Decoy

[Toobrokeforthis]

Best decoy for Turkeys

 

[rickys2]

Corn

 

[Buck Buster]

Best decoy for Turkeys

I am told that the jake and hen combo that has come out in the last couple of years work great ! I can't think of the name of them, but every time that I have tried decoys in the past, it scared them ! I got rid of all the ones that I had, burned them ! Swore I would never use them again ! I do great without them, by using good woodsmanship !

 

[jimss]

DSD decoys are considered the cream of the crop turkey decoy. They are super expensive but a lot of guys swear by them. I have a couple Avian X decoys that are blown up. They don't take up near the room in a pack as DSD's and are a chunk less in price. If I'm doing a bunch of hiking I often bring along miss perfect decoys. The fit in the palm of your hand when coiled up and fit in a large pocket.

Turkey decoys can change dramatically from 1 area to the next and from 1 month in the turkey season to the next. A jake with a couple hens may work sometimes but spook the heck out of gobblers other times. There are so many different decoy options and combinations....jake on mating hen, flock of turkeys, use of only hens, hen with tom, lone hen, lone full strutting tom, etc. It's good to have a variety. It's also good to provide some sort of motion to decoys. Turkeys tend to shy from decoys that don't move.

 

[Buck Buster]

DSD decoys are considered the cream of the crop turkey decoy. They are super expensive but a lot of guys swear by them. I have a couple Avian X decoys that are blown up. They don't take up near the room in a pack as DSD's and are a chunk less in price. If I'm doing a bunch of hiking I often bring along miss perfect decoys. The fit in the palm of your hand when coiled up and fit in a large pocket.

Turkey decoys can change dramatically from 1 area to the next and from 1 month in the turkey season to the next. A jake with a couple hens may work sometimes but spook the heck out of gobblers other times. There are so many different decoy options and combinations....jake on mating hen, flock of turkeys, use of only hens, hen with tom, lone hen, lone full strutting tom, etc. It's good to have a variety. It's also good to provide some sort of motion to decoys. Turkeys tend to shy from decoys that don't move.

I quit using them several years ago, and burned the ones that I had ! So after hearing all the stories again about decoying I tried it again in 2018, I saw two gobblers about 800 yards away with hens in some fields and there is a wooded hollow between them and the field that I am set up in. They went over the hill away from me and then came back to where they were earlier, there was only one hen now with them, long story short, I started cutting and they got excited and didn't keep an eye on the hen, she ended up getting in a depression and they couldn't see her, they ended up going down into the woods ! I figured they may be coming and about 30 minutes later I heard a gobble out the field I was in and there was the two gobblers just entering it, one look at my hen decoy they folded up and quit gobbling and went across the field and into some other woods ! I went out and retrieved the decoy and got back into my blind . I waited about 1 hr. and started calling again with a different sounding mouth call and about 15 min. after my first series I saw them come back out from where they had gone into the woods, they came down a farmers lane 300 yards and I gave the largest one a ride home with me ! I know decoys work my own brother has had good success with one he mounted, they have even tried to mate it, but I have yet to have one come into a decoy ! So I kill them without using decoys, I never liked having to drag them around when I wanted to change locations or move on a bird, the ones you say you can put in your pocket wouldn't be bad if you had to move. So I basically scout and set up where the birds like to go and display, call a little and wait them out ! Works for me !

 

[jimss]

I don't know how many turkeys I've had that start towards my calling...when they don't see any decoys or don't see movement in decoys they head the other direction. When hunting high pressured birds turkeys may actually head the other direction when they hear calls or don't see decoys...or don't see movement in decoys!

What works one day may not work the next! I constantly keep track of the reaction of turkeys to different calls, call timing/intensity, decoys, or use of no decoys. It's important to stay flexible and be willing to change things up if something doesn't work! As I mentioned in my post above...what works during the early season may not work later on.

What Buck Buster mentioned in his post above definitely got the tom's attention...and worked! If he would have kept the same decoy and calls the toms likely would have avoided him. The disappearance of decoys and the different calls obviously changed things up and caught their attention. It's always good to do as Buck Buster did and think outside the box!

