help with a Scenario

[G-12]

ok, here goes! 

lot's of scouting our lease land has predictably told us that birds are coming off of the roost into a corn field to feed.  usually several Toms and hens.  we have a blind about 20 feet off the edge of the field.  however about a half mile away on the same land is a flat strip of old pasture at the base of a mountian where 2-3 Toms have been flying down and strutting every morining.  we have a Blind up there as well.   this Saturday is our Youth day.  i a pretty sure one of the other members is taking his daughter to the corn field blind.  I am leaning towards the pasture blind with my 7 year old.   being in the open I think a smart decision is decoys.  this is where I a looking for advice.  should I set up a strutter and a breeding hen, a jake and hen or just some feeding hens

if it was me hunting alone then I'd ambush them. but with my daughter I thin its a safer bet to use the blind and try and get the bird as close as possible

[Marc]

For many, if not most of the turkey hunters on the forums here, hunting turkeys is more than about simply shooting one...  It is about fooling them and getting them close.

Probably about 50% on the forums here are opposed to using decoys....

That being said...  As far as decoys...  Sometimes jake/tom decoys suck birds in...  Sometimes they drive them off.  Safest bet is probably a hen/jake combination (strutter is more likely to push birds off than a submissive jake decoy).  Set the jake decoy where you want the shot (about 15 yards from the blind).   The birds will address the jake decoy (assuming it is realistic enough to capture their attention).

Shot should be 30 yards or under for any child or first-time turkey hunter.  Make her first bird a nice clean kill, and do NOT push the envelope of range with such a young shooter.  Plan on that jake decoy getting shot, or at least plan on not getting mad when it accidentally does.

And...  Once the bird is in good range, and provides a good shot, have the child TAKE THE SHOT.  Watching a bird beat up a decoy is fun, but the longer that bird is in good range, the more excited and anxious the child will get.  Bird comes to the decoy, make a cluck to get his head up, and have the child take the shot.

[DMTJAGER]

May I suggest visiting Matt Dale outdoors on YouTube he has an excellent video on when to use and not use a decoy be they hen Jake or gobbler decoys.
I recommend Matt Dales video because I had used Hen, Jake and Gobbler decoys on some of the best private turkey land I have ever hunted 4 years before I ever heard of Matt Dale and my experiences paralleled exactly what he details in his video on using decoys so that proved to me he knows where of he speaks.

Long story short I used both a Jake and then Tom decoy on the above private land with a hen and not only did my success rate on Toms decrease it actually in the case of scaring off Jakes decreased completely.

Once I went back to strictly hen decoys I was able to call in Toms to my boys. In four years we could hunt that land my two sons and i enjoyed 100% success on taking Tom turkeys.
REALLY miss that land.

Here is a link to that video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ppOYYOYOEM

[DMTJAGER]

For many, if not most of the turkey hunters on the forums here, hunting turkeys is more than about simply shooting one...  It is about fooling them and getting them close.

Probably about 50% on the forums here are opposed to using decoys....

That being said...  As far as decoys...  Sometimes jake/tom decoys suck birds in...  Sometimes they drive them of.  Safest bet is probably a hen/jake combination (strutter is more likely to push birds off than a submissive jake decoy).  Set the jake decoy where you want the shot (about 15 yards from the blind).   The birds will address the jake decoy (assuming it is realistic enough to capture their attention).

Shot should be 30 yards or under for any child or first-time turkey hunter.  Make her first bird a nice clean kill, and do NOT push the envelope of range with such a young shooter.  Plan on that jake decoy getting shot, or at least plan on not getting mad when it accidentally does.

And...  Once the bird is in good range, and provides a good shot, have the child TAKE THE SHOT.  Watching a bird beat up a decoy is fun, but the longer that bird is in good range, the more excited and anxious the child will get.  Bird comes to the decoy, make a cluck to get his head up, and have the child take the shot.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Couldn't of said it better myself^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
As a father of two sons I've taken turkey hunting since the age of 8 I can say with confidence this is as good of good advice as can be given.
Very well thought out and stated.

[silvestris]

AMBUSH?

[Zobo]

May I suggest visiting Matt Dale outdoors on YouTube he has an excellent video on when to use and not use a decoy be they hen Jake or gobbler decoys.
I recommend Matt Dales video because I had used Hen, Jake and Gobbler decoys on some of the best private turkey land I have ever hunted 4 years before I ever heard of Matt Dale and my experiences paralleled exactly what he details in his video on using decoys so that proved to me he knows where of he speaks.

Long story short I used both a Jake and then Tom decoy on the above private land with a hen and not only did my success rate on Toms decrease it actually in the case of scaring off Jakes decreased completely.

Once I went back to strictly hen decoys I was able to call in Toms to my boys. In four years we could hunt that land my two sons and i enjoyed 100% success on taking Tom turkeys.
REALLY miss that land.

Here is a link to that video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ppOYYOYOEM

I dont know diddly about youtube anything, but I agree that using only hen decoys is best. If for no other reason than the safety of you and your child. Stupid people occasionally shoot at decoys and using male decoys makes that scary event much more likely to occur.