In a field I will use a flock consisting of either a jake or tom but never both at the same time, a submissive hen under the tom/jake, a feeder off to one side and a looker off to the other. When in the field I generally know the direction the tom will come in from so I usually face the looker towards that direction and the jake and submissive hen are always facing me and also the closest to me. Also, the hens on each side are about 5-7 yards away from the jake and submissive hen. When using a shotgun I place them about 15 yds out from me. When using a bow about 10 yds out. Everytime I use this set up the approaching tom comes in and around to confront the jake/tom in the face and leaves me with a pretty easy shot.
In the woods it all depends. If its thick I wont use any decoys at all. If its open hardwoods I will carry 1-2 hens in the back of my vest. A common problem I occur when running and gunning in open hardwoods is when I call a tom in and he gets to 60-70 yards and hangs up because we are on an open ridge or flat and he doesn't see a hen anywhere to be found. When I put them out I usually put a feeder even with me about 10 yards off to the left or right and the other hen about 10-15 yards back from me to make it look like they are heading away from the toms position. Nothing in turkey season always works but this is what has helped me.
