Decoy or No decoy.

I've killed them with decoys and without decoys but I have had turkeys spook at the sight of them.

I agree

No dekes

Negative on the decoys. Heard more spooking than helping from several hunters. I'm sure it would work at times but I'm just gonna hunt the way I've hunted for years and still learn more each time I go.

I've had it hurt more than help. Leave em at home.

No dekes 90% of the time in Alabama. I might use them on a field bird or something.

Dekes 90% of the time out of state.

Not for or against in general, I just don't like hunting with them as much as not.

BC nailed it.

No dekes.

But that being said, I'm going to try this one of these days. It would probably be a rush to just waddle up to a bird and kill him at pointblank range. I bet it's a rush to wonder if he's going to spur me before I can kill him, while being scared another hunter might shoot me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wvcczx5nJw

I quit using a big gobbler decoy several years ago because it spooked a lot of mature gobblers. Since I started using a hen/jake combination, the results have been unreal! I use decoys on fields and areas where you can see a long ways.

x10

Big gobbler decoys have almost always spooked every bird Ive hunted with them. Even the most mature gobbler in the area. Nothing better than a jake/hen combo, or even late season single hen.

I tried the jake/breeding hen for the 1st time last year on a big field. Two gobblers came in so pissed off it was fun just to watch for a while, then I shot one of them in the face.

I use a jake hen combo in fields. Nothing in woods

I've used a mounted gobbler decoy a bunch bow hunting, never had a gobbler spook off it. Its a full fan bird with a jake beard, in strut. Nothing like watching a gobbler pound yer decoy at five yards while ya try to get the right shot off....

I hate fooling with decoys, never used them in Alabama. Here in Oklahoma you have no choice but to use them, these field turkeys aint coming if they dont see a bird around...

had em spook in the woods off decoys. may use a single hen occasionally but only after I have fooled with a specific bird for a few days and need to try a new plan. BrentM keeps telling me about the fan.....I may have to try it

About 2 years ago, i had several turkeys gobbling about 100 yards from one of my food plots. I had never used a full fan gobbler decoy before, only jakes and hens. Well, i set it up with a hen, and when they hit the ground, i did some soft calling. Well here they come. 13 jakes and 3 gobblers, this was opening day. The jakes came to the decoys immediately, the longbeards stayed on the other side of the plot out of range, and wouldn't even look at the decoys. They eventually feed out of site. I called the jakes to the decoys again before they left. If a hen is with a longbeard, then i've had the hen lead him away from decoys, but a lone longbeard, will come in running to a jake/hen stup.

only time I've ever called a turkey in for somebody "and they just had to put their decoy out" a big ol turkey came in, as soon as he saw the decoy he putted and took off. Luckily the back of their head splits just as easy as the front of it. I can't stand watching people use decoys, it pisses me off and they aren't even allowed to be used at our camp. I don't have a problem with using a fan or even doing the sneak with the gob decoy, but if you just post up with your decoys and wait on a turkey to see it, your not hunting.... decoys are just another gimmick " that may work" to get you to spend more money. quite frankly if you can't kill one without a decoy, you need to nut up and learn how to turkey hunt

I don't like using decoys, especially in fields. Much better without.

I had much rather be in the woods and use the terrain to my advantage, or hunt around a smaller field and not use a decoy. I do have a spot or two that is wide open ag land and once they get out in those fields you just about have to have something to give you an edge. I have tried a larger strutting tom decoy a few times and have had mixed results. I have had some run to it like they were blowing a war trumpet and have had some spook from it. I have also had some get about 100yards away with some hens and not even acknowledge it. I think it takes the right time with the right tom with the right attitude to come to the strutting decoy. The best set up I personally have found is a couple hen decoys with a flextone funky chicken in the middle of them but it is still doesn't work every time.

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?

I agree that they are finishing techniques, but you don't have to use any skill in being a less than average caller and even less of a woodsman to sit in a ground blind with decoys in front of you until a turkey comes into a field to see it. My point was you have to be able to sneak, and use the terrain to your advantage if you are using a fan sneak or gob decoy sneak. I hunt plenty of fields and pastures that stubborn birds hang out in, but to be honest, I feel like if I can see a turkey, he's dying.. I can play off of his reactions and push his buttons to make him commit and I don't need a decoy to do so... whether it be advancing to get in front of him or to make him break to come to me. I was just brought up with decoys being frowned upon and considered cheating so that's why I feel this way. to each his own, if it's legal go for it. My point is that anybody, with little to no experience, can go sit in a field where turkeys hang out with their push button calls and decoys and kill a turkey. That is what I don't consider to be the true art of turkey hunting

sneakin turkeys with a fan ain't real turkey hunting....just sayin...

