I am beginning to wonder if decoys are really worth fooling with. They are a real pain to carry and I have had turkeys hang up too far to shoot several times in the past. I had two this morning gobble more times together than I have probably ever heard together, about 250 times between them over 2.5 hours. I couldn't see them but they could see the decoy. Once they gobbled themselves out and walked off, I moved about 75 yards, didn't set up the decoy and called to them pretty hard to them and got one spooled up again. I set up so that when the gobbler came looking over the hill to look he was close enough to shoot. Years ago before decoys and long distance shells, and high speed camo, that is how it was one. You had to set up that when you saw him he was probably close enough to shoot. Those tactics had their own downsides too, but I think we killed just as many turkeys. I just don't know if it is worth carrying these things anymore.
In my opinion they still have their place. Personally I prefer the DSD's which do not collapse, and are heavier than some so I think they are even more of a pain than some others, but again they have their place......course I do not tote decoys all the time.
I dunno....I tossed my jake and one hen in the carry bag, tossed it over my shoulder and covered many miles with no second thought to them being on my back
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i use to carry 3-4 with me from time to time,but now I have one lone hen in my vest that might get set up 3 times a season
I depends on how I'm hunting. I have some of the Cherokee inflatables if I plan on moving a lot. If I'm going to be sitting a bit I have primos jake mobile with a real tail and the swinging hen and she mobile.
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They help sometimes but I use two hens and a strutter when hunting my blind and just leave them in the blind instead of hauling back and forth and days I'm on the chase I keep one she mobile in my vest just in case but I rather have one and not need it then need one and not have it
I am on public land that is pretty steep and brushy where the turkeys hardly ever roost in the same tree. I stick them in the big game bag on the back of my vest, so I end up with something sticking out. I am just wondering if the benefit is worth the hassle of sticking them out and carrying them, cause usually by the time he is close enough to see them, you can shoot him anyway. These turkeys are bad to gobble in the tree a few times, fly out and hit the ground gobbling and walking. You have to hustle to get in front of him and hope he walks pretty close, so that when you call a few times he will just walk over and look. Lot of these turkeys have been shot and shot at a few times and are pretty call shy unless you are really close.
majority of my birds are killed with no decoy
Unless you are bowhunting, I personally see no need for them. To me decoys can make or break a hunt, I'll take that chance if I elect to bowhunt. Although with gunning, I'd rather have the Tom looking for me, vs. seeing a decoy. And as stated, just a hassel if you want to move, definitely not needed for gunning.
Quote from: surehuntsalot on April 14, 2013, 08:32:35 PM
i use to carry 3-4 with me from time to time,but now I have one lone hen in my vest that might get set up 3 times a season
Same here.
Now that I think about it I have only once had a set up with decoys where 2 toms came running in at a dead sprint to whoop up on my jake, another time I just had one walk in. The rest of the other times its been without decoys. I have several times been hunting with decoys (strutter especially) and had a gobbler go the other way away from them. Even this year I had a jake from flextone and a she-mobile and they turned the gobbler instead of make him commit.
I have hunted with dekes for years, with good success, and with a few let downs. They for sure have their place, especially now that strutting dekes are on the scenes and the dekes look so much better than ones from years ago. With that said, I have also killed birds without dekes, and don't hesitate to do so when the situation is right. I actually enjoy these hunts quite a bit, and it is nice not to have to tote dekes.
If I'm hunting a wooded area that the "hen" could easily be blocked from view, I don't use them. This causes the gobbler to come looking. But if I'm hunting an open area, which a lot of times I do, a deke is a must. Any gobbler that comes through the woods and pops into an open area and sees no hen is going to get spooky, or just flat out leave.
I love hunting with B-mobile with a real fan mounting a hen but only in the early season. As the season wears on, more gobblers have had their butts whipped by Mr. Big, and aren't itching for a fight as much as they were in the early season. But I've had many an awesome hunt where gobblers leave their hens and come running in full strut to whip B-mobile's butt. It's awesome!! I use an old fold up foam hen to put underneath B-mobile. I use 2 stakes for B-mobile, and the front one I just ram right through her back and up inside of him.
For my other hens, I use the Cherokee Sports inflatables with an A-way Outdoors "Turkey Skinz" wrap around it. They look like real turkeys, they are super light to carry and set up in seconds. I usually just carry one, but have more in case the situation arises where I need a decoy spread to combat a high number of birds.
Later in the season, I am down to just the one hen, and she is light and easy to carry. This could be an option for you fsu33952.
95% of the time i hunt deke free, if i'm sitting up along a field edge i'll use a avian x jake and breeder hen, but otherwise no decoys for me.
Only 1 of my 30+ birds have been taken while using a decoy