Decoys

[Life of Riley]

I didn't have a mentor as I first got into turkey hunting. So most advice I got on decoys was off the internet. I think it's pretty simple when to use or not use one. In open fields where a turkey has great vision and often you will not be able to move once a tom is spotted use decoys. Hunting in woods or terrain that has lots of elevation change there isn't much point at all using them. From what I've read it seems decoys are more common in upper midwest farm country. Guys hunting swamps, hardwoods, bluffs, etc. don't seem to use decoys as often.

[TRG3]

At first glance, I would never have thought that the Funky Chicken decoy would work, but over the past few years it's the only one that hasn't spooked a gobbler from coming on in. Usually a strutter or jake decoy will be effective, but I've also seen them stop a gobbler at 60+ yards and refuse to come on in, based on the peck order I suppose. My typical set up is a Funky Chicken a couple of yards behind a hen in the breeding position set about 25 yards away at the edge of a field with me a couple of yards back into the woods against a tree and behind a camo net. I'll set up about 30 minutes before first light and usually stay there until shooting time expires at 1 p.m. daily. Especially after the gobblers are henned up and won't come in at fly down, I've taken many later up in the morning as they look for other hens to breed after the real ones have gone off to nest. I catch up on my napping during the lull between fly down and late morning.

[silvestris]

Might as well stick a used Coke can stuck on a limb.

[owlhoot]

Might as well stick a used Coke can stuck on a limb.

Budweiser works just a tad better 

[silvestris]

You need the bright red of the Coke can to get their attention.  The white interspersed with the red only serves to confuse or alarm the gobbler.  One has to be careful when dealing with the instinctive behavior of the gobbler.

[Timmer]

I'm sure everyone's environment, hunting methods, and associated experience varies.  I have gotten the vast majority of my birds with no decoys.  There are no shortage of hens where I hunt at any time of the day.  For the most part I run and gun and sneak hunt with the goal of getting close enough to the the tom to pique his interest enough to pull him a short distance away from his hens, often with the hens in tow.  I carry decoys at all times.  However, because I am on the move, I have been busted countless times either by a silent tom or one that came in faster than I expected.  As such I often don't risk the time and exposure to put them out.  For the times I have put them out, I seems like 10-20% of the time the Tom come running without caution.  The rest of the time my experience has been they hang up within viewing distance, or turn away without even pausing to check out the scene (either the tom turns or the hens with him want no part of it and the tom doesn't want to lose his gals who are leaving).  What to do with hung up toms is a whole other thread.