I've had to bite my tounge on fanning on other forums so ill continue with this one as well. Fanning isn't turkey hunting in MY OPINION. Look at the video posted above, there's an amish/Mennonite guy in his regular clothes fanning a bird in and shooting it. No camo, no calls, just a fan or decoy with a fan. I'm sure it requires some kind of skill, and one guy might know how to do it better than the next but if I had to resort to this to kill a turkey, I'd take up golf.

I do agree that just sitting in a ground blind over decoys doesn't require much skill in the way of calling or woodsmanship. My only point is that fanning is on the same level, in my opinion. I don't think using fans or strutter decoys to kill turkeys requires a good knowledge of terrain or sneaking. Just like using decoys and sitting, it requires you to know where turkeys are and using their sexual aggression to deter their normal waryness. I've seen people almost stand up on two legs walking to a turkey with a fan and the turkey still charges them.

The truth is, if you think you're mastered turkey hunting, you may want to re-evaluate. I firmly believe no one will ever master turkey hunting. You may be good at it, but you never know enough to where you can't learn something new.

I guess we'll just agree to disagree.

It doesn't matter to me if you use them or not, nor do I think 1 is better than the other. Both styles have proven to be effective, it's just technology is moving on and you either jump on the band wagon or not. If I would have grown up using decoys I might think differently, but I didnt. I've used decoys in the past, they've helped me but mostly hurt me. After the last spooking I decided I was better off using my own skill than relying on a decoy. But if you use them and they work man that's great, it's just not for me. Having hunted the way I have I can firmly say that if I had to rely on decoys or fanning to kill a turkey, I'd rather not.

I completely agree with the last paragraph. Anyone on here who thinks they have mastered turkey hunting hasn't been doing it long enough.

I will always take a hen decoy in my vest every hunt I go. Depending on the birds I am hunting on my turkey lease (I have had for 15 yrs) determines if I will turn to using my decoy. If hunting a field bird and he hears calling and sees nothing in the field I believe that will spook him more than little calling and a decoy.

Saying using a decoy is not hunting is ignorant. You never know how it will hurt or help you on any given day even if you have hunted the bird all year and you think you know what he is going to do.

Has nothing to do with turkey hunting, but the last weekend of duck season in Arkansas me and 5 other buddies went into the most famous public land(been hunting all year with decoys) and killed 6 limits of mallards with no decoys by just kicking water and strategic calling. Birds were sitting on the water before we would even shoot. They were used to being shot at while landing into dozens of decoys and mojos. Point is im sure other people there limited out with decoys. Their is a strategic way to go about killing certain animals like ducks and turkeys,, and saying a legal practice is not hunting is ridiculous.

this quote here tells me all I need to know

I have turkey hunted for 40 years and had the fortunte opportunity to learn from some turkey legends as well as getting to hunt on prime land. Just when I think I have mastered turkey hunting, a gobbler will find away to bring me back down to earth. I agree 100% with your last paragraph, you can always learn something new.

But he is the turkey master? Read his screen name.

I don't use decoys. But do not care what other people do. I do not agree with the way some of the people on tv do it. Sit in a blind and wait on a turkey.

Do people not get enough of sitting and waiting while deer hunting?

Like others have said theres no right or wrong answer to this question, it's all preference. I hear a lot of the holier than though talk referring to the guys that choose not to use decoys, I don't get that either. Because I dont use decoys doesn't mean that I'm better than the guy that does. There's been many times in the woods where I've thought "man I wished I had a decoy right now", but more than likely probably wouldnt of made a difference. I've read plenty of articles from well known turkey hunters that talk about decoys and decoy strategy during different stages of the season. I'm not saying it doesn't take skill of some kind when using decoys, it's just a skill that I don't work on. But I'm not a calling purist neither. I'm a situational turkey hunter. Whatever the situation calls for I adapt and make it happen in that situation. These threads do happen every year and some take it more personal than others. I can go out and kill my 5 birds and never pick up a decoy, another guy can kill his 5 and in all 5 kills he used a decoy. Guess what when it's all said and done both hunters tagged out and accomplished the seasons goal they set forth to. Ones no better than the other, it's preference. If you use them, then by all means use them proudly, if you don't then by all means don't!