Turkeys rely on their keen eye-sight and ears more than any other game animal! In fact, I would rank turkey eye-sight up there with antelope, wild sheep, and other keen-eyed big game. They don't have noses like a deer or elk but boy do they have eagle-like eyes and great hearing! This has always amazed me since turkey eyes and ears are SO tiny!

 

[Buck Buster]

I don't know how many turkeys I've had that start towards my calling...when they don't see any decoys or don't see movement in decoys they head the other direction. When hunting high pressured birds turkeys may actually head the other direction when they hear calls or don't see decoys...or don't see movement in decoys!

What works one day may not work the next! I constantly keep track of the reaction of turkeys to different calls, call timing/intensity, decoys, or use of no decoys. It's important to stay flexible and be willing to change things up if something doesn't work! As I mentioned in my post above...what works during the early season may not work later on.

What Buck Buster mentioned in his post above definitely got the tom's attention...and worked! If he would have kept the same decoy and calls the toms likely would have avoided him. The disappearance of decoys and the different calls obviously changed things up and caught their attention. It's always good to do as Buck Buster did and think outside the box!

Turkeys rely on their keen eye-sight and ears more than any other game animal! In fact, I would rank turkey eye-sight up there with antelope, wild sheep, and other keen-eyed big game. They don't have noses like a deer or elk but boy do they have eagle-like eyes and great hearing! This has always amazed me since turkey eyes and ears are SO tiny!

I am 66 years old now, but back 30-35 years ago when I was learning to turkey hunt I would go out before season and call gobblers in and I actually did what you would call experiment with them, I had some I actually had to throw stones at to get them to leave ! You are right when you say they have great eye sight and hearing, they know exactly within yards of where you are when you make your first call ! and I want to say here that, that is all the calling that is needed many times ! If the gobblers are alone and no hens go to him he will most likely come looking for the hen he heard, he may never gobble, just come slowly stopping and watching for the hen as he works his way to where he heard the hen. I have called loud, soft, and everything in between while having gobblers close to me, inside 40 yards and none of the calling scared the ones that I did this to, probably 5 or 6 ! It may be because they were already there,I don't know the reason why thy do a lot of the things that they do, but other than the keen senses that they have, they are a relatively dumb bird ! Hate to burst some of your bubbles but I have called literally 100's in and watched them for long periods of time and have to conclude they really aren't as smart as they get credit for! I have left turkeys leave and called them back several times, and others come in and stay for an hour or more and won't leave, and then there are those that don't stick around long at all if they don't find a hen there ! I don't think for one second that they can reason and say that if there is no hen there when they arrive that it is a hunter calling ! This happens all the time in the turkey woods, a turkey calls and then leaves that area to feed or in the case of a hen in the spring may have gone to another gobbler that she heard ! If they could reason they would know that a decoy isn't the real thing once they get to it ! I have never had luck with decoys but I do know they can work, my brother swears by them, he has had them come in and stand on top of them trying to mate them ! He has a video of one doing his thing on top of a decoy and the decoy fall over on its side, this would tell something that was smart that the gig was up, but the dumb thing got back on top of a hard plastic decoy laying on its side on the ground and started mating it again ! Another stupid thing I have seen them do is when two or more gobblers come to a hunter and one is shot the others are too stupid to flee and instead rush into the one that was just shot and start pecking and flogging it ! DUMB ! But move at the wrong time, bump your gun against something and make a noise , or let them see the reflection off of your gun or glasses and they are GONE ! Not smart, they are just being turkeys !

 

[urbaneruralite]

Best decoy for Turkeys

None. If you set up correctly, the turkey will not be able to see your location until in range. It would not be able to see the decoy whether it was there or not. Dekes have no place in sporting turkey hunting.

Of course, if you like playing with dolls or don't want to learn how to hunt, then decoys might be the very thing. DSDs do work for taking advantage of those walnut size brains. Just don't expect those of us who sit to a turkey honorably to think much of the stunt.

