Thinking of getting some new decoys HELP needed

[WV Flopper]

 Save your money and further your craft. Decoys are not needed.

[BDeal]

I rarely use decoys but use Photoform when I do. I hate heavy decoys. I did buy and Avian last year and thought it was garbage. Super heavy and wouldn't hold air. Sounds like a common defect with them.

[lunghit]

Love my DSD Jake and pretty much always know where the Tom will end up when coming in. They ignore my cheaper hen decoy and go right to the jake. My wife is buying my the upright hen for Father's Day so I'm looking forward to using that as well. Sometimes a blind on a field edge with decoys is fun. When I'm moving I'll leave them behind.

[Tail Feathers]

Save your money and further your craft. Decoys are not needed.

I hear this a lot.  On my home turf, it's mostly true.  But this is a big country with lots of different terrain.  You go out west in particular, and it's wide open.  Decoys can be a tremendous help.  And in the big ag lands of the midwest, they probably get used a lot more than in a hardwood forest.

[Beards and Hooks]

Grind decoys are really good, buddy on here tipped me off too them. They are typically 50-60 bucks a pop, Dicks had them for 29.99 earlier in the week!

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[kayl]

Grind decoys are really good, buddy on here tipped me off too them. They are typically 50-60 bucks a pop, Dicks had them for 29.99 earlier in the week!

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They're still on sale: https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/f/decoys?pageNumber=0&filterFacets=X_BRAND%3AThe%20Grind

Decoys worked great for my daughter's bird this year, but definitely cost me one. I'm not sure if I want to buy any more or really use them other than early season.

[Greg Massey]

With using decoys, it's all about your setup and your guns capability. In setting your decoys up close, you have to think, this gun and choke shoots a baseball tight pattern at 25 yards or less... So a lot of the time it's not the decoy that caused you not to kill the bird, it's how you set up the decoy to begin with and knowing the capability of your gun at further ranges.  Decoy setup is most of the problem / not the decoy fault.... but there are always a few exceptions in my opinions

[Lone Star Eastern]

Save your money and further your craft. Decoys are not needed.

I hear this a lot.  On my home turf, it's mostly true.  But this is a big country with lots of different terrain.  You go out west in particular, and it's wide open.  Decoys can be a tremendous help.  And in the big ag lands of the midwest, they probably get used a lot more than in a hardwood forest.

I don't really use them, but they were essential in my success late season KS on the edges of crop fields.


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[kayl]

With using decoys, it's all about your setup and your guns capability. In setting your decoys up close, you have to think, this gun and choke shoots a baseball tight pattern at 25 yards or less... So a lot of the time it's not the decoy that caused you not to kill the bird, it's how you set up the decoy to begin with and knowing the capability of your gun at further ranges.  Decoy setup is most of the problem / not the decoy fault.... but there are always a few exceptions in my opinions

The one it cost me was coming until he saw my wimpy Jake decoy (funky chicken), at which point he went the opposite direction. ??

[Marc]

My decoys were some cheap ones I bought and do not seem to have much of a realistic look to them.
So I am thinking of getting a better set of decoys that look somewhat real.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thank you !

What type of hunting are you doing (i.e. field hunting, hunting dense woods, hunting open hills, etc.)?

I have a DSD (Leading Hen), an Avian Jake, a Funky Chicken, and several other decoys that have been sold or given away.  I choose the leading hen because it works great as a stand-up decoy or a lay-down breeder (in front of a jake).  Live hens seem seem especially aggressive towards it.

Hunting the woods, I often carry the DSD hen, but rarely use her any more...  Were I to feel I need a jake decoy in the woods, I would use the DSD hen and the Funky Chicken due to being far easier to carry and move quickly.

Were I to hunt a field or pasture, I would likely use the DSD with the Avian Jake...  Were I to hunt fields/pastures more frequently, I would likely consider investing in some more decoys...  The longer I have hunted, the less appealing field and pasture birds are to me.

As my hunting styles have evolved, I use decoys less and less...  A lot tougher to make quick decisive movements, and honestly, there is more satisfaction to fooling these birds with a call only...  And the older I get, the more lazy I am, and the less appealing carrying around a decoy is.

I have never killed a bird over the Funky Chicken...  Used it and had birds whomp on it good on multiple occasions, but for various reasons could not, or decided not to shoot.

Any time a jake decoys is used, I feel like you will get one of two reactions...  Birds coming in hard to address it, or seeing it and going the other way (Funky Chicken or Avian Jake).  It either works or anti-works.

There are currently several premium realistic decoy companies.

Avian.  Advantages are that they are collapsible, disadvantages is that they will inevitably leak.
DSD: Very realistic, self-contained stake, hen is very light and easy to carry, the jake is heavier and cumbersome (compared to Avian).

Replica Decoy Company (RDC) and Deception Decoys have come along in recent years to compete with DSD.  They appear similar in quality of durability and appearance to DSD.

I would hazard that DSD, RDC, and Deception decoys would last the rest of my hunting career, and likely my childrens'.  Avian will eventually need replacement.

[eddie234]

I don't normally use decoys, but I guess every turkey hunter needs a set. I have a hen and Jake form lucky duck and just recently purchased a lay down hen from avian x.


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[jordanz7935]

I've been using the avian x lcd decoys for as long as they've been out. They are great decoys.I actually prefer the original avian x hens(circa 2010) as they are bigger in size than the new lcds.  Only issue is they are prone to leak eventually, but theyve all been easy to fix. Tons of good decoy options on the market nowadays.DSD, higdon, avian x lcd & hdr,flextone, dakota, I'd use any of them.  I actually just got a higdon jake on clearance that  looks good and weighs 2 pounds less than my avianx jake. 

[Hoytboy247]

If you have the money Dave Smith 3/4 strut jake and lay down hen haven't been outdone in my experience