I've been turkey hunting for about 20 years, and have been relatively successful without using any decoys. Part of me doesn't want to fix what isn't broke, but I'd like to add decoys to my bag of tricks. What situations and decoy set ups have worked for you all?
I mainly hunt private ground that has agriculture (corn, beans, alfalfa), and timber. However, I do have a trip planned to a different section of the state where I'll hunt public ground.
DSD! I use the breeding pair. Most realistic decoys out there! Check em out
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Right now, DSD dekes cost more than I'm willing to spend! They do look good though.
I have avain X and have had some great birds worked straight to the decoy hunts with them but I still use them on less than 25% of hunts. They just aren't necessary to me but some set ups just make sense. I usually run them if I know birds are flying directly off the Limb out into a large field where getting them to commit back to the woods line without the visual cue is un-likely.
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Buy once, cry once. DSD is the way to go.
I think Avian X makes great looking decoys, and are a better "bang for your buck"...but I won't give Fred Zink any more money than I have too.
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I use cheap collapsible carry-lite decoys. Nothing fancy about them,but easy to pack,effective,and last for years.
I use decoys, with that being said there are times to use them and times to leave them in the bag. When I'm in the timber they are really not part of the that game unless it is really open/pastured or oak savannah, birds need to be able to see them from some distance to work... (I still always have them with me never know when I might need to change the setup). I mostly hunt mixed hardwoods/agricultural with lots of fields and they work like a charm.
I have DSD's and most might say ya to expensive, I will say 100% worth their cost, I have had more response to these decoys than any other decoy I have used or seen being used period.
The DSD's I own
Upright Hen
Feeding Hen
Leading Hen
Jake
Strutter
All have their place in the game, I will use a mix of them through the entire season just depends on what birds are doing and the hunt I am on.
I would say if you are just starting out the choice I would make is a Upright Hen and Jake, great for mobility can use either individually and set up as pair or breeding too.
A lot more I could get in to with decoy setups, but will start here.
If you really think about it they are just another "call"
MK M GOBL
I've carry one of the $10 Walmart hen decoy in my vest. All the years I've hunted, I bet I've used it 2 to 3 times over the years. Mainly in the later part of season. I just never felt the need to use it.
Jake and a hen. Just get some cheapos from Walmart. I believe they will work just as good as DSDs, and I'm a DSD guy.
I too am a DSD fanatic. I bought all of mine except the first one used, most right from this site. I still use the less expensive ones when I have to carry, or mix them within the DSD's early season if the birds have yet to break up good.
Montana 3D hens. Have a pair. Plan to add a jake. Reall need two jakes. One for each vest so I can throw one of the hens in the other vest as well. Had an avian X. Gave it to a buddy of mine. Good looking decoy but heavy as sin and just not what I was looking for when hunting all day and covering ground. The montana's are affordable and lightweight. The cheap foam ones from Walmart have worked just as well in the past though. Just not as collapsible as the ones I've got now.
I use DSDs too. I've used others n had birds come in n blow up. Not always but never w DSD.
For perhaps the first 30 years I hunted I didn't use em. They were illegal n once they weren't I still was like you n apprehensive.
I started trying them for kids. Gives the birds something to look/interact with. To be honest it's fun to watch n can really help on a kids first bird.
They're only used on a roost set up. Often you can put the dekes in sight of the bird n they fly right to you or you put it down in an area they'll fly to. Little calling to get em to look n once they see it, very often they come in.
The second that doesn't pan out n we're running n gunning the dekes get put down.
When runnin n gunnin I'd say they're 50/50 at best helping/hurting by being busted setting them up so carrying the weight/bulk makes no sense
I like the DSD Jake and Upright hen. Easy to setup and works great.
I've only started using decoys in the past 5 yrs after 20 yrs of turkey hunting at the time I started using them. I don't always use them and more times than not I leave them in the truck since I hunt mostly hardwoods (which I Love) mixed in with a few fields. I have two avian x decoys, breeder hen and Jake. My reasoning for going with them and not the DSD was the ability to carry them in he back of my vest. The DSDs don't collapse and hunting in the Appalachian mountains almost exclusively that just doesn't work for my run and gunning style. Packing my vest, gun, camera & tripod, doesn't leave room to carry decoys unless they can be put in the back of my vest. I'd also keep an eye on the classified section here for decoys and an eye on eBay to....I've seen really good deals on both for used decoys! God bless
I use the avian x decoys and also the H S Strut, 3/4 strut decoy if your going to use cheaper foam decoys which i have for years , i always like to have 3 or 4 of these in my vest just to give off more of a larger visual aid to the gobblers.....
Thanks for the replies. I like the idea of collapsible decoys because I move quite a bit and I want something I can easily put in my vest. Do you ever find birds that avoid the decoy spread?
Quote from: Spyderman on January 15, 2017, 11:33:47 AM
Thanks for the replies. I like the idea of collapsible decoys because I move quite a bit and I want something I can easily put in my vest. Do you ever find birds that avoid the decoy spread?
if you hunt turkeys long enough you will always have some that will avoid the decoys and to your calling...you don't even have to have a decoy for birds to avoid you....it's just the name of the game...turkeys being turkeys...
I'm an Avian X guy. I have 3. The Jake, Feeder Hen and Breeding Hen. I use each of them depending on the season. Will birds avoid them, absolutely, but in my experience they help way more than they hurt you. Greg said it very well with the avoidance issue, turkeys are just turkeys. IT'S HUNTING NOT KILLING!
Been very happy with the Feather-Flex brand now for many seasons. Very life like and love the fact that they are of a foam/rubber type construction that fold up nicely to store in my decoy bag.
Quote from: maytom on January 15, 2017, 01:43:45 PM
Been very happy with the Feather-Flex brand now for many seasons. Very life like and love the fact that they are of a foam/rubber type construction that fold up nicely to store in my decoy bag.
When I used them I loved having them in the back of my vest. Made for nice spine pad and laying two of them out also made for a nice pillow.
I have seen decoys both help and hurt the hunt...
If I am hunting in the woods, I think there is an advantage to having the bird look for that hen, as often a tom will hang up on a decoy (and wait for her to come to him). If he cannot see her, he will often continue forward motion.
I have seen birds run in to a jake decoy, and I have seen mature birds run for the hills when they see them.
One thing I will say, is that it is a different interaction when using decoys... Generally for me, if I am hunting more open areas, I am more likely to use a decoy; if I am hunting in thicker vegetation, I am less likely to use them, and if I am running & gunning I almost never use them.
lots of hunters use them with great success, there just not for me.