If you only took one decoy?

[roberthyman14]

Oh and by the way, I'd ditch both decoys before the chair!!!

100% gotta be comfortable

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[bbcoach]

I'm going to be the ODD man out on this issue!  The first 2 weeks of the season, if I could only use 1 decoy, it would be a quarter or half strut jake looking into the woods.  And I would be the hen talking it up in the woods.  Play the jealousy card gentlemen!  If I'm hunting the woods with very little visibility, no decoy.  I'm the hen. 

[357MAGNOLE]

Those of you saying they would use the "lookout hen"  what is it about that posture, look that makes you go with it?

Its the only decoy that I happen to have, but to be honest I don't even know why I went with it over a feeding hen.

[outdoorsmen]

My train of thought has always been (right or wrong idk) early season use hen and Jake. But as season get mid to late no Jake will be used. Reason being is that probably the aggressive/dominate birds may very likely be dead already therefore I don't want a Jake decoy make a passive bird intimated.   So I vote lone hen.

[howl]

Leave the dolls on the shelf. Learn to sit to a turkey. You'll be more successful and won't have to work so hard.

[WV Flopper]

 If I only took one decoy it would be....one to many.

[Old Gobbler]

A dsd hen decoy

I will use it because if it gets shot it's a few cuss words and all is good

I've seen some horrible things in my nearly 40 years turkey hunting , nuff said

[strum]

Over the years I've used DSD , Avian and cheap Feather Flex. Mostly I don't use any now days but if I do I use the Feather Flex hen. I think I gave $19 for it in 2009 and its been as good as any. Ive come to think the expensive ones are a waste of money. That ole FF has been used successfully many many times . I can roll it up to fit in my vest so its easy and light.

[Muzzy61]

Jake

[joey46]

Jake

YES - 100%.  Good luck.

[jhoward11]

Hen

[Marc]

We all chase turkeys to some degree on our own terms...   Some guys feel they need to hear that bird gobbling before they will shoot him, some need to feel they called him in (i.e. will shoot a silent bird that comes in quiet), and some feel that as long as they got close (calling in, ambush, sneaking up on, etc.) they are good to go.

Were I hunting an open field, or with a bow (or pellet rifle), I would likely use a jake/hen combo...  Simply cause (in my experience), those birds will not cover open ground for a bird/birds they cannot see.  I feel like open ground (such as a pasture of field) is a lot more difficult to hunt and fool, birds than are the woods, but most of us "hunt where we can," or where we have opportunity.

For me normally (hunting the woods), if I use a single decoy, it is a hen. Even though I think a jake would "work better."  More often than not, I choose a location, that if I can see him, I can shoot him, and that hen decoy is simply a confidence decoy to keep that tom from booking out if he comes in from the "wrong direction."

1)Hen decoy is lighter/easier to carry.
2)They won't come running into that hen decoy like a jake (i.e. I still feel like I called him in/fooled him).

Were I to use a jake decoy in my situation, it would be the "Funky Chicken" (really light, easy to carry, and birds often react agressively towards it).  Were I having a rough season, or hunting with my kid(s), I would not feel so opposed to a bit more advantage of that jake decoy.


While decoys can either work for you, or against you...  It is a different experience.  Without a decoy, generally that tom is coming in those last few yards relatively "tentatively."  There is something to be said for watching a bird "sprint" to your decoys ready to fight and/or breed.  As I have more birds under my belt, I personally enjoy the anticipation and satisfaction of hearing and/or seeing that bird make those last few painfully slow steps into gun-range without a decoy though.

[joey46]

I'm going to do a post in a few minutes titled "Old Funky".  It should show why this decoy is now the only decoy I carry when hunting open pastures or mixed cover.  If I'm in a heavily wooded environment I don't use any decoy.  At 76 year's old I pick my battles and seldom run and gun anymore.  This one decoy, a 4# Alps chair plus my calls and miscellaneous crap totals less than 10#.  I even went to the Stevens .410 exclusively for this season. It adds less than 6#.  Everything but the gun fits into a vest and small backpack.  I often walk in more than a mile to where I'm going to hunt.  My frequent hunting buddy has two of the Avian X decoys and is usually overloaded and worn out before we even start.  To each his own.

[husker]

That's tough.  I run DSD dekes and the 3/4 strut Jake has been the demise of many a Longbeard.   They go absolutely BANANAS over that thing.  They totally ignore my Hens and go straight for the Jake.   If you absolutely can't bring two, I suppose a Feeding Hen would be my choice.   Did I mention it would take an awfully lot to leave the Jake in the Truck? 

[daylate]

Also a jake where I hunt ...Most toms I see will walk right by a hen to kick the crap out the jake decoy..