Personally I hunt more without them then I do with them. My question is when its late in the season what do you tend to run.
And also has anyone just ran a Jake deek?
Dealing with a stubborn but fun bird, and have not been using a decoy since I know their coming to the field. He's with 2 hens and a jake. Wondering if just a jake would piss him off. Thinking if him and his jake friend see him the might want to gang up on it
Plan on going no deeks again for the first couple hours of the morn, then putting just a jake out later in the morn if first few hours don't pan out
NO ONES USED JUST A JAKE DEEK?
I'm going to try just a jake tomorrow morning. I saw 2 toms and a jake together this morning in a field just eating no strutting.
I ran just a jake twice earlier in the year and it scared the hell out of the birds on the farm I was on both times. They'd come in spitting and drumming and as soon as they saw the jake they'd get lockjaw and steer way clear of him and head to the other end of the property. happened with 3 decent toms.
Near as I can figure there must be a band of thug jakes that has been opening a can of whoop on single toms in the area...
Switched to a hen and jake after that and the tom I shot was nice, but still afraid of the jake, but because of the hen he was willing to hang out and do his thing at about 20 yards for awhile instead of just bolting.
YMMV.
To be honest I don't have much luck with decoys later in the season. Especially if the birds have been hunted hard.
I've used just a lone jake several times in late season. I only remember one time when I know turkeys saw him, two long-beards together about 100 yards out walking like they knew exactly where they were going, and they just looked at him without stopping and kept on their way. I had gobble called one time about 30 mins. or so prior. I waited a little while and moved closer to where I thought the birds were going and tried calling to them(no decoy), but never saw them again. I've had birds do a strutter the same way in late season. Both times I'm pretty sure breeding was over but they hadn't got grouped back up yet.
Im hunting private ground with sole permission. This LB, jake and 2 hens have been together for the whole season
Sounds like you have a plan then. If it were me, I would put a hen with the jake decoy. If you are going to be calling like a hen have a "hen" out that and maybe ole long spurs will want to whoop on the jake taking his lady.
The two birds I killed this year I had both a Jake and two hen decoys out and the birds made bee lines to the Jake and were ready to kick his butt. That being said, I have had a Jake decoy out in the past and had birds hang up and not come in. My opinion is that it just depends on the bird and whether he has had his butt kicked before or he wants to do the butt kicking. Like I've said, the decoy has worked positively and negatively, depends on the bird.
Also too, with a hen decoy with the jake, the two hens that are with the LB won't like the intruder calling to their man and may try to come in and fight with her bringing ole tom in with them. I would think sooner or later those hens will have to leave him to go to nest and then he would be lonely.
I would put a hen out with the jake. That was my set up today. I had a hen fixate on my hen decoy and drag a gobbler in to his demise. Probably wouldn't have worked out that way with just a Jake. I'd put them right where they usually enter the field and set up nearby. Sounds like roast turkey!
I try and mimic what nature does. Late season I usually see solo hens. So normally I just go with one hen deke.
Late season a lot of satellite Toms will have had their butts kicked, and will shy away from male dekes, even Jake dekes. So from mid-season on, the male dekes stay at home.
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Im the same way if I run a deek late most of the time its just a hen. but these birds this year are weird and are still a little flocked up. Anytime the hens have seen the deek they run the opposite way. They get sparked up from my calling and we go back and forth. but eventually they work their way off. instead of coming to check out the intruder.
I had either two or three hens with a jake all season. The third week of the season I had three hens out with the jake and a gobbler came into the set up, he gobbled once at the jake and then turned and started to walk away parallel to the set up. I do not believe he would have committed without the decoys. I told a buddy about the spot and few days later he had multiple gobblers come in to a single hen. He killed one with a 10 beard.
Not many turkey hunters go after gobblers using my technique. In the Southern Illinois 5th season, which is the last one and generally runs the first week of May, I rely heavily on my Primos Gobbler tube as a challenge to the established peck order of the area. By this point in the season, few hens are still coming to the toms but the tom, at fly down, still go to his favorite spot and gobbles, hoping to attract any still active hens. While he hears my gobble tube responding to his gobbles, he may sound off from that same spot for four hours, just like happened this year, before he's had enough and comes in to check out the "intruder" turkey trespassing in his territory. To sweeten things up, I'll throw in a few hen yelps every 20-30 minutes or so, giving the indication that not only is there a strange gobbler in his territory but that strange gobbler has attracted a hen while the real gobbler has not. This give the real gobbler two reasons to check out the situation. This year, after four hours of infrequent gobbling/yelping, he came in on a dead run and immediately went nose-to-nose with my Funky Chicken, catching a load of #5 shot from 25 yards. A couple of years ago, I used my full strut Pretty Boy in a very similar situation to take a 25# bird with my black powder hammer shotgun at 20 yards after two hours of waiting with infrequent gobbling/yelping. My experience, for what it's worth, is that the bigger birds are taken during the very late season when they are king of the mountain, having whipped all other comers, and have had hens come to them all season. But now, it's late in the breeding season, and it's almost like they have to swallow some pride in order to break down and go to a hen which is not coming to them, which can take a few hours of waiting on the hunter's part, as the gobbler tries in vain to convince the "new" hen to leave the "intruder" gobbler and come to him. In my experience, when the real gobbler finally decides to come in, he will gobble at least once while on the way, letting you know to get ready. From that point on, he will come in silently, on the run, and with an attitude of "do you know who I am?" I love the 5th season!
