rut goes on, a single hen, and I mean just that, not a looker, not a strutter, no jakes, just a single feeding or content hen has killed us more birds than any combination from east to Midwest.  

We've personally witness guys killing birds with just a fan.  It does work with the right bird in the right place.   But again I've watched birds clear the tree tops scared at the sight of a deke, both jake AND hens!   be warned they are not a cure all!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I've heard that about decoys being a real love hate thing... But for the times it works it may give a guy a better chance of a good texas heart shot, and getting to full draw without getting busted.

I had several times where i had almost got to anchor, to be busted by a different bird i didn't see. When you got all those eyes, its tough to do in just a ghillie suit..... most fun i've had in years though.    

[Longbow58]

Tall Paul, Sky-Dogg what is the window configuration like in the Club XXL? And also do the windows use magnet closers, zippers or hook loops to open and close? Looks like I will be losing my Barronett to my grandson and I was interested in the Club XXL.

[Sky-Dogg]

Longbow58,
The windows use elastic cords and s hooks to open close--quiet means.   The windows are all triangular in shape and use Velcro to hold the screens in the windows.  This works well for me as I normally pul back corners of the triangular window screening to create "firing ports" for my arrows. Go to Primos.com for more info.  List price is $269.95.  That said, I've bought three of the Club XXLs and never paid more than $150 for one.  Primos provides all needed screen and hub repair parts for only the cost of shipping for the life of the ground blind.  Good Luck, Brian

[Longbow58]

Thanks Brian, one more question. How is the blind material for noise and water repellant. Double bull used to have nice quiet fabric that kept you pretty dry too. Wish places like Cabela's and some of these other stores carried these models for us to look at but when I call they always say they can order one. Nice to at least talk to some hunters that have them.

[mnbwhtr]

I never used an XXL for turkey but I bought one for Antelope and returned it right after the unsuccessful hunt. The wind blowing makes the widows vibrate and the sound kept scaring off the antelopes. It's a train like sound.