Gobbler & Jake Decoys: More Effective Early Season or Later?

[notsure]

Full disclosure: I've only used a full strut gobbler decoy once (w/o success). I regularly employ a jake/hen setup which usually works ok. However, I've never had a gobbler come charging in to challenge the jake deke (I have witnessed a jake take out my decoy). So, based upon your experiences, is a gobbler more likely to aggressively challenge a full strut decoy early in the season, when his sex drive is just starting to peak? Or, are such decoys a better bet when fewer breedable hens are available later in the season, thus forcing gobblers to duke it out for the ladies.

[SD_smith]

For a full strut I lean more towards the early season. Dominant gobblers I feel won't tolerate another strutted around his hens.

Late season I think it could work on birds that haven't been pressured at all, but I'd say the average gobbler is more on a search mission than a fighting mission as the season progresses.

Most likely I'm wrong and everything I said is backwards. Typical when you think about it. See a bird fly down in a certain spot so the next morning you sneak in and set up, as day breaks he gobbles and flies out the backside.

[MK M GOBL]

So taking a few things into consideration here, this will be my 20th year using a White Headed Strutter Decoy I developed/designed, I did use other Jake&Strutter decoys before this but those decoys we're designed for a different purpose. The White Head is a dominant gobbler, but in breeding mode not in fight mode like the typical "red" decoys are made. I learned this by watching Toms as they were at the breeding stage and would lose almost all of the red and the white would come out. So in this stage a gobbler is only interested in breeding the hen, and any bird from a Jake to the Boss of the timber will come in to a White Headed Strutter! I made my first White Head in 1999 and have been upgrading ever since, I am working on my NEW DSD Jake Strutter, which I "Gobblerized" into My Design. There are times to set a Jake as a sub as well. My Strutter is NOT for every hunt, there are times I will use and times not to use, there is a lot in hunting decoys 'right". As I say Just Tools in the Shed.

I have used a Strutter from seasons start to seasons end and killed birds everywhere in between.
(Out at a sport show this week, once I return I'll post you some pics)

MK M GOBL

[Ranger]

So taking a few things into consideration here, this will be my 20th year using a White Headed Strutter Decoy I developed/designed, I did use other Jake&Strutter decoys before this but those decoys we're designed for a different purpose. The White Head is a dominant gobbler, but in breeding mode not in fight mode like the typical "red" decoys are made. I learned this by watching Tom's as they were at the breeding stage and would lose almost all of the red and the white would come out. So in this stage a gobbler is only interested in breeding the hen, and any bird from a Jake to the Boss of the timber will come in to a White Headed Strutter! I made my first White Head in 1999 and have been upgrading ever since, I am working on my NEW DSD Jake Strutter, which I "Gobblerized" into My Design. There are times to set a Jake as a sub as well. My Strutter is NOT for every hunt, there are time I will use and times not to use, there is a lot in hunting decoys 'right". As I say Just Tools on the Shed.

I have used a Strutter from seasons start to seasons end and killed birds everywhere in between.
(Out at a sport show this week, once I return I'll post you some pics)

MK M GOBL

BOOM

[PALongspur]

I always have the best luck with my gobbler decoys when they stay on the shelf in the basement. 

[countryboy3006]

I've had the best luck with strutter decoys early in the season here.  Our youth season is the weekend before the statewide season opens and when I took my younger brothers during the youth hunt the strutter worked pretty good.  After the first couple weekends depending on the year they don't seem to work as good for me.

[zelmo1]

Every year we see different situations. A dominant bird will usually go after either a strutter or a passive jake. If I am not sure about the pecking order, I usually stick with the jake. If we are runnin and gunnin, the strutter stays in the truck. My usual/average set up with a jr hunter is in a field where the birds want to be with a jake, feeding hen and maybe an upright hen. I am getting old and shed most of my excess baggage. I want to get to no decoys one day, but that's hard to do as we always used them when I first started hunting turkeys. I, like turkeys, am a creature of habit. Filming hunts is next on my agenda. Next big purchase is a good video camera and tripod. We shall see

[MK M GOBL]

So taking a few things into consideration here, this will be my 20th year using a White Headed Strutter Decoy I developed/designed, I did use other Jake&Strutter decoys before this but those decoys we're designed for a different purpose. The White Head is a dominant gobbler, but in breeding mode not in fight mode like the typical "red" decoys are made. I learned this by watching Toms as they were at the breeding stage and would lose almost all of the red and the white would come out. So in this stage a gobbler is only interested in breeding the hen, and any bird from a Jake to the Boss of the timber will come in to a White Headed Strutter! I made my first White Head in 1999 and have been upgrading ever since, I am working on my NEW DSD Jake Strutter, which I "Gobblerized" into My Design. There are times to set a Jake as a sub as well. My Strutter is NOT for every hunt, there are times I will use and times not to use, there is a lot in hunting decoys 'right". As I say Just Tools in the Shed.

I have used a Strutter from seasons start to seasons end and killed birds everywhere in between.
(Out at a sport show this week, once I return I'll post you some pics)

MK M GOBL

A couple of pics

1st is my DSD Strutter with White Head
2nd is a Jake killed at the White Head (Strutter is non-aggressive)