Bought an Avian Upright hen a few years ago. Only killed one bird in front of her that year but man the jakes loved her. They came in all puffed up and proud. We had a lot of jakes on the farm that year so it was difficult to do anything with a longbeard.
Christmas of 2014 my in laws gave me an Avian jake. It was kind of a surprise. I always wanted to see a tom come put a whopping on one up close so I was happy to get it. I used it a few times. One morning I had a group of hens come right in and feed around them. The next few hens stayed away from them and of course the longbeards stayed with the second group. They would stop look and gobble, but never came in.
This past offseason I bought a feeder avian and sold the upright hen. I think it may be a bit better as it is not looking around but more like it is ignoring the longbeard. We will see.
I only carry them for certain setups or when I am going to set up a big field and not sure where the bird may come from.
Dirt road ninja suggested a double decoy bag he bought from BPS to carry them. I picked it up and can carry both in it inflated. It has book bag style straps. Glad I bought it, used points so it barely cost a thing.
Decoys are a good tool in certain situations but I believe new hunters should not use them until they kill a few birds, that way they are a tool and not a crutch.
Sent from the Strut Zone
