Turkey decoy

[Alex93alex93]

Are turkey decoys necessary to be successful in the hunt?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WannabeHunter]

Depends on setup, turkey species, location, hunting activity, etc.

For southeastern turkey with a bow....90% of the time decoy necessary. Unless you're in a blind, drawing a bow while a turkey is in view is difficult even with a decoy.

 

[Dvidos]

Depends on setup, turkey species, location, hunting activity, etc.

For southeastern turkey with a bow....90% of the time decoy necessary. Unless you're in a blind, drawing a bow while a turkey is in view is difficult even with a decoy.

+1

 

[Jimss]

Turkey eyesight is about par or better than any big game animal. You've heard of "eagle eyes"....well turkeys are probably just as good! I've had turkeys get nervous and run when I barely put my head over a ridge at 1/2 mile away! If turkeys had the nose of whitetails they would be even tougher to stalk close. I don't think a lot of guys give turkeys much respect. Obviously "farm birds" are a lot easier to stalk than turkeys that are heavily hunted on public land. Yep, decoys help....being an experienced caller that knows exactly what calls to use, what tempo, and how loud can be just as effective. Poor decoys can be somewhat worthless on educated birds. Some guys swear by DSD decoys....saying they make a huge difference. The combo of good decoys plus calling is tough to beat. TIming can sometimes be critical for decoys to be effective. Hunting "henned up" birds is like trying to bugle in rutting bulls that already have their herum of cows. It can sometimes be super tough getting toms (or hens) to head to to decoys.

With that said, there are so many factors that it is next to impossible to answer your question. What works one day may not work the next. What works in one area may not work in another. There are lots of considerations....hunting pressure, timing, location, weather, location of feeding and roosting areas, etc.

 

[Alex93alex93]

Turkey eyesight is about par or better than any big game animal. You've heard of "eagle eyes"....well turkeys are probably just as good! I've had turkeys get nervous and run when I barely put my head over a ridge at 1/2 mile away! If turkeys had the nose of whitetails they would be even tougher to stalk close. I don't think a lot of guys give turkeys much respect. Obviously "farm birds" are a lot easier to stalk than turkeys that are heavily hunted on public land. Yep, decoys help....being an experienced caller that knows exactly what calls to use, what tempo, and how loud can be just as effective. Poor decoys can be somewhat worthless on educated birds. Some guys swear by DSD decoys....saying they make a huge difference. The combo of good decoys plus calling is tough to beat. TIming can sometimes be critical for decoys to be effective. Hunting "henned up" birds is like trying to bugle in rutting bulls that already have their herum of cows. It can sometimes be super tough getting toms (or hens) to head to to decoys.

With that said, there are so many factors that it is next to impossible to answer your question. What works one day may not work the next. What works in one area may not work in another. There are lots of considerations....hunting pressure, timing, location, weather, location of feeding and roosting areas, etc.

Appreciate the insight


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jimss]

One thing I do that often leads to success is watch the turkeys reaction to what I am doing....whether it is calling or decoys....or both. If they shut up when you call that's not a good sign! If they walk the other direction when they see your decoys...not good, etc. They don't like what the hear or see. One thing I've noticed is that turkey often watch decoys. If they don't see decoy movement they head the other way. Sometimes no calling and/or no decoys may be just the ticket! Attaching a string to a decoy to get it to move may be just the ticket. A fan rather than a jake decoy may work....or visa-versa. Using just 1 or 2 hens and no tom or jake may be what attracts toms. It's always good to think outside the box and be willing to change things up!

 

[180splitg3]

I have been using a strutting Tom decoy the last three years for archery. We always use a real turkey fan with it - not the synthetic one that it comes with. In 2017 that decoy helped 5 MN Toms (5 different hunters) meet their death! In 2018 we killed 3 birds with it. In 2019 - zero kills! After the first year we thought "this is almost too easy" - last season they simply wouldn't come into it. It really does depend on the situation and aggressiveness of the particular birds you encounter. Hope that helps.

 

[LongWayAround]

Shotgun hunting, I typically roll with no decoy. I seem to spend more time setting up than moving in.

Bow hunting, it's almost a necessity to set a decoy in order to center the bird up.

If I had more spare cash and private land, I would have the new DSD Jake, not that there's anything wrong with the old one...

 

[NYyotekiller]

A poor looking or less expensive decoy can hurt you more than help you especially if you are hunting high pressured birds that have had scatterguns shot at them. A life like or high quality decoy can help you a ton especially if you're hunting them with archery equipment only like I do.

Since I've switched to DSD decoys I've been blown away at how good they actually work. Previously when I had Avian and Primos decoys I would have birds hang up out of range and just chalk it up to shy toms and/or my calling. In 4 years of turkey hunting and roughly 50 toms/jakes called in, only two have hung up out of bow range and acted leery of my setups. I've had very good results with the DSD's to say the least.

 

[Zac]

Dave Smith

 

[Skerhunter]

If i'm going bow hunting I'm packing decoys. If i'm going shotgun hunting, I'm going to shoot a turkey, no decoys needed!

 

[stonewall]

I think I've killed more without a decoy. the one eastern I killed came on a string to a strutting jake decoy. the best hen decoy I've ever had was a taxidermy/stuffer decoy i made. I gave that one to a friend and always figured to make another one...but tpwd changed the regs in my county and now I can't shoot a hen. with the stuffer decoy - no doubt it works. w/o, I think I prefer no decoy
(mostly private land experience - have hunted public in arkansas, but was unsuccessful)