No dekes in the woods if hunting big open fields I will use a dsd jake. Had great success with dsd..

Wait....... But Micael Waddell scrawls behind his gobbler decoy and sneaks up on em at 5yards!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

Wow,


You can count me firmly in the "who gives a hairy rats ass what you think" group. There's only one kind of turkey hunter that most of us don't like, and that's the douche who rolls in rocking the holier than thou attitude and telling all the turkey killers around here that they "need to nut up and learn how to turkey hunt".






Nice logic.

Bwhahahaha

A lot of holier than thou type responses on here. I dont care if you use a decoy or not, but i will tell you they work. I've killed them using decoys and killed them without. I don't feel like using decoys is any less ethical, than sneaking up on one in a food plot. Next thing we gonna here is, oh well i wont shoot a turkey unless he's gobbling and coming in to calling and strutting. If he comes in quiet, i refuse to shoot him, OK, good luck with that. IMO, anyway you kill one, as long as its legal, is fine with me. I will admit, calling one in struutin and gobbling is the most fun, but don't thinki i won't shoot one coming in quiet.

Never used them,don't plan to in the future

My biggest problem with decoys is that I aint got the patience to endure the boredom of sitting there looking at them and waiting on a turkey to show up. This is what happens when I try to hunt with decoys. I get bored, go running and gunning, and come back to find my jake has toted an arse whipping and is full of spur holes.

That is the most pitiful turkey picture that has ever been taken. I'm glad you got to resurrect your season and finish real hot.
I genuinely felt sorry for you when you sent me that, but then I'd look at it and start laughing again.

My sentiments also.

IMO, the essence of turkey hunting is calling one in to shotgun range. Whether it's fanning or setting up a decoy or waddling up to a bird with a decoy on your head - all that misses the essence of the sport. And it that sense, any use of a decoy isn't turkey hunting, because you didn't call him in, you decoyed him in. And decoys change the behavior of the bird, take away his normal wariness and change the nature of the game itself. And I don't like that at all.

But in spite of that prejudiced view developed over time, I'm also still an open minded sort for the most part. And I can see the attraction of walking up to one behind a fan and killing him at close range. I bet it's a rush. And I'm probably going to try it one day. And I'm going to at least try to fan one if I go out west this spring. I'll let y'all know about it if I ever do. Hope I don't get shot.

the point I was making BC is that if your doing a sneak with a fan or decoy you're atleast doing something instead of just sitting somewhere with decoys waiting...

All my early season hunting(before April 1)is done on public ground and on most years turkeys arent real acceptable to calling. I find myself in deer hunting type situations. Waiting and light calling in know travel areas. Most kills during that time I feel like I killed one because I was in the right place not because I'm a good caller but I still enjoy it the same. But as far as decoys go theyre jus a waste of space in my vest.

I've been a runner/gunner all my turkey career of 40+ years

I started serious bowhunting them 20 years ago and found out R/G don't work with a bow, the killing part ennyway..

I made a small detachable blind that fit on my short compound that worked pretty good and accounted for a bunch of birds...

stickbow??? damn thats hard. One just about has to use a blind, so I got a double bull, nice blind. I ABSOLUTELY HATE SITTING IN A BLIND TURKEY HUNTING. When decoys became legal I used them. I finally killed a few with my stickbow, inc one with a stone point at four feet from a blind...

Never fan/crawled one but I have a brother in Fl that just crawls em across cow pastures, no fan, no decoy, and kills the snot out of them. I guess they think hes an alligator and they are safe at 25 yards????

All said, I don't care how you hunt em myself, cept maybe limbing one, which ought to be a felony BUT, the ESSENCE of turkey hunting is calling the bird to you and that is by far the most enjoyable way to kill turkeys....

I understand your point.


Your post rubbed me the wrong way. I've seen plenty of guys that think it's their obligation to tell others how they should hunt. I hate that.

IMO...enclosed blinds provide a more distinct advantage than decoys.

I use some type of decoy on probably half my hunts (mostly field birds). I've fanned them, held a strutter on my head, and set up on multi decoy spreads. Sometimes they work great...sometimes they don't work at all. Regardless, In all those scenarios you're still required to utilize the terrain, cover, and usually at least some calling to your advantage.

