I personally prefer not to use decoys but there are times that I've found that they were necessary to bring and old smart bird in range.
I know some would probably just say don't hunt that particular bird if that's what it takes. One of the best hunts I had last season involved using decoys. I had been on this bird 3 different times and I walked away because I couldn't get him to come closer than 75-80 yds because he couldn't see who was talking to him. The 4th time in the pouring rain with the decoys sealed the deal on this bird. Most people would have given up after a month but I figured out what it would take to get him to commit and I believe if we have an opportunity to learn from an old smart bird like that we should but then we should learn from every bird we hunt too.
I think every bird has the potential to be different and is different in ways from other birds just as all hunters are different in some ways. There are some things that I will not ever do like "fanning" or remote control decoys" but if that's what you like I have no problem with it.

Well...im 25 years old....ive been hunting turkeys on my own for almost a decade now...been drug throught the woods by my shirt collar since i was probly 7. Best i can say in my young turkey hunting career..there is a relationship formed when you hear a bird on the limb as dawn begins to crack...you manuever and set up accordingly and create a dialogue with the bird and begin your feeble attemp to convince him your the turkey sounding racket he needs to investigate that morning...that can be applied to any bird from daylight til dark. Now that said...ill use a decoy if i feel like it will help...ill throw a fan atem if i feel like it will help....no i dont particularly care for people crawlin behind a fan up on birds but ive dunit when nothin else worked. Does that make me less of a turkey hunter...i dont think so...some might but thats their deal. If you wanna slip through the woods in a loin cloth an hunt with a at' latl i dont care. I personally dont care for decoys for one reason....and i mean only one...and that is...i hate totin them through the woods....from the time i was big enough to chase after my daddy and brother..if we carried one...they made me tote the durn thang an i hated that...point bein you can killem withit or without it just really depends on the situation...but i dont believe it is a necessary item you make sure you dont forget before you leave the house...that check list is for gun,shells, calls and toilet paper...i feel like with thise items i can kill any turkey anywhere

every hunt/situation is different - i have them, but don't always use them ... more & more, i'll just use a solo hen ... but i don't make hard rules about turkeys - i use/don't use based on the situation

I use every legal tool available to me to get a turkey in range. I have dekes and a fan with me every time I go in the turkey woods.

Off the roost I have had a decoy hurt me more than help. But if working a later day field bird a decoy can be very handy.

I've had birds that I probably would have killed if I had a decoy out and I've had birds that I have shied away from decoys. Me personally, I'm just too lazy to carry one with me most days.

I'd rather go home empty handed than kill one over a decoy or from behind a fan. The kill at any means necessary is what turkey hunting has become and it's sickening to me.

Decoys are of the devil .

Just say no to decoys.

Never use them. Just not my style of hunting.

I've been carrying them, but use them less and less. I don't think I even took them out of my vest this past season. They've never helped me, and I think they've hurt me a couple of times. I mostly left them in my vest as an extra back cushion, but my new vest has such good back cushioning that I don't think they'll be needed this year so they likely won't come with me. Just not the style of hunting I enjoy*

*this opinion is subject to change if/when I get my ass kicked by a bird I would've otherwise killed, had the decoys been present

I’d rather use a terrain feature in my favor, but I’ll kill a field bird over a deke in a heartbeat.

only time I use a decoy is some of the time when I'm bowhunting with a recurve/longbow. Usually not with a compound and almost never with a shotgun.

Afternoon hunts only, its a club rule

From what I've read in the past, your a scumbag if you use a 12guage, decoys, a fan, if you ambush one, and oh yea you have to let them get within 30 yards. I legally kill them how ever I can, i'm not an elitist. I used to tote decoys, but now the only time I use them is if i'm setting up on a field.

I don't use them when I hunt alone or on public. I have old worn out ones and they don't look great anyway. But, my turkey hunting sidekick uses them on about every set up and he is very successful (limits out in multiple states every year). He usually gets in 2 hens and a Jake in full strut with a real fan. The birds really come in and beat the heck out of that decoy.

I am indifferent about decoys. Mostly just don't want to carry anything else. Plus, I seldom ever hunt in fields.

So who killed the biggest buck and gets to be president next year? I hope you aren't getting stuck with another 10 yr old. Maybe you can get the new president to outlaw them altogether. That's what I do.

Well, technically I am not the president on any of my clubs. Since I am unelected, I have proclaimed myself Grand Exalted Dictator for Life, and I don't allow no stinking decoys.

I have killed 2 birds using them and would have killed them without the decoys. I have spooked several birds in the morning when the gobblers see them he hangs up and walk off. The few times I have tried them in the woods when the gobblers sees them he turn and run the other way. I think it's like anything you have to have confidence in the setup.

Is this like fly fishermen not respecting the live bait users? Y'all are an interesting bunch. Never knew there was a reason to not like decoys other than for safety reasons (pertaining to idiots).

Like I said, I don't use them (have shot maybe 2-3 with decoys out) but it never crossed my mind to care if someone else does.

That’s explains why they work so well in Perry County!!