I forgot to add that I use a hen in the breeding position directly in front of my male decoy, setting up in an open agriculture field so that everything is easily seen from several directions.
Great info and totally understand, only thing different is the birds on this farm are still together, had a buddy scout for me last night and this LB is still with his Jake friend and 2 hens. If he lost the hens he would already be in the back of the truck. They are coming out two paths and we can set up right in the middle of both for an easy poke if they show. So going to try that first and if not ill have the decoys on us to make a move into the woods mid morn.
Are these hens older or really young hens? That seems odd to me that just those two hens are still hanging around this late in season(it would be for my location, maybe normal for yours) If they are older hens it kind of puzzles me why they are not laying or nesting, if they are 1yr old hens then that would explain it.
That sounds like a good strategy TRG3, it's obviously worked for you. I may have to give that a try late season next year. I've never used a gobble call in the woods, I'm thinking I might need to try it some.
Using the gobble tube also worked for me the second day of the first season which happened on April 10th. Four gobblers along with several hens were in the trees about 100+ yards away. At fly down, the hens took the gobblers to a grassy field some 200 yards away while I watched. My gobble tube didn't attract the boss gobbler since he had plenty of hens; however, the combination of an intruder gobbler being with a new hen was too much for a couple of toms that had to follow the boss gobbler around day after day and watch as he interacted with the hen. Two of the subordinates sneaked away and came my way to investigate the situation. When they saw the Funky Chicken hovering over a hen in the breeding position, they came running and one of them immediately went face-to-face with him. At 6:30 a.m., the hunt was over as one of them took a load of #5 shot at 25 yards. When using the gobble tube, it seems that the general trend is that it is more likely to attract subordinate toms in the earlier season and, with patience, bring in the boss gobblers in the late season when most hens are on the nest. Ray Eye, who was with H.S. Strutt at some point, through one of his hunting articles first brought this technique to my attention and I thank him for it since it's accounted for two, and usually three, gobblers each spring for the past 10+ years. I just opened a box from Amazon today that contained two Primos Gobble Shaker tubes, back-ups for the 2019 spring turkey season. Best of hunting!
Quote from: JonD. on May 25, 2018, 06:32:34 PM
Are these hens older or really young hens? That seems odd to me that just those two hens are still hanging around this late in season(it would be for my location, maybe normal for yours) If they are older hens it kind of puzzles me why they are not laying or nesting, if they are 1yr old hens then that would explain it.
Not normal for my area at all and they are older hens pretty puzzling huh.
Yep that's kind of odd. Maybe these two hens have stopped producing eggs for some reason or other. Sounds like what your doing is the best approach to him, getting in front of them on their way to where they are going. If these hens aren't breeding and laying they are still keeping that gobbler from leaving them. It would be good if you could get them split up somehow. You could bust up their roost, but I would be afraid it would spook them out of the area completely. Keep after him, I hope you get him!
Thanks fellas one more crack at him tomorrow we're in it for the all day hunt if need be. I'll update the results tomorrow
I run a solo dsd jake most of the time I use a decoy!
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I had a lone hen out the other day when a gobbler was probably gonna make his way there. I got cocky and shot and watched that gobbler fly up in a tree and when I got up he flew again.
Try putting a hen out and keep a Jake decoy by your side. If they hang up slip that Jake up next to you where they can see it.
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No luck guess he will be bigger next year. Bird gobbled good on the roost 75 yards inside the tree line. About an hour after legal. He was gobbling 35 yards behind us. while 1 hen and a Jake walked right out past us. Hen walked out and away and Jake turned back and headed back in where he was gobbling. He continued to gobble all the way around the perimeter of the woods. And about 2 hours later he popped out 100 yard in front of us on the point and decided to b-line across the cut in front of us. The Jake was walking slowly about 40 yards behind. Thinking the Jake has been whooping on him. Because he was skittish and trying to get away from the Jake. After they were out of sight we headed into to woods where we heard him strutting and gobbling everyday hoping he would make his way back. Waited it out a few more hours but, The heat was to much for my fiancé so we decided to pick it up and head home. All in all he was sure fun to try and figure out. Hope he's around next year.
The success guys have with jake decoys is undeniable, but they have worked against me more times then not. Its a head scratcher because the farms I hunt dont seem to be over run with jakes. I'll have a gobbler coming in hot only to see the jake and tuck his feathers and boogy. But then I've had mornings when they come in on a dead sprint. I usually chalked it up as being young birds that were intimidated by the jake, but most of the birds I've killed over it have been two year olds. Turkeys being turkeys I suppose.
Not a big fan of decoys myself but I through everything at this bird and came up short for my fiancé. Which is fine it fueled the fire for her and she hasn't stopped talking about getting back out next year. So it's a win in my book
That right there is what its all about. Turkey hunting is the only hunting my wife likes to do, and I love to take her with me. Sounds like you got a good woman there to me!
I forgot to add, make sure she can cook! LOL!