 

[Buck Buster]

None. If you set up correctly, the turkey will not be able to see your location until in range. It would not be able to see the decoy whether it was there or not. Dekes have no place in sporting turkey hunting.

Of course, if you like playing with dolls or don't want to learn how to hunt, then decoys might be the very thing. DSDs do work for taking advantage of those walnut size brains. Just don't expect those of us who sit to a turkey honorably to think much of the stunt.

I have tried them a number of times without good success ! The decoys have always scared the turkeys ! So I have better luck hunting as you do ! Set up so that when the bird comes into view it is within killing range ! The important thing here is to have a number of trees in the direction so when the turkey does appear and if it isn't where you have your gun aimed you can move when they go behind one of the trees, you can also move if it is a gobbler and it fans out with his head obscured ! I have also called them across fields where they could see a long ways and see no decoys or live turkeys, you just have to call to get their attention and then shut up and let them hunt you, or progressively make the calls softer so imitate a hen going away from the gobbler ! Lots of tricks as you learn, but learning their habits and where they like to feed and strut are Big steps in being a successful turkey hunter !

 

[460 magnum]

I like the Primos® Gobbstopper Turkey Decoy Combo. A reasonable price also.

 

[jimss]

urbaneruralite, what state/s do you hunt? I've had a tougher time having success using decoys than run and gun hunting! I'm not sure how many times I've set up decoys and groups of turkeys or toms head the opposite direction! If you hunt heavily pressured public land birds that have experience with decoys you may find that it's tougher with decoys than just calling...especially if you are a good caller and know what you are doing without decoys!

High pressured birds often don't see movement in decoys or stare at decoys and figure out something isn't quite right and head the opposite direction! The walnut sized brain turkeys I hunt are obviously a lot smarter and spookier than the ones you hunt! There is an art to figuring out the correct decoys, decoy set up, calling that will ceil the deal! I'd say 95% of the toms I've harvested (and I usually kill 4 to 9 a year) are shot without using decoys...and it's often a piece of cake not using decoys! I have struggled harvesting the same toms with decoy setups.

I wouldn't consider using decoys "cheating" or "playing with dolls"! In fact, I would say the opposite is true where I hunt! Everything often has to be perfect to harvest toms with decoys...especially heavily pressured public land toms! Anyway, I wouldn't bash those that choose to use decoys!

 

[Buck Buster]

urbaneruralite, what state/s do you hunt? I've had a tougher time having success using decoys than run and gun hunting! I'm not sure how many times I've set up decoys and groups of turkeys or toms head the opposite direction! If you hunt heavily pressured public land birds that have experience with decoys you may find that it's tougher with decoys than just calling...especially if you are a good caller and know what you are doing without decoys!

High pressured birds often don't see movement in decoys or stare at decoys and figure out something isn't quite right and head the opposite direction! The walnut sized brain turkeys I hunt are obviously a lot smarter and spookier than the ones you hunt! There is an art to figuring out the correct decoys, decoy set up, calling that will ceil the deal! I'd say 95% of the toms I've harvested (and I usually kill 4 to 9 a year) are shot without using decoys...and it's often a piece of cake not using decoys! I have struggled harvesting the same toms with decoy setups.

I wouldn't consider using decoys "cheating" or "playing with dolls"! In fact, I would say the opposite is true where I hunt! Everything often has to be perfect to harvest toms with decoys...especially heavily pressured public land toms! Anyway, I wouldn't bash those that choose to use decoys!

I think if you reread what urbaneruralite is saying the same thing as us, he doesn't like decoys is the impression I got ! And the walnut sized brain is really stretching it to about twice the size it really is ! They should have been named wild chickens, because they are more of a chicken than what a chicken is !

 

[DartonJager]

Now this is just my opinion based on turkey hunting for 30 years and myself killing over 30 mostly Tom turkeys (no bearded hens) in the two states of IL and IN. Add to this having either helping or watched friends kill about the same number of Toms and jakes and I wouldn't be guilty of bragging when I say I know a fair amount about how to call in and kill turkeys.
I should add slightly less than half of all the turkeys myself and my sons have killed have been taken off public land. Best guess about 80% of all the turkeys I helped my friends kill or watched them kill came off public land. So I also know what it's like to hunt pressured public land turkeys and kill them consistently.

