I've been reading how some folks never use decoys no matter the circumstances and it got me to thinking about my own tactics. In the piney woods around here I never use them and primarily stay pretty mobile unless the situation dictates that I stay put. I understand when folks that hunt similar territory that say they never use them.
However, I hunt the plains states quite often and I'm not sure how you can hunt the big ag fields without decoys and be successful. Yes I've killed a few without decoys there, but for the most part I setup on a field edge with a jake and a hen or two out. It has been very effective for the reason that the turkeys move so much there, and there is very little cover to "run and gun" in the plains. If there is only a treeline on each side of the drainage or fence row, how do you convince Mr. Gobbler to close the distance when he can clearly see there is no hen? I had many hang up doing that.
So my question is, how do you NOT every use a decoy, specifically while hunting the wide open plains? I'll hang up and listen.
Seems some of our fellow turkey hunters have this stigmatism that decoys for turkeys is inherently "bad" or "unpure". But they also use decoys to hunt ducks, but anyone who hunts ducks without decoys "pass/jump shooting" is looked at as a lower life form. Makes no sense to me in either case. I like using dekes myself, but don't use them 100% of the time.
I guess for people who only hunt hardwood ridges and dense woods with no openings could say they never use or never would use decoys. I hunt that way alot myself, but the people we I am talking about sets at home in the pouring rain while I'm in a blind watching decoys at the edge of a cow pasture. And then they call me a liar when I shoot a soaking wet nasty stinking gobbler. Just sayin.
Quote from: appalachianstruttstopper on March 05, 2013, 05:10:25 PM
I guess for people who only hunt hardwood ridges and dense woods with no openings could say they never use or never would use decoys. I hunt that way alot myself, but the people we I am talking about sets at home in the pouring rain while I'm in a blind watching decoys at the edge of a cow pasture. And then they call me a liar when I shoot a soaking wet nasty stinking gobbler. Just sayin.
I'm right there with you in the rain, less the decoy's and blind. I'm just more comfortable in a down pour with just a poncho than I am a blind.
I personally will not and do not use decoys, I just make them ;D. Makes me no better or worse than people who do. I couldn't care less how the other hunter kills his birds. I just feel I don't need them period. Rain, shine, field or woods.
Field turkeys with no deke's is a fun challenge for me. You have to use terrain changes if there are any, you may have to mirror the turkeys movements if there's a tree line or cover that will allow it. Sometimes you just have to be creative, with calling and set-up. The most open ares I hunt usually have tree lines all the way around. A field turkey can walk you to death in a situation like this, but he will mess up at some point. Out in Nebraska it was pretty open as well. I used the same tactics there that I do here and everything worked out fine.
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I very rarely use decoys and prefer not too. I think even in the plains it is a gamble like anywhere else. We have had good luck calling them out of fields or across fields to field edges at a good percentage with no decoys. It's a toss up for me, probably could have killed a few more that didn't come in if a decoy was out, but probably wouldn't have killed a few that we did with one out. They do seem to work better early season as compared to late in the plains states from what I have seen.
As always my opinion on decoys is that sometimes they work and sometimes they don't, and advice to a new hunter is to realize that fact and not let them become a crutch. You can kill turkeys without them regardless of what the hunting industry/videos tells you.
I use them for a combination of reasons
safety ( if properly used) is one of the main ones , keeping the gobbler distracted , attraction purposes ,--- in heavy timber decoys may be unpractical for some
Quote from: Old Gobbler on March 05, 2013, 06:45:30 PM
I use them for a combination of reasons
safety ( if properly used) is one of the main ones , keeping the gobbler distracted , attraction purposes ,--- in heavy timber decoys may be unpractical for some
I agree. In thick timber I will not use a decoy, but in open fields I try to always put out a decoy or two.
I have only used them a few times and I hunt all over from the deep south to mid west. I hunt the same way in open territory as I would in thick nasty swamps with the exception I may be forced to call them further depending on the terrain. If I'm lucky I will kill #14 this yr with these tactics ;D
Quote from: AUDoubleBeard on March 05, 2013, 06:58:27 PM
Quote from: Old Gobbler on March 05, 2013, 06:45:30 PM
I use them for a combination of reasons
safety ( if properly used) is one of the main ones , keeping the gobbler distracted , attraction purposes ,--- in heavy timber decoys may be unpractical for some
I agree. In thick timber I will not use a decoy, but in open fields I try to always put out a decoy or two.
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Same here. All i hunt is fields and when all you have is fence rows you really need something to keep Mr. Toms attention . Hunting is hunting as long as you follow your State laws..
I also like to use them when I take kids with me hunting. Seems they have a better chance when the tom is locked in on a strutting decoy. Takes the attention of a wiggly kid trying to kill turkey.
I use them in the south and east but don't rely on them. I learned to hunt without them and then integrated them in to my arsenal as a tool to be used when appropriate.
I've killed 4 merriams and 2 rios out west. Ive never used a decoy on a western bird and never felt restricted.
You have to adapt to your environment.
I seldom use decoys here in Nebraska. It has been my experience that once the toms see my decoy they expect the hen to come to them, holding them out of gun range. So if and when I use one, I set it up so when they see it they are already in range. It holds them still and directs their attention away from me. Never had any decoy humpers like you see on the videos. Just what works for me.. Best of luck.. Hope you kill a big one!!
I have, and still do use decoys occasionally. Mainly anymore it boils down to whether I feel like carrying them around...guess I'm lazy.
When I do not use them I tend to focus more on where they were seen, land contours to get closer to where they were/are, and their direction of travel so I can get to where they are going first.
I use them in the woods sometimes in early season. After everything greens up I don't uaually use them.
I never use decoys when hunting by myself. Why? They seem to be more trouble than they are worth. Plus, I hunted for many, many years before they were legal here in Alabama.
However as a guide, there are clients who insist on using them. That is fine with me. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.
As for hunting field birds, remember that turkeys are not in the field all day long. Watch them, keep tabs on their movements and when they exit the field, go set up on them in the woods.
Another tactic is to call to them from about twenty yards or so back in the woods, enough that the turkey may have to come to the edge of the woods to see where the calling is coming from. Sure you may not see as many turkeys as sitting on the edge, but you can still kill some of these turkeys. This has worked for me on quite a few occasions.
I hunt the mountains, all of which is National Forest and I see absolutely no use for them. There aren't many openings or fields. I have never hunted in places like the plains so I really can't say how much benefit decoys would be in that situation. I suppose that using decoys in very wide open fields would make things easier but I've just never done it that way. With that said, using a rifle would make things easier too. Even if it gives you an advantage, that does not mean that That is the best way to do it.
I used them a little back when they first came out but got tired of putting them out and setting them back up when I moved.
I hunt deep in Shawnee National Forest and try to go as lightweight as I can. I bought a blind one time and hated not being able to see all around so never even hunted out of it.