Question about decoys

[WNYBuckHunter]

I have been dabbling in turkey hunting for a couple of years, but have never really gotten into it. Now that I have plenty of private land to hunt, I want to give it a real go. I have a few mouth calls, and picked up a box call this year, have a good seat and my gun is ready to go. The one thing I have been looking at but am completely confused about are decoys. There is a whole plethora of decoys out there, some fairly inexpensive, and others really expensive. Theres foam decoys, "HD" decoys, jakes, toms, hens, feeding, standing, etc etc and I just dont know what to buy. I dont want to spend alot on it right now, but i dont want to buy something that isnt going to work. I also want something collapsible so I dont have a ton of stuff to carry into the field. I was looking at some at Dicks and Gander Mountain that were foam and put up on stakes, they had 3 in a pack, 2 hens and a jake, and they were pretty affordable ( http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3994218&cp=2460170.4233196.11203956 ). Are those going to do the job or should I avoid the super cheap ones? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[Robinson446]

Honestly, if u find where the turkeys are coming down and landing in the morning, you really dont need decoys, but if you are calling them in from a distance you might want a decoy or 2. i dont use decoys usually, used no decoy last year and my dad pulled a 8in beard when it flew in off of the roost in the morning. it all depends on where you are hunting... find out where the fly in from every morning and where they feed and set up where they land... You really dont need decoys if your doing that... Good luck man! let us know how it works out!

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Like any of them....and I mean ANY...some days it will have them running in....others...they will be running away.

I put them out. I feel they at least draw the attention away from me. I tend to set them up behind me from where I think they wil be coming from. I have toms...jakes and hens. last few years i just put out 2 of the collapsable foam hens on the 2 part stakes. Flambeau maybe? I left the males out and I seem to get less spooks from the birds.

I am certain others have had similiar....and totally opposite results...lol

Just FYI. My two largest birds were shot walking and calling to find a hot bird in late morning and I never got a chance to put a decoy out

[First-light]

I have used the foam ones and they work. Nothing like going out the night before to find where they roost!

[Doewhacker]

I use the cheap ones from Dicks(Delta?), work good most times. A few of the members here use the bobble head decoy's which I like because they look sharper and have the extra movement. The foam ones are nice because you can squish them up and stuff em in your vest. My opinion is something is better than nothing when it comes to decoy's, it helps to distract them from me as Culver said.

[HUNT6246]

First, I feel it's important to realize that you're not going to get every turkey out there.  That said, sometimes decoys work and sometimes they don't.  I've had better luck when I've added some motion to my decoys.  Some I've rigged up with a string so that when I pull it, I can get the decoy to bob and move slightly.  On others, with wooden dowel type stakes, I've cut the stakes in two and put a spring over the dowel sections.  With the right spring and by adjusting the distance between the dowel ends (amount of unsupported spring) you can get your decoys to move very nicely in about any type of wind.  Good luck!

[Fantail]

usually get good results with some kind of intruder jake in the mix.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Thanks guys. Ill probably pick that set of 3 up at Dicks that I posted. I have a $10 certificate so they will only cost $15, and they are the foam ones you can roll up and throw in your pack.

[Pygmy]

I don't rely a whole lot, but have been using them along with a pop up blind in certain setups over the last few years... I  have had adult toms spook from gobbler decoys ( even jakes)

so I usually just put out two hens, a bobble head and a Sceery inflatable, both in feeding positions..I have had better luck with feeding decoys than I have with the head up alert decoys... The motion of the bobble head is a definite plus...

They work best where the gobblers can see them from a distance...In the area where I hunt in Ontario it is as flat as p*ss on a platter, and I often set up on the edge of cedar pastures where the turkeys can see the decoys from long distances...I have had birds strutting and gobbling to my decoys that were far enough away that I could SEE them gobble, but not hear them..