Now for my opinion on how much decoys matter in killing turkeys. I will say you are better off with them than without and they have helped me kill turkeys and I make a point to always use them if the situation allows. Example would be if I'm setting up on roosted Toms if at all possible I put out 2 or 3 hen decoys. Or if I'm sitting on a field I know Toms frequent to strut late morning I always put out a hen decoy or two.

But I have killed a very large number of turkeys using no decoys at all as the situation simply didn't allow me to set them out and I still successfully called in many a mature Tom or jake to their demise. So many Toms have I called in without a decoy that I don't feel they are the least bit mandatory or needed if the Tom is in the mood to come to your call. But using a hen decoy will never hurt you but at the same time using them especially if set up on roosted toms will not by any measure guarantee your success. I have killed at least 45% of my turkeys and dang near 50% of all my mature Toms after 9am once they finished breading receptive hens and are on the prowl for more action. Of those late morning Toms most I used blind calling while walking to locate then set up on and call them in, and most I found myself not being able to put out a decoy.

Now for my opinion on hen decoys themselves. I've been using the same three hen decoys for the last 15-16 years. So long in fact I forgot who made them. I bought all three at a Blain's F&F in Macomb IL. I chose them because they really did look like a hen turkey, were very well made and anatomically correct and would collapse well and pack easily. But most off all they were on season end close out and were priced VERY cheap. I think I paid $10-$12 each or $36-$38 for all three.

Now for what decoy IN MY OPION you should use. Myself and all of my friends use what by todays standards would be considered economical, inexpensive if not down rite cheap decoys from multiple different manufacturers and they have all worked great. None are the, in my opinion ultra expensive ultra life like decoys so popular today.

Bottom line a cheap decoy works just as good as one costing many times more.
I say this based on our combined success rate of over 90% killing Toms or Jakes in the last 20+ seasons (I could be wrong but best as I can recall, I have failed only twice to take a turkey in the last 30 seasons, my best friend and hunting partner only once) you can not argue with an over all 90%+ success rate at killing male turkeys.

How did we achieve a 90%+ success rate at killing turkeys? Three simple tactics. #1-Hunt where there are a good or large number of birds #2- know where the turkeys are and put yourself between them and where they want to go and you are at that moment hands down the greatest turkey caller in the world. #3-If you managed to roost a decent amount of birds or are in an area with a good population of birds, hunt low impact and don't bust the birds off the roost of let them know you're hunting them and if you're unsuccessful calling them in off the roost wait till after 9-9:30am and start VERY carefully sneaking and peaking while occasionally blind calling and you will be amazed at how easy it is to call in a 2 or 3 year old Toms that no longer have hens with them but are desperately looking for one.

In my experience what type of hen decoy you use has been the least important factor in a persons turkey hunting success, and high priced turkey decoys IMHO are better at fooling hunters than Tom turkeys, again my opinion.

FWIW. Over the last 10 or so years I stumbled across bought both jake and Tom decoys because they were very cheap and I was having trouble for two seasons with mature Toms holding up on me outside of gun range while hunting on a huge field. Figured setting up a Tom, Jake and hen decoy would trigger a mature Toms dominance reaction and bring him in. Nope, all the Tom decoy did was scare off all the jakes I called in screwing up a shot opportunity for my boys and never worked on the Toms I'm guessing because they always had hens with they didn't care. Tried using jake and hen and same results, Toms showed no interest. So I stick with using hen decoys only.

Like to add one thing. I did say a hen decoy can never hurt you and that is not in my experience entirely true. If I'm setting up in a huge field, especially one in an area I'm new to hunting where the Tom could see my decoys a LOOONG way off they have a few times come to my calls only once they spotted my decoys hang up out of effective range. To counter this situation I try to find a dip in the field I can keep between the Tom and my decoy, but that is not always possible.