The stance on reaping is a very interesting thing to me.
Keep in mind being born and raised in Iowa, my generation's fathers and grandfathers did not grow up turkey hunting. Also keep in mind decoys have never been illegal here, nor has stalking (reaping wasn't a thing when stalk vs no stalk was up for debate). We don't have nearly the turkey hunting legend, lore, and culture that a lot of you southern and eastern boys do.
This forum is the first time I have ever talked turkey hunting with non-Iowans.
I hardly know ANY turkey hunters here that don't use a decoy(s). Like zero percent of the time. I know a few guys that if they have really patterned a roost and a strutting area and they will intercept and use a call. But those same guys when the birds get wiley they don't think twice about throwing out decoys.
Pretty much what guys were TAUGHT (yes you had to sit through a seminar to learn how not to get killed/kill someone by mistake) was to get dekes, find a field edge and call for a while. I could count the guys I know here on one hand that purposely hunt in deep timber. Part of it is our landscape, what timber we do have is in long draws and narrow fingers, we don't have many areas of vast uninterrupted forest. Mostly just drainages, riverbottoms etc. Not saying you can't kill one without decoys and staying put but man, it is like a different world and different language coming on this site hearing about guys going without decoys and doing the whole run and gun thing in deep timber. There are very few who employ that method here. Prior to joining this site I wouldn't have ever even thought to consider them non sporting.
Personally I don't see the real draw with reaping but it is getting to be a big deal here. Our sporting good stores can barely keep reaping fans and dekes on the shelves the last couple of years. I don't knock it as non-sporting, heck I don't knock it at all really, I just don't have any desire to do it. I also think if you try to reap one on public ground you better be single without kids, and you MUST be pretty stupid...
Just real interesting to see the regional variations on opinion when it comes to reaping or decoys.
