I Love....I Hate...I Love....I Hate DECOYS!!

[fwagner]

Been turkey hunting for 18 years and there is nothing in the hunting world that is as much of a love hate relationship as using turkey decoys!! I just wanted to vent. I know we have all been successfull and defeated due to the use of decoys!!! Aghhhh......okay i'm better now.

 

[Trigger50]

Yep. I know how u feel. Decoys have helped me get a couple toms & they have scared off a few. I only use them in open areas that the tom can see the decoys from a distance otherwise they seem to startle birds in thick cover. Ive even noticed regional differences in toms attitudes toward decoys. One area they seemed to scare birds yr after yr...but 30 miles away in a diff area ive had good success w decoys for a couple yrs now. I dont use any threatening decoys or poses.

 

[cowboystl1]

i have found huge benefits for using hen decoys and have mixed feelings on even breaking out the male decoys a passive tom will not come to even a jake with hens he will come look but will stand off. a dominate tom or pair of toms will come kick the guts out of a jake but can be standoffish to a strutter decoy. so i mostly stick with a single or pair of hens and leave the jake and strutter decoys in the truck

 

[phutch30]

Prob is all they ever show on TV is real aggressive toms coming in to thump the decoy..or in real life experiance the 1 in 10 tom

 

[cowboystl1]

well here i am to tell ya they got me this weekend youth season put out two hens and a jake and ill be damned three jakes started coming saw the jake decoy and opted out of closing the distance

 

[lovetohunt]

I am about 50% on if a tom/jake will come in to a jake decoy. First afternoon out, had 3 toms and some jakes all over my jake decoy which lead to a miss. The next day out, the same jakes and a passive tom wouldn't come close to it. Next time out we just put the hen decoys out and had a tom come running in and my son was able to put it down.

Last year, every time i put a jake decoy out, we had turkeys come to it.

 

[L. I. Yankee]

Get ready to get a hundred different views on decoys....here is my 0.02.....Tom decoys I never use. In my very early years they scared off way more birds than they brought in. Jake's I give 50/50 at best. I dont use them. IF I use a decoy it's always a feeding hen. If a Tom enters a field you have a decent chance of him comming to check her out. If he is with a hen you still can call the hen to you and bring him with her......

 

[fwagner]

Get ready to get a hundred different views on decoys....here is my 0.02.....Tom decoys I never use. In my very early years they scared off way more birds than they brought in. Jake's I give 50/50 at best. I dont use them. IF I use a decoy it's always a feeding hen. If a Tom enters a field you have a decent chance of him comming to check her out. If he is with a hen you still can call the hen to you and bring him with her......

I completely agree. My luck with Jake decoys is about 50/50 as well. I used a "Funky Chicken" Jake decoy and two hens on a "Learn to Hunt" two weekends ago and every time a Tom looked at them he left the field. I just wanted to vent, lol!

 

[NoWiser]

I've had marginal luck with my old Carry Lite jake decoy. Last year I borrowed a DSD jake and every single tom I saw, except for one, ran right up and kicked the snot out of the thing. I've never seen them react to a decoy like that before. Im now the proud owner of a very expensive turkey decoy. My hunt starts Friday so we'll see how it goes!!

 

[Epfd217]

I always had terrible luck with the decoys I used. I've had several of various brands and poses, jake and hens, etc. I never spent more than $50 and they looked it.

After seeing several successful hunts in person using the 1/4 strut jake, I decided to buy one. I have the Best Turkey Decoy. WHile I wasn't sure about having a $100 decoy, I have had great success every time I've had the chance. I've shot several birds at less than 10yds with my bow.

I just returned from Nebraska and my daughter had 4 shot opportunities in 3 days. The few times that the birds did not attack the jake decoy, they hung out in the area. My buddy Dan bought his own decoy and had 3 toms beat the snot out of his decoy. After he shot his bird with his bow, the two toms atacked their dead buddy and then strutted around the jake. Why? Who knows, but it didn't spook the birds.

If you're gonna bother with decoys, get as realistic as possible.