Dekes or No Dekes?

Used them twice. First time brought one in. Second time turkey ran.
If you do use dekes what brand are they?

Dave Smith Decoy and Avian X pretty good - look real

The laydown or breading hen w jake standing by her can be pretty effective

Everybody will hav own opinion - killed most of mine w out decoy

Hav real stuffed jake that works well w lay down hen

I’ve used Avian X decoys with success in fields and open areas. Never tried them in the woods. I sold mine though. Felt guilty after the fact, almost like I cheated in a way. Not knocking anyone that uses them, just not for me.

Avian X jake and hen work like a charm when the situation calls for it. The only time I ever use em is when I watch a wad of field turkeys fly up from the field edge and know they will fly right back down in the field the next morning. I can’t stand to watch them things for long and always bring along a newbie or my son as the primary shooter. They stay in the truck most of the time as I mostly woods hunt.

No.

Just go buy one at Piggly Wiggly. Less trouble and same level of accomplishment.

I already hump too much stuff with me through the woods running after a turkey that is usually running away from me to carry a bag full of decoys.
When I get too old to chase em, I may start deer hunting them a d use a blind and decoys then.

I have some cheap ones but I don't think I've carried them in a few years....just not my cup of tea.

I'll challenge anyone to BOWKILL a grown gobbler without a decoy....and yes I have done it several times but it is very difficult to draw undetected w/o a decoy. Only time I have ever used one.

You folks that bowhunt turkeys are nutty....even by turkey hunter standards. I'm not sure how many I'd have to kill with a shotgun to think I needed even more of a challenge, but I seriously doubt I ever get there. Not to mention, an arrow silently zipping through one just doesn't seem like it'd be nearly as satisfying as the *thud* of shooting one in the face and watching his head snap backward.

like ya said..nutty. I have been a bowhunter all my life, before I started turkey hunting. I have shotgunned a couple hundred gobblers, tried bowhunting them and love the challenge. One just has to accept that you won't kill near as many turkeys.

Modern or primitive arrows?

a real hunter would kill 'em with an atlatl

. Now that's funny.

there ya go short thinking. A REAL hunter would grab em by the throat and twist his head till the neck breaks....been there done that and have the shirt and two witnesses.....

Ned, I have kilde exactly ONE with a longbow and flint point...after a LOT of trying.

I don't know if one COULD kill a gobbler with an atlatl. The large arm movement required to launch the dart would cause a gobbler to be 100 yards to the side by the time the dart got there.

I believe it, only because I had a hen practically crawl into my lap one afternoon. She was well within arm's reach.

I blinded one one time and had no ammo. Grabbing the neck and trying to kill it was much more difficult than I ever would have imagined. Well, chasing it down probably wore me out and I hadn't really game planned what I was going to do once I caught it. None-the-less breaking a 25 lb gobbler's neck while he is trying to fly away is something I'm glad no witnesses were able to record.

Gomer, I called up the gobbler and then proceeded to MISS him at 15 yards shooting left handed with a black powder shotgun. It was one of those still, foggy mornings and the whole world went white at the shot. I couldn't see the gobbler but I could hear him flopping. I ran to the sound and found him tangled in a bunch of honeysuckle vines so I dropped on him. I grabbed his head a twisted it around about 25 times !!! till it broke his neck. I still didn't realize I had missed him. Took him to the camp and was telling the tale when one of the guys there said there is no shot in his head. WTH? He then skinned the head and neck and there were NO shot holes. No hit. Complete miss. Pure blind luck and bad shooting.

I may try and wrestle me one down this spring

wear a helmet and a facemark and be sure to video it

You come run the camera for me?

hell yes I will....

Did u use a self made blind r hav a ground blind r just draw when his head was hidden Fred?

Poor country preacher - awesome answer - thanks for the 😆

I bet that flint left a nice big hole. That would be cool to take one like the native americans did. However I suspect they did it over a trench of corn since the DCNR wasn't there to supervise and it was more about getting food.

the flint point killed gobbler was out of a blind. He walked by a window at four yards and I drew on the next window and hit his neck with a self made Tallahatta Quartzite point I made, on a wood shaft. Four yard shot. Blind made it possible to draw.

