Finally made a decision, and a purchase.

[perrytrails]

Same argument with deer. Hunting over a feeder is bad, but yet the same guy is hunting over dropped acorns or  hunting over a food plot or picked corn field. Bait is bait.

Crossbows are cheating, but your slider sight pin  bow with drop away rest with release isn't.

Chevy ford dodge...

It's your time in the field, if it's legal and you want to use it.........so be it! Good luck!!
Take a kid hunting...

[owlhoot]

To the op. Have a great hunt with your decoys. Enjoy the show.
Later on , as you progress in your turkey hunting experience, try a hunt without decoys or even use blinds or not. Enjoy your hunts to YOUR SATISFACTION.

Good luck this spring

[deerbasshunter3]

Same argument with deer. Hunting over a feeder is bad, but yet the same guy is hunting over dropped acorns or  hunting over a food plot or picked corn field. Bait is bait.

Crossbows are cheating, but your slider sight pin  bow with drop away rest with release isn't.

Chevy ford dodge...

It's your time in the field, if it's legal and you want to use it.........so be it! Good luck!!
Take a kid hunting...

Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Toyota...

[deerbasshunter3]

I believe that as, and for, a beginning hunter, using decoys is a great way to get a bird or two under your belt before really getting serious about it. I killed a bird last year over no decoys that a friend of mine called in. I, however, am nowhere near as good a caller as he is, so using a decoy(s) is going to give me a better (maybe not) opportunity to be successful on my own, and really take to the sport more than I would if I just went out every year and maybe saw a bird here and there.

I realize that even with decoys, I am not guaranteed to see birds every time, but it gives me a little confidence which will trickle down to where I set up, which will trickle down to my calling, etc... It is all about what you have confidence in. If a person chooses not to use decoys, then that is their choice, for whatever reason that may be. It does not mean that a person is right or wrong, they just have different views.

[cwb04]

dbh3 - go out and have fun and find your own way.  Learning is half the fun of turkey hunting.  Try to learn a little something new every time you go and you'll be in business.  This site is a wealth of information for beginners and veterans alike, you just have to sift through negative stuff.  I can tell you I have been blessed to be able to hunt and harvest turkeys in 9 or 10 different states.  Some with decoys, some without.  I can honestly tell you that killing a gobbler without a decoy means no more to me then when I use a decoy.  I rarely use them these days, but there are situations that call for them and I don't think twice about using one and certainly could care less about what anyone else has to say about it.  I hunt legally and ethically and thats all that matters.

The decoy thing, well, its always going to be a matter of opinion.  Ole Sil, that's always been his opinion and hey at least he is consistent.  Go out and form your own opinions.

As we all should do on this site - I wish you the best of luck!   

[alclark2]

To the OP.. I hope these decoys work out and you get a good show. They are definitely something to have in your turkey tool arsenal. I quit lugging mine around a few years ago, but I still have them. In my limited experience, they were a hassle.

To everyone else.. Hunt how you like, we're all on the same team here.

[perrytrails]

Same argument with deer. Hunting over a feeder is bad, but yet the same guy is hunting over dropped acorns or  hunting over a food plot or picked corn field. Bait is bait.

Crossbows are cheating, but your slider sight pin  bow with drop away rest with release isn't.

Chevy ford dodge...

It's your time in the field, if it's legal and you want to use it.........so be it! Good luck!!
Take a kid hunting...

Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Toyota...

Awesome, I drive a Toyota, will till they put me under. Don't hate me. Lol

I drink, dip snuff, chase wild...well I'll stop right there. Wild Turkeys yeah.

I set in a blind when it rains, or take a kid hunting.

It's all good...just get out there and enjoy yourself, remember to pass it on.

[bammerslammer 50]

Same argument with deer. Hunting over a feeder is bad, but yet the same guy is hunting over dropped acorns or  hunting over a food plot or picked corn field. Bait is bait.

Crossbows are cheating, but your slider sight pin  bow with drop away rest with release isn't.

Chevy ford dodge...

It's your time in the field, if it's legal and you want to use it.........so be it! Good luck!!
Take a kid hunting...

Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Toyota...

Awesome, I drive a Toyota, will till they put me under. Don't hate me. Lol

I drink, dip snuff, chase wild...well I'll stop right there. Wild Turkeys yeah.

I set in a blind when it rains, or take a kid hunting.

It's all good...just get out there and enjoy yourself, remember to pass it on.

Agree!!! 

[SKFOOTER]

I used some cheap acrylic paint from the craft section at walmart and made my pretty boy jr's head look a lot better.

[bamagtrdude]

I don't look at the birds I have killed over decoys with the same level of achievement I do as those without.  He has a point....

i agree.... But to each his own.  Best of luck!!!
[/quote]

Exactly; to each their own.  You will learn WHEN to use dekes & when to leave 'em in the truck.
BGD

[budtripp]

This argument gets old personally.  You have one side (purists) who hunts timber birds without blinds or decoys and use shotguns and the guys (newer generation) who sit in blinds with archery gear and 500 dollars worth of decoys and both think their method is more challenging.  Go out and enjoy your hunt and stop the preaching.  No one's listening.

[Neill_Prater]

Decoys help, sometimes. I'm not a purist. I will kill birds over decoys, but have killed a lot more without the use of one. I've also had decoys spook birds, usually hens, and prevent me from killing a bird I probably would have had a chance at without a decoy being deployed.

I think the way we choose to enjoy our time in the outdoors, as long as the method is legal, is up to the individual. I've met guys that hunt the entire season sitting in a blind over decoys, and those that don't even own a blind or a decoy. Neither method is "wrong" or "right", and as long as the hunter is happy with the experience, who am I to criticize? 

[tha bugman]

 

Decoys help, sometimes. I'm not a purist. I will kill birds over decoys, but have killed a lot more without the use of one. I've also had decoys spook birds, usually hens, and prevent me from killing a bird I probably would have had a chance at without a decoy being deployed.

I think the way we choose to enjoy our time in the outdoors, as long as the method is legal, is up to the individual. I've met guys that hunt the entire season sitting in a blind over decoys, and those that don't even own a blind or a decoy. Neither method is "wrong" or "right", and as long as the hunter is happy with the experience, who am I to criticize?

[spencerhoosier]

I use decoys, sit in a blind, have a red dot scope and shoot nitros through a choke tube made specifically for turkey hunting.

And I enjoy every dang minute I'm out there. Could care less what people think because it's what I enjoy and that's all that matters.  All legal and well within the ethics of turkey hunting. Season can't get here soon enough.

To the OP: post some pics of your kills over the new defoys when it happens!

[deerbasshunter3]

I use decoys, sit in a blind, have a red dot scope and shoot nitros through a choke tube made specifically for turkey hunting.

And I enjoy every dang minute I'm out there. Could care less what people think because it's what I enjoy and that's all that matters.  All legal and well within the ethics of turkey hunting. Season can't get here soon enough.

To the OP: post some pics of your kills over the new defoys when it happens!

10-4. Will do!