Turkey decoy setup tips

Finally, just after daylight the rain cleared, but the wind continued to gust. The toms I heard on the roost about yards away seemed to be willing participants to my charade, so I crawled a few yards and stuck out a hen and a jake decoy. They were the old, lightweight Feather Flex foam decoys, which would come into play a few minutes later. I crawled back a few yards to a skinny tree and began to call. I watched three toms fly down, and one of them walked my way. When he spied my decoys, he gobbled and trotted in our direction.

He didn't even stop to strut. He ran straight to my jake decoy and began flogging it and beating it with his wing butts. All the while, the wind was blowing about 25 miles per hour, and when he knocked it off the stake, it rose 8 feet into the air.

The tom jumped into the air above the wind-blown jake and knocked it back to the ground several feet downwind. He pinned it to the ground and began pecking at the decoy's head. While he was distracted, I swung my gun and drew a bead on his noggin. The load of shot took the fight out of the aggressive old longbeard and ended my hunt.

Sex, or the hope for it, is an obvious trigger for a springtime tom. One or more hens set in a feeding pose gives the obvious visual cue. Visibility should be considered when placing decoys. Be sure to place the fake turkey attractors so that approaching gobblers can see them at longer ranges. I've had gobblers spook at decoys when they get "surprised" at short range.

Do your homework. Try to place decoys to allow a gobbler visibility at 50 yards or greater distance. Decoy use should follow the various stages of spring turkey season. That's a clear signal that it's time for a change. The one exception is if the hatch was poor the previous year and the jake crop was low. If that's the case, then I may add a jake decoy to play off a gobbler's willingness to display dominance over a lone jake. Late in the season, Parrish switches back to strutting gobbler decoys for a different reason.

I'll throw in gobbler yelps and gobbles along with hen calls to bring them in. Chasing wary toms and getting them close in the spring is a great thrill. That thrill is only enhanced with the addition of decoys to your turkey hunting arsenal. See if these tips don't up your score this season — and maybe get a bit more adrenaline pumping through your veins!

Give a Gift Subscriber Services. See All Other Magazines. See All Special Interest Magazines. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. To get started, click the link below to visit mymagnow. Get Digital Access. Subscribe To The Magazine. More Articles From Turkey. February 20, By Jay Langston. Sign Me Up. Field Tested: Winchester's New 6. See All Videos. For bowhunters, decoys set at seven to 10 yards are ideal.

For shotgun hunters , the sweet spot is at about twice that. It doesn't matter if you're hunting cornfields or a half-frozen loafing pond, you'll need to adjust your strategy when hunting late-season geese. Alabama is now the 28th state to harbor the disease. Bag limits and antler point restriction have been removed in the state's new CWD zones.

Alex Therrien took the giant muskox while checking on a closed hunting lodge in a remote part of the Northwest Territories. A little bounce is never bad. Tony J. Lifelike fakes will dupe the wariest of gobblers. Peterson Keep It Real Hyperrealism is all the rage with decoys right now, and for good reason. A jake with a hen can work well early in the season. Peterson Pick Your Fights. A great decoy setup can mean the difference between a tom strutting right into your spread or warily hanging outside your shotgun range.

A shoddy spread can make them think twice about drawing closer and will mean the difference between bagging a tom and coming home empty-handed. If you plan on heading out to bag some toms, here are some tips on setting up your decoys that can mean the difference between failure and success.

Hyperrealism in decoys is very popular at the moment and for a good reason. As part of your essential turkey hunting gear , you need to invest in quality decoys instead of foam cut-outs to bring home some trophies. Natural paint jobs are a must, but so is effective posturing. Jakes—or immature toms—however, look a lot like hens. In some places, it is illegal to kill hens, so knowing the differences between male and female turkeys is vital.

Check the breast feathers of the bird. The type of decoy spread you set up depends on the season and, specifically, the part of the season when you are hunting. At the beginning of spring turkey season up until May, you want to set up a spread that mimics a jake courting a hen.

The most popular decoy setup at the moment is a jake in position over a compliant hen. This spread works well at the beginning of the season. After that, observe how the birds react to your decoys.

If you find them reticent to strut into range, set up a turkey decoy spread with all females. A mature tom will likely relish the idea of strutting into a circle of hens.

As the hunting season stretches into May, swap out your spread of hens for just a single one.