Decoy Quickies

Sometimes your hunting terrain dictates the use of a turkey decoy or two. In thicker woods a decoy may not be necessary, but anytime you’re hunting very open woods, pastures or food plots, decoys become an important tool. When a gobbler can see a long ways, it needs that visual to seal the deal.

Decoys can be a single hen or a whole flock. If you’re running and gunning, a good idea is to carry a hen and a jake. Many hunters use the single hen early when they’re working a bird off the limb, then later in the morning add the jake to provoke a jealous response from mature gobblers. One trick is to mount the jake on top of the hen during the mid-morning hours to really enrage the gobbler.

The hottest trend in turkey hunting involves the use of a mature gobbler decoy. Many hunters have witnessed big toms running hellbent-for-leather across a pasture to confront a gobbler decoy. Try combining the mature gobbler decoy with a submissive hen decoy – one in a “belly-to-the-ground” position – in front of the gobbler deke. This often is a combination that brings them in at a trot.

When placing the decoys, always remember to keep them well within your shooting range. They are perfect for hunting from a blind with the decoy placed 20 yards out front. If there’s no wind, use a jerk cord to add that side-to-side movement required to mimic a strutting gobbler. Never use a mature gobbler on public land, however, and if there are other hunters in the same area let them know prior to the hunt that you will be using a gobbler decoy. And obviously, if you notice a hunter sneaking on your decoy, alert them by yelling, never waving, because the other hunter may mistake your movement for another turkey.

Turkey hens are nearly constantly producing sound, but much of it is very quiet. When using a decoy, feel free to call a lot but keep the majority of it soft. Soft purrs and clucks are perfect for filling in between louder yelps.

Another way to add sound is to rustle the leaves with your hand to simulate a bird walking and scratching. Try a quick “scratch, scratch, scratch” when you’ve got a bird coming in but well out of range. As the bird gets close to gun range, go silent and concentrate on the shot.