I fail to see the difference here. Both can be finishing techniques, and yet both can be used without calling/woodsmanship skills. When I do use decoys (which is very rarely), I call the birds into the area, then use the decoys to bring stubborn field birds into range. The same scenario plays out sneaking with a fan or gobbler decoy.

In my opinion, which is simply that, not THE way that defines turkey hunting for everyone, is that the true essence of turkey hunting is using your calling and woodsmanship to bring turkeys in close for the kill. There is nothing more satisfactory than that. I have done it plenty of times without decoys. However, I like killing turkeys. When you hunt big pastures or food plots, you can bring in a stubborn gobbler by using decoys. Sometimes it's the only way.

Nothing stirs up debate like a good turkey decoy thread. Happens every year. You have the "Holier than thou" guys who snark at decoys and those who use them, you have those sit in a shooting house and bushwhack them, you have those that sit over decoys and wait, and then you have those that do use them sparingly. I doubt one side will ever agree with the other, but the least we can do as hunters is not divide ourselves over petty issues such as this. If it's legal, and it's the way someone likes to hunt, who are you to say it's not hunting? For that matter, who defines what is turkey hunting?