Waterfowl vs Turkeys

[dirt road ninja]

Got a question for you guys that duck hunt. Are there waterfowl hunters out there that have a negative opinion on the use of decoys for ducks and geese? It seems like a growing number of post on here are looking down on dekes for turkeys and I figured the duck hunting world would be the same way. As both birds can be called to the gun. I have done some duck hunting and most of it was using dekes, but I mostly went along as a guest with friends.

[Happy]

Only hunted waterfowl a couple times but the guys I hunted with did so without decoys and sometimes without a dog. It seems like  I got asked to go more frequently when they didn't have a dog for some strange reason.

[davisd9]

Decoys are more effective for ducks than calls. I am not a big duck hunter but have been told by duck hunters that calls are to get the attention and decoys draw them in, this could be wrong but what I have been told. Ducks see decoys and think there are ducks feeding and come to it.


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[dirt road ninja]

Decoys are more effective for ducks than calls. I am not a big duck hunter but have been told by duck hunters that calls are to get the attention and decoys draw them in, this could be wrong but what I have been told. Ducks see decoys and think there are ducks feeding and come to it.


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The same can be said about turkeys

[davisd9]

Decoys are more effective for ducks than calls. I am not a big duck hunter but have been told by duck hunters that calls are to get the attention and decoys draw them in, this could be wrong but what I have been told. Ducks see decoys and think there are ducks feeding and come to it.


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The same can be said about turkeys

Very true, but I know turkeys respond to just calls, no clue about ducks. I have/will kill a turkey about every legal way in SC and plan to continue to.


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[chcltlabz]

I can't imagine duck hunting without decoys, and I probably wouldn't even go.

I don't think you can draw a correlation though, because they're very different creatures.  That would be like disagreeing with shooting turkeys with a rifle, so therefore you shouldn't like hunting cape buffalo with rifles.

[cuttinAR]

Ducks can be killed in flooded timber with only a call because they can't see decoys well and they search out the call, but hunting a field without decoys would be next to impossible. 

[Rapscallion Vermilion]

I can't imagine duck hunting without decoys, and I probably wouldn't even go.

Same here, with the exception of jump shooting creek bottoms for wood ducks.  Talk about some fast shooting.  In the big open flooded refuges where I hunt ducks in New Mexico, you would get very few shots without some decoys out.  I'm not a big fan of the robo duck though, but my buddy likes it so we switch off.  As for calling, I like to keep that sparse and mostly call at their butts. 

[dirt road ninja]

I can't imagine duck hunting without decoys, and I probably wouldn't even go.

I don't think you can draw a correlation though, because they're very different creatures.  That would be like disagreeing with shooting turkeys with a rifle, so therefore you shouldn't like hunting cape buffalo with rifles.

My thinking is they are both birds and every duck hunter I see down here while I'm fishing has a pile of calls around his neck and a pile of dekes in the boat. I think it's fine to use both on both species of birds. Was just curious why there seems to be a stigma associated with decoys and turkeys. I see lots of remote control duck dekes and it didn't seem to bring the same uproar as remote turkey dekes. Not looking for anyone to defend their use of decoys on ducks or turkeys, just their opinion on why double standard, if there is one. As I said before, not a duck hunter. Maybe lots of duck hunter poke fun at the guy with decoys and consider him an inferior hunter because he uses them. I don't know, I only ask the duck guys at the launch if they flew good or how'd they do.

[chcltlabz]

That was kind of my point, they're not the same bird.  They don't act the same, have different instincts, and they're hunted at different times of year.  For the most part, ducks are not in breeding season or preparing to breed, except for some instances of pairing at the tail end of the season, but that's not the same as active breeding.  Ducks react to decoys in response to a likely feeding location, safety, etc.  Turkeys are searching for a mate to breed with now.  Never once have I heard anyone say a negative thing about using decoys for waterfowling, and I'd say more people would look at someone hunting without decoys and label them a skybuster.  Bringing birds to the decoys is more the thrill for most waterfowlers.

As for my opinion, I could care less if anyone uses a decoy for turkey hunting and I think people who think this is unsporting are elitists.  I don't agree with reaping, because you're not calling in a bird, you're stalking them.  More than anything, I think its dangerous.

I've seen pluses and minuses for decoys in both, but for waterfowl, its mostly too many decoys or spinning wing decoys.  I definitely can't see where decoys give a hunter such an advantage that anyone should look down on them.  I do get a chuckle out of the "goose spread" turkey hunters though.  They typically sit on a field edge with half a dozen or more decoys waiting on something to come out to them.  That would be like watching paint dry to me, but I'm thankful that they sit in one place instead of tromping around spooking birds all day.

[Deputy 14]

I have no problem with using decoys for turkey at all, most of the time I do not use them due to the fact that the area I hunt is like a rain forest and the birds are within 25 yards before you can see them so decoys are basically useless to me aside from the occasional open ridge or road I set up on.
As for decoys with ducks I couldn't see hunting without them, as most of the birds we kill just see the decoys and come in without calling. I would say with waterfowl the decoy is 95% of the attraction, with turkey I'd say it's the opposite, at least in my experiences. If I didn't take a call duck hunting I would probably kill close to as many without having calls as i do with calls. On the other hand if I didn't take calls turkey hunting I would never kill a turkey unless I got lucky and one walked by randomly.
They're both birds, but I personally feel they're on opposite ends of the spectrum on how to hunt them.

[Happy]

I am gonna draw a quick analogy here. (I think that's the right word). Round here in the spring you see some guys wandering up and down the river trout fishing. On one hand you see fellows with fly rods, creels, and nice vests. On the other hand you see a fellow roll up and pull a cooler loaded with natty light, night crawlers and a couple jars of power bait to complement his nifty spinning reel. When it comes to fishing I are that second guy much more than the first. I don't care about fish. They are entertainment and fun to take a bunch of kids out to have some fun. The fly fisherman is more than likely going to look down his nose at me and that's fine. More power to him. He has invested way more time and effort into something he is passionate about and wants to master. I will cheerfully acknowledge his superiority and go about my day cheerfully and have fun. Many outdoor activities follow the same trend and always will. Only difference is some want to appear as masters while dunking night crawlers so to speak and get offended when they aren't included. Why anyone feels the need to be portrayed as the greatest outdoorsman alive is beyond me but I digress. I take hunting very seriously and there are many things I won't do that are perfectly legal. There are guys out there that will limit themselves even more than i and I have nothing but respect for them. However I am happy and I am driven to feel like I have earned every animal I have killed. If not I won't kill it. Everyone else has to figure out their own way. But if someone looking down their nose atvyouboffends you then maybe the problem isn't them.

[RUN-N-GUN]

I haven't duck hunted much but my brother-in-law is a diehard duck hunter and they always use decoys but sometimes don't even bring a call. It's what they do different that can give them an advantage over call shy ducks. I think it's the same with turkey hunters. We all do it different and I'm glad. I personally see no problem with the way another man hunts as long as it's ethical and legal.


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[bobk]

Simple, stay within the rules and respect others even if they do not follow the techniques that you chose.
This is all to be fun.

[Greg Massey]

You hunt the way you want and i will hunt the way i want ... some people hunting with couple calls, gun and one shell , i just hunt a little different lots of shells , calls and a decoy .... i like to carry toilet paper also... not much on using leaves and pine bark....