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<blockquote data-quote="DartonJager" data-source="post: 1575595" data-attributes="member: 95733"><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>Bottom line a cheap decoy works just as good as one costing many times more.</p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DartonJager, post: 1575595, member: 95733"] 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. [/QUOTE]
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