I made a small 18X24 blind of netting that stuck out in front of a compound bow with a small shoot thru square hole. Blind was attached to bow at stabilizer hole. Damn deadly set up. I killed 7 er 8 gobblers with it on a short Hoyt bow at 50 pound draw.

I have killed gobblers w/o any blind with a compound bow but not with a longbow or recurve....damn hard to draw without some kind of blind.

Nice - thanks

I thought about a bow - I still too mad at em yet

It never feels the same after the shot when one decoys in. It’s not cheating, but it’s kind of a “ meh “ after its over.

I had some students that loved to use those guillotine broadheads and shoot the heads off of them. I think they were trying to start up a hunting show and would film it. I found it amazing they could shoot that accurately.

When I resort to using decoys it’s usually a tough field bird or with a kid. Avian x are realistic enough. Usually a lone hen or two does the trick. If I break out the 1/2 strut Jake it’s gotten real serious and they usually can’t handle that.

I could not care less if somebody does or doesnt...its stupid to think using one or not using makes you any more or less...i may use one...i may not...id say..if you have to hunt in tough places...increase your odds as much as possible...not everybody gets to hunt every mornin of the season or has the rescources to lease or buy land..or be in a nice managed club...or spend every waking moment studying deer and turkey. People need to rember that...some of yall stare down your nose like your some kind of turkey snob...dont be a turkey snob. Just...have a good time...cause soon..you aint gonna have but 3 to kill an a month or less to huntem...enjoy whatchy got while you got it..an dont worry about what othe folks do...who give a flyin flitter wheather you do or dont...an thats bout all i got to say on this subject.

Some of the best out there use decoys and pros and cons to both ways - I could give a crap either way what somebody does - I like to put Gobbs in my truck and mostly done that without but I will use one in a heart beat and hav tagged out on wmas w out them
Yea Brock - the jake drives them nutts with hen and I hav gotten to see things I never seen before otherwise w stuffed jake I use sometimes standing by laydown hen

The only time I’ll use dekes is when I have a bird that consistently hangs up

I respectfully disagree with “some of the best out there use decoys”

There’s a lot of folks filming hunts that are well respected and have killed a lot of turkeys, but that don’t make them the best. Neither does food plot hunting in the afternoon and posting 5 gobblers to the contest every year.

The best I know of would kill many birds a year. He did it by knowledge of turkey behavior, being a woodsman, understanding each turkey he was hunting, and having that special poise that only true killers have. Most people lack the knowledge, skill, and determination to compare. This man did not use decoys that I remember.

Doesn’t matter to me if a man wants to use them or not as long as it’s legal.

the best I knew was little Ben Ezell, of Pickens Co.. He killed between 20 and 40 gobblers a season. No decoy....

I got a buddy from Marengo county I use to hunt w occasional that would kill 30 r so a year for 20 plus years and did not tote decoy - but he was a forester and could troll spots that were quiet large till 10:30 r so every day and hav more to rotate out the following days - all that land made a huge difference - but he is good hunter

Agree or disagree don’t really matter - it’s a choice by the hunter - one of guys I know uses them may go on 50 to 75 kills a year because he is in the industry and being in the industry don’t make him great - I hav hunted w him on different occasions - weather he uses a decoy or not don’t make him great - but he is as good as I been with and better than the gentleman I mention that kills 30 or more a year. I killed enough dead as a hammer and quickly w out decoys - but decoy tote r not don’t make me good r bad - it just a choice

There lot of guys out there I am sure that can do it way better than me - but caring or not want be the reason they are bettr

And the guy that killed 30 r 30 plus - I told him what I thought about it on different occasions - I stop at 5 - he is married to my cousin so I could not do much legally - i can’t turn in family

I dont really care if you use them or not. Hunt your way and I'll hunt mine.
I have never asked anyone that killed a turkey if they used dekes or not.
With some of the replies I guess some people do ask? what do you say if they say yes?

People don’t usually ever asked me if I used a decoy when I kill one

There pros and cons to carry

Having good success usually starts w having good property - I hav had some horrible situations - an 80 to hunt w no birds on it - WMA was some of my better times - before decoys way back when I had some incredible property - that makes all the difference - you got to hav them to kill them