This was my first year of really getting into turkey hunting. I am hooked! My cousin and I were lucky enough to both bag nice birds.
My question is about decoys. I am looking at getting a couple nice decoys for next year and need some help. Would y'all recommend a Full Strut decoy or a 1/4 strut jake? I am a little worried the full strut deke might scare away younger/less dominate birds and on the other hand I am worried the 1/4 strut might not bring in the big boys.
I know DSD decoys are supposed to be the best, but are a little out of my price range. So I am looking at the Avian-X or the Hunters Specialties, and possibly even the Knight and Hale Pretty Boy/Pretty Girl combo.
What has been y'all's experience?
I bought the dsd strutter and your correct it was very pricy but I will have it for ever, the pretty boy is the best choice for the money they will do u a good job!!!!! As for the birds being scared , birds r like people u gotta catch them in the mood!!!!! If u get a 2 year old fired up and he is coming in and sees a strutting tom with his girl he is gonna be pissed but if u Cath a tom feeding in a field he might shy away from it
That is very true. They can be pretty finicky at times. the decoys I currently have are not very nice at all, and a few different times i had birds come in and then immediately leave once they saw my decoys up close. I am just trying to get the best bang for my buck with out spending a small fortune.
But the biggest question I have about decoys is whether to use a Full Strut or a 1/4 strut....
:fud:
ive had negative results with both
I've had the same amount of luck with a jake decoy as I did with a strutter. The jake is a lot easier to carry, too.
Quote from: stinkpickle on May 15, 2014, 11:03:25 AM
I've had the same amount of luck with a jake decoy as I did with a strutter. The jake is a lot easier to carry, too.
I'm sure part of it depends on the birds and how the Tom's will react. That is a good point about the jake being easier to carry. Won't take up as much room. Have y'all had big toms come in and try to attack a 1/4 strut jake decoy?
I think there is something about a strutter with a real tail fan!!! Like the pretty boy or dsd strutter you can put a real tail fan that can be seen from far away!!!! And lets face it if a dominant bird sees that he gonna come in and show dominance!!! I seen two toms fall to my strutter this year and shot both with my bow one at 5 yard and the second at 7 yards
Quote from: ChasinTails27 on May 15, 2014, 07:37:52 PM
Quote from: stinkpickle on May 15, 2014, 11:03:25 AM
I've had the same amount of luck with a jake decoy as I did with a strutter. The jake is a lot easier to carry, too.
I'm sure part of it depends on the birds and how the Tom's will react. That is a good point about the jake being easier to carry. Won't take up as much room. Have y'all had big toms come in and try to attack a 1/4 strut jake decoy?
Oh, yes. Both toms and jakes will attack them...when they're in the mood, of course. :)
I really like the avain jake and hens... I do not hunt often over decoys but they do their job when I put them out
Do you really believe that a gobbler knows the difference between a jake quarter strut and a full strut decoy? All they see is a turkey and if there is red on the wattles, a gobbler.
I have the avian x Jake decoy and I love it. I killed two birds over it this year, and got video of 3 jakes beating it down. This was my first year with the decoy. I bought it after a lot of thinking and almost went with the dsd. I'm glad I chose the avian x. Easier to carry, just as realistic, and cheaper. I'd recommend it to anyone.
I don't often use decoys myself but with my girls I will use them if the situation allows it. Several times I have had a full strut dec and a 1/4 strut jake dec over a hen out in the same opening. Almost every bird has ended up going to the jake positioned over a hen.
Quote from: silvestris on June 04, 2014, 08:14:10 PM
Do you really believe that a gobbler knows the difference between a jake quarter strut and a full strut decoy? All they see is a turkey and if there is red on the wattles, a gobbler.
I believe that that fanned tail while strutting creates a response from hens, toms and jakes...
That fanned tail will attract hens, and possibly cause a tom to fight to defend his territory.... I also think it could dissuade a less dominant bird from coming in...
So while I do not believe that a turkey cognitively can tell the difference, I do believe that a fanned tail does create an instinctive response... The question which remains, does that fanned out tail cause more birds to come into gun range than that half-strutter... I have no idea.
I think this is a question that could go both ways. I just wanted to get some opinions from other hunters.
If a turkey is decoy shy it will be decoy shy of a strutter or 1/4 strut. Saw this last year.
I have had jakes try to show my full strut DSD whos boss and long beards try to show my 1/4 strut DSD whos boss. IMO they both work equally.
I just like seeing them come into the full strut more.
If I'm field hunting its the full strut if I'm in the woods its the 1/4 strut.
I've used both jake and strutters. The only strutter I've used is ones I attach a real tail and real wings. There's nothing like using the real thing! The wind blowing through feathers looks a lot different than if blowing against plastic/rubber! I can practically see tom's eye's pop when they see the real strutter tail fanned out! I have often had success using just a strutter....sometimes just hens, and sometimes a little of everything. I also use an open blind and can all of a sudden pull out a strutter to get a tom's attention. When he was watching a couple hens and all of a sudden a fanning tom shows up....you can imagine how that irritates the tom!
Quote from: Gobble! on December 30, 2014, 10:41:31 AM
If a turkey is decoy shy it will be decoy shy of a strutter or 1/4 strut. Saw this last year.
I have had jakes try to show my full strut DSD whos boss and long beards try to show my 1/4 strut DSD whos boss. IMO they both work equally.
I just like seeing them come into the full strut more.
If I'm field hunting its the full strut if I'm in the woods its the 1/4 strut.
I was hunting last year with a jake decoy and and hen decoy, had 3 toms and 5 hens fly down get within 20 yards of my decoys and take off running the other direction. We waited for a little while but the hunt was over...they weren't coming back. Went back to the same place 4 days later with no decoys and bagged one of the toms. They must have not liked decoys period. I think it just depends on the birds.
I have used both and had success with both. However, I rarely pull out the full strut decoy anymore. I much prefer the response I get for the jake decoy and it is much easier to carry and set up. I only dust off the full strut decoy if I know I have to get super aggressive or a particular bird has seem my normal set up and didn't care for it. I do a lot of scouting and I usually have a pretty good idea what the birds are going to like going into the hunt.
I would just get a normal posture jake and not break the bank. You can get one of the foam ones at wal-mart for $9.97 if he gets in close enough to see that it doesn't have glass eyes he better be flopping on the ground! :turkey2: