Turkey decoys can either make you or break you when it comes to bringing in a wise old Tom. Older birds in heavily hunted areas may have seen every decoy in your local sporting goods store and might not be interested in coming into them. Other birds that aren't hunted so hard may come running into your setup. Regardless of whether you hunt pressured or unpressured birds, there are a few things you can do to make your decoy spread more inviting. - Use realistic decoys - There are a lot of decoys out on the market today and many of them are decent looking, but a few stand out. For a hen decoy, hands down, the Dave Smith Hen is by far the most realistic decoy you can buy. I hunt with one and the birds never question it. It is an expensive decoy at $120, but this hard plastic bird will last a lifetime with the proper care. It is also extremely simple to set up in the dark. I always couple my hen with a gobbler decoy as well. With some modifications a standard full strut Tom decoy can come to life. Put some glass taxidermy eyes on the decoy, paint the head if necessary, put a real beard and tail in the bird and watch it come to life.
- Play the wind - no, not like in deer hunting. The best time to use decoys is in a light wind. Wind is critical because it adds movement to your decoys and brings them to life. A little movement is all it takes to catch a birds eye and draw it to your set up. If the wind is constant and strong make sure to put two strong sticks on each side of the decoy so it won't start spinning around in a circle which will most likely scare the birds away instead of drawing them in.
- Motion decoys - some decoys have pull cords so you can control the movement of the decoy or parts that will move in the slightest breeze. A new decoy I am trying out this season is the Jake Intimidator by Countrymen Innovations. This is a full strut Jake decoy that lies flat on the ground until you pull on a string and it pops up to bring that Tom that's hung up just 60 yards out on a beeline for your setup. Motion is a key element when it comes to decoys.
- The spread - one place many hunters go wrong is with the layout of their spread. I like to keep it simple and use two decoys - a full strut decoy and a hen decoy. When I'm hunting with my bow in a ground blind I keep my decoys within 15 yards of my blind. Another important thing to remember is to keep the decoys apart. If you put your decoys too close a dominant Tom can't come in and circle them. Give the birds some room to walk around your decoys, keep them at least 5 yards apart.
- Face to face - if you're using a Tom or Jake decoy make sure you have the decoy faces the hunter. The reason for this is that many times a dominant male with come in and instantly go to the male decoy to size it up and fight it. The live bird will face the decoy putting its back to the hunter so the hunter can move into position without the bird seeing any movement.
Turkey hunting is very challenging with a bow and arrow, but using decoys properly can increase your odds of drawing on a longbeard. Take some time to get to know your decoys and how they work in the wind. Pay attention to your spread and give the birds plenty of room to walk around your decoys. I hope you found these tips useful and they bring you much success afield this spring.
Remember to enter the 2009 Turkey Contest on the NYBowhunter.com Forum going on now! Prizes are provided by Beyond Backpacks, G5 Outdoors and Skip Enterprises.
Honestly, I'm torn on the whole decoy thing. I have went out of my way to make the decoy setup and spread realistic, and have been pretty disappointed with the results. Plus, I've had birds hang up because of the decoys before.
ReplyDeleteAs always, I'll keep experimenting with different setups, but hopefully I'll get it right enough at least once to kill one with a bow. For now, I'm happy I got my first one with a gun.
Being relatively new to turkey hunting I seem to go along with tips and comments from others and these tips sound good and make sense so I will keep that in mind.
ReplyDelete