Enclosed blinds can eliminate most of those challenges. They have their place...but if I was gonna rail against some type of turkey killing for a supposed impropriety it would be enclosed blinds rather than decoys.

I guess my original point is that everyone who uses decoys doesn't just sit over them and wait. I personally use them as a finishing tactic on field birds when I have called a bird into the area. The scenario: you start calling to fire one up, then you get one to fire back. You're on the other side of the field from him, throw out a hen decoy and get ready. Would he have come without the hen? Maybe. But then again, maybe not. I like to give him something to look at so he doesn't get too suspicious. Sometimes they hang up just out of range of the decoys, and I try not to shoot farther than 35yds. Did they hang up because of the decoys, or is that just where he chose to sit there and strut for her? Again, I have no clue. I'm not even sure those devil birds know what they're doing sometimes. The field scenario is where I think decoys "can be" advantageous and so that's where I use them. I personally don't think they offer an advantage in the woods, so I don't use them there. The only sure bet is that there are no sure bets in turkey hunting. And that's why it's so damn fun. Always something new to try and learn.

I laughed too pal. Bout all I could think to do to keep from crying.

I might have to rethink this hunting trip thing we talked about. Dang,

I am probably the rooky on here, only killed 1 bird a year in 3 years hunting them. They really make me mad, smartest critter I have ever been around. Killed 2 with decoys and crawled up 5' on my first one in wheat field. That being said, why should it matter to hunters what method one uses to kill em. Yes if you are good at it you should call them in to your laps. For those preaching about you have to call them in is the only way to be a "woodsman" well have you ever shot a deer in a manmade food plot? Isn't that the same thing?I would love to call one in, but just can't seem to do it yet. As a rooky my joy is seeing them and shooting them any way I can. You can eat the horns anyway, right?

No worries whatsoever Ned. I got that decoy patched up as good as new so you can sit there and watch it while the 3 of us run around and get on the good gobbling turkeys.

LOL! Gonna gar hole me. I see how it works. I got a spot all picked out for you down here when you come.

You ain't supposed to figure that out until you are on the road back home ... you must have been talking to others folks Jughead has taken to his "good" spots?

I don't understand why "running and gunning" and hunting with decoys are mutually exclusive to a lot of folks here......

I can throw out a foam jake and hen, literally, in about 15 seconds. run and gun all you want, get on a bird, throw your dekes out and start calling.

It doesn't have to be one or the other, it can be both. Me personally, I'll use them on private land, not so much on public. I don't really care what anyone else does.

As far as "fanning" goes, I don't have any kind of moral objection to it, but I think if you do it, particularly on public land, you're an idiot that's begging to get shot

That would be a bad day to be shot by a crazy.....
Gomer....I hope you get your limit this year or at least 1

if I get 1 for the season, I'll consider the season an overwhelming success. additional birds would just be icing on the cake

I personally don't care what you do as long as it is legal. With that being said, it is not even a question in my mind that decoys are a crutch. They simply are. I would probably use one if I absolutely had to.

Ex. take the average Midwest hunter. They hunt open land where decoys can create a huge advantage. So much, that they can almost completely rely on them if they want. Then take the average southern hunter, that cut his teeth in continuous timber, swamps, etc. where decoys create ,very little advantage, because by the time they seem them you can kill them.

Turn them both loose in any terrain, let them use whatever tools they want, and the southern hunter wins every time. Why? because he has developed his skills and not been reliant on a product.

^^^^^^^This guy gets it. I can agree with all of that.

However, what would you say about hunting with decoys on big food plots and pastures in the south? I still agree it's a crutch, but sometimes a necessary one.

I like to trick one with my calling. If I had a field bird that just kept whipping me, then I'd probably get fed up enough to use one. I've never really hunted that much big ag land though. As far as food plots go, typically there are plenty of woods to set up in around it. I've never seen a bird that camped all day in a big green field, the way they sometimes do big ag fields or pastures.

Good post!

I'm paraphrasing this just a bit, but Colonel Kelley says that you should kill your first couple dozen or so turkeys any way the law will allow. By that time, you begin to form a set of ethics that you are comfortable with and abide by them.

I really don't know any sure enough turkey killers that are still in "kill him any way you possible can" mode, because after you get a few under your belt if you kill a turkey in a way that you realize wasn't really challenging and you're honest with yourself, the only thing you really feel is remorse. I've been there and done that and killed a couple turkeys (legally) that I kinda felt sorry for and I doubt that I'll ever get real excited about shooting one that way again.

