Decoys...yes or no?

[TeeBugg]

Im sure this topic comes up alot....but might as well make it fresh! Do you use decoys? Or does the situation dictate the use of decoys? I myself have had about 50/50 with or without decoys. I do agree with some that say birds like to see whats making the sounds they are hearing, but on the flipside some decoys will spook birds or cause them to hang up. On the other hand without decoys, they have to search for you and ive had birds without decoys ive shot at ten yards. What are your thoughts or strategies?

[Grizz1219]

I always use a hen decoy if I am field hunting... Woods hunting.. no... I like using a Jake decoy every once in a while if there is a high population of 2 year old birds or older.. fun watching them come in... But if there are a lot of Jakes, don't use it, long beards get beat up by Jake gangs and won't come in...

[Fanaddict]

Only use one hen decoy when I'm in the open like a power line in the woods no!!

[phade]

high pressure birds = no decoys

low pressure birds = decoys

 

Not always a hard rule. But generally if a bird is hunted hard, he's probably seen ever foam decoy in the county.

 

I will say that some of the more realistic decoys can pull in an otherwise quesitonable bird - especially when set up with bow/blind.

[ants]

Yup..just one hen in open areas only.

[HectorBuckBuster]

I used Avian Jake and Hen decoy most of the time, it just depends if I feel I have time to get them setup with out being noticed.

 

 

[papabear]

 

 

I always use a decoy they like to see some thing when they hear the calls  that my opinun

[G-Man]

No decoys since 2000. Just use topography so when bird can see to where I am its in range. On an aside. I have a whole flock of them in the barn i should give away or sell....

[NYSuperSportsman]

I used to hate decoys because of bad luck with them. Then on a whim I got an Avian X Jake and Hen and they are game changers. Its unbelievable how well they work! I got them last year and on the first day of youth season I called 2 jakes into them right off the roost and the hunter got one. On memorial day they enticed a henned up longbeard across a huge field for me and they also enticed a big 3 year old gobbler that had 3 hens with him across a big field in VA this year on April 16th. You can bet your turkey vest I will have them in front of me all season! 

[Dr. Honk]

I hunt over a jake and hen Buckwing (now Primos) decoys. Always have them with me.

[Terry]

Nope, no decoy for me. It's too much to carry and I have always felt like they were more troublesome than they're worth. Not to mention when I did use them I felt like the Tom would hang up as soon as he could see it.

[Lawdwaz]

Not me.  I lugged a few over the years but figured I ALWAYs want to be a little closer and didn't want to sneak even closer to stick a deke in the ground the retreat backwards.

 

In a field situation I guess you'd have to but once again, you don't want to get busted out in the open so you have to be careful.  If your are set up on an edge of a field and it is dark, then have at it.  Only thing about that is you can't move as freely as you'd like because you don't want to leave the deke in the field if you aren't hunting right by it because that is when the gobbler will show up and if you try and sneak out to grab it he might see you.  Clear as mud?

[Zag]

I've told this story before, I was after this nice tom who owned me. He would pass thru a small wood lot on his way to the field. I would setup where I thought he would come thru and he would come by out of range. I would call he would gobble back but never committed. The next morn id setup were he came thru the previous morning and he'd walk thru were I was the morning before. After this happening multiple times I went to dicks on a Friday night and bought a $60 dollar strutting decoy. Sat am I set him up with a hen 20yrds into the field. I setup just inside the woods. Lucky me he was roosted maybe 60yrs from me. He flew down into the field looked at the decoys and bee lined it full strut till he met my turkey load. I ended up mounting him full strut. Most expensive bird yet. Last spring my hen/strutter combo  sealed the deal again with another mature bird!!

I have to agree with others, I've had no luck using them in the woods.