Birds flaring from decoys?

[wisconsinteacher]

This weekend, I had 2 toms come to within 30 yards of the decoys.  2 hens and a Jake Mobile.  My hens are cheap walmart decoys.  They were able to see them from the roost and walked right to them before they stopped at 30 yards and started to walk away.  Why didn't they come in the entire way to kick some butt.  They were 2 long beards that have been strutting in this field for 2 weeks with 8 hens.  The entire time this happened, the hens were in the trees.  We were in a hub blind with just the front window open and our bodies low in the blind.  I had the decoys 7 yards in front of us and the birds were coming from the 11 o'clock position.  Was it the cheap decoys, scared of the Jake Mobile, didn't like the blind in the field?

[jakebird]

If u catch up with them again, ask one. I would like to know too.    -Seriously, though. Who really knows? I would personally lean toward it being the blind if it was obvious and not broken up or brushed in at all, but i guess its possible they were wary of the dekes. They may not be the real bosses and they may have been intimidated by bmobile. I rarely see any turkey booger at a hen or two. Gobbler dekes, esp strutters, even jake strutters ive seen it though. Jm2c

[stinkpickle]

Some birds just don't like confrontation.

[sugarray]

In my experience, it is absolutely NOT the blind.  These are turkeys not deer.  If they could see you moving in the blind that is one thing, but not the blind itself.  I have NEVER had a turkey spook over a blind.  Decoys, yes!  If you are not bow hunting I'd set the decoys farther away, 15-20 yds. 

My thoughts are they just didn't like the decoys, and that is because they are stationary and were quiet.  Maybe didn't like that, or that there were no feeding sounds coming from them.  Who knows!  Turkey are very wary and this is part of it!!

[chatterbox]

Some birds just don't like confrontation.

This. Decoys can hurt as much as help. Even though they were longbeards, they were most likely subdominants that had been thrashed a time or two, and just didn't feel very confident when they were sizing up the decoys.
I doubt the blind had anything to do with it, unless they saw movement inside. It doesn't take much to scare them off.

[Trevor2]

Some birds just don't like confrontation.

This. Decoys can hurt as much as help. Even though they were longbeards, they were most likely subdominants that had been thrashed a time or two, and just didn't feel very confident when they were sizing up the decoys.
I doubt the blind had anything to do with it, unless they saw movement inside. It doesn't take much to scare them off.

Exactly....but my question is this. 30 yards and you didnt roll one?

[wisconsinteacher]

After the kid shot and missed, I asked him what happened and he said, "I don't know, I had my eyes closed when I shot."  I was expecting to see a 20# pile of feathers after the shot also.

[matchbook454]

I agree that it most likely wasn't the blind and most likely was the decoys.  I hunt with mounted hen decoys - no Toms or Jakes and have yet to have a bird walk away.  Even hens come into to eith kick butt or look for company.