There is a small percentage of turkey hunters that never get out of the "kill them any way you possibly can" mode, whether it be over a pile of corn or off the side of the road with a .243 or whatever, mainly so they can put pictures of themselves on the internet with dead turkeys and pontificate about how hard they were to call up, but I don't really wanna concern myself with what makes that type of individual's mind work to start with.

So really if you haven't reached Colonel Kelley's 2 dozen plateau yet; just have fun and don't worry a bit about listening to someone tell you how they think you should go about killing a turkey.......and for damn sure don't go telling somebody else how you think they should go about killing a turkey and everything will work itself out just fine.

I hunt about 50% field/pasture birds. I've used the decoy setup, and had it work like magic. Hunt was over as soon as he hit the ground running to the dekes, also had them state at the decoys from over 100 yards away strutting and gobbling and never step a foot closer. Yes they work but it's still not fail proof. Field birds can be a booger and can give you nightmares at times. But there's many other ways to kill a field bird without a decoy. Yeah it'll take a while to figure out and you might get burned more than once but to me that has been the fun part of it. Where I can say the decoy might be effective lets say 50% of the time on field birds, yet I have figured out another way without the decoy that's probably better at 65-75% of the time, so to me it's a no brainer no deke. Take 2 guys and put them in a field bird situation, one has a decoy and the other doesn't. If the decoy man sonehow had his bird spook due to the decoy, guess what game over for that time. Where as the other guy still has a chance. And to me that probably says the most to why I don't use them. The man not using the decoy might not necessarily kill that field bird but at least he's still hunting him.

I agree. Except I'll add that when you are on a trip and have limited amount of time to seal the deal, then all my "ethics" go out the window, and I get in the kill em any damn way I can phase.

I could really care less if guys use decoys or fans,but I don't think they are a necessary crutch,if I fool with a bird and he just ain't gonna commit and come any closer then it's my turn and I'll go to him,if he will give me an opportunity to crawl 20 yards closer then I will, most folks are scared to move on a bird but I'm not,I enjoy putting the crawl on one as much as I do calling him in,it's a challenge to used the terrain and be quiet and stealthy enough to get into gun range on one,the way I see it is he has the advantage when I'm moving toward him,everyone has different styles but who cares?as long as we are killing birds legally and having fun

Great post Brent.
I have always been of the mindset of no decoys. Honestly it's because of who taught me to turkey hunt. He was just old school on most things and didn't like them. I have tried one a time or 2 and don't really care for them. There are situations where I could see me using one though if things presented itself correctly.

With all that said; I think it's funny that we even debate it. The entire essence of turkey hunting is going against how God intended nature to work anyway. We will spends hundreds of dollars trying to sound like the most seductive hen in the woods trying to make that gobbler think its worth leaving that limb or where he is to come to us. We may even use an old wing from a bird that we've already killed in order to sound even more realistic. If he wants to fight instead of love we may gobble and purr. I've even heard stories of before decoys were legal of using black trash bags and coke cans on limbs to resemble a gobbler through the woods. We will most definitely take advantage of a horny 2 year old that will fall for any of the above and give us a show as he spins and turns to his death. We try all of these things to try to fool and trick a bird into believing we are another turkey but showing him that we might actually be one is going too far lol. Different people draw the line in different places but most all of us have given in somewhere along the way to something that would help a little. Heck you buy clothes to blend you into a tree but looking like a turkey is wrong?? We are reversing nature and that can be difficult choose to do it how you wish as long as it's legal!!
The first time I picked my uncle up that was going to teach me a little about it...he had on blue jeans, purple t-shirt, and a green army jacket in his hand. He also had one box call and a shotgun in the other. I was blown away. He called with his mouth and used the terrain to camo him as he moved. Often he would be kneeling behind a tree when the gobbler showed himself and he killed him. The box was what he used to gobble with if he needed to. He kills a bunch of birds and taught me a ton. However I do not hunt like he does; yet he is still happy for me when I kill them! No matter which side of the debate you are on there may be somebody that thinks what you do isn't "real hunting" either. Fortunately as long as its legal we get to decide what satisfies our craving for being in The Good Lords creation. Most days in the spring; for me just seeing the woods come to life and wake up will satisfy it! Hearing OLTom sound off and getting to match wits with him is a blessing I will always be thankful for decoys or not!